Should I be adding Oyster Shell?

[SkyWarrior]

I'll be picking up two duck hens that the owner thinks are domestic mallards (could be Rouens) who are laying eggs. These birds are one year old. (My first ducks!)

Anyway, I have Flock Raiser for my geese and turkey and I was wondering if I should be adding oyster shell since the girls are laying? Any other recommendations?

TIA

 

[CityChicker]

You could do that or just give them some layer feed. Either way works just fine.

 

[lovesduckies]

i mix oyster shell with layer pellets

 

[katharinad]

I would just put up another bowl with oyster shell and let them eat as much as they want.

 

[SkyWarrior]

Thanks! I don't have layer feed yet (though I will need some soon). I'll pick up some oyster shell tomorrow!

 

[newchickmom09]

Just have the oyster shell in a different bowl next to there food and they will eat as much as they need.

 

[Amiga]

Ditto with oyster shell - I put some in a flip-resistant dish (learned the hard way, my runners like to perch on the edge of their dishes) for them to eat as they desire.

For extra fun, I put clean water in the dish, also, and they like to dabble and play in it. Sometimes I add a little sprinkle (two or three tablespoons, once a week) into their food pan.

Dandelions have calcium, too.

 

[AdamD77]

Quote:
Ooh, is that the flowers or leaves? Or both?

And would you say they would still need oyster shell if fed lots of dandelions?

 

[percyj]

If you feed them oyster shell during laying, do they still need grit????

 

[Amiga]

As far as I know, it's the dandelion greens that have the calcium. I haven't penciled out amounts, though, since I just toss the ducks whatever I can weed out of the gardens. I reckon that they get some calcium from the greens (I have read that spinach has oxalic acid that inhibits calcium absorption, by the way), and they get additional calcium from the free choice oyster shell. So far so good - with the exception of a few shell-less eggs from ducks just beginning to come into laying season, the shells on the eggs are in good shape.

Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks mentions that bits of oyster shell do act as grit until they are worn down sufficiently and pass on out. It is like a slow-release calcium tablet, which also has its advantages.