Too much shell grit??

[pixie74943]

My 2 hens get a handleful of shellgrit every morning with their scraps

and half the time they leave the scraps and devour the shellgrit

how much is too much, the egg shells are solid (but not exactly strong) and before I started giving them shell grit there were a couple of broken soft shelled eggs. Can they have too much calcium though??

 

[HennysMom]

Grit is for processing and breaking down things in the gizzard - not for making the shells stronger. For that you need Oyster Shell

I dont know if in OZ you call Oyster Shell "shell grit" but I'm going to assume since it says grit... its what we call grit, here in the US. If I'm incorrect, my apologies.

You dont have to worry about over feeding either one - birds will not over feed on one or the other, unless there is a deficiency - which it sounds like there is (lacking calcium) at the moment.

Go to the feed store and get some Oyster Shell - and leave it out - along with the grit - they will free feed as needed from it and should have access to both 24/7.

 

[pixie74943]

well in Aus our 'shell grit' is basically the same as your oyster shell.. least I hope so because from what I know of oyster shell its ground up seashell. Well the stuff I bought is ground up seashel, you can even see left over bits of seashell

and the guy at the fodder shop told me it was for calcium deficiency..

 

[HennysMom]

Well, it sounds like oyster shell then

I'd just put it in a dish and let them free feed as they need to - they know what they need and if they're gobbling it up, then they are needing more than what you're providing them.

Put some grit out too (its different than oyster shell) - unless they free range and arent cooped/penned up, they need access to grit if you're giving them any type of extras other than their layer feed. You can also give a little bit of all natural plain yogurt *no artificial sweetners* (1 tsp each) that has probiotics in it once a week, or 1 tsp of cottage cheese each as well (not yogurt and c. cheese together though, they'll get diarhea). It will help with the calcium as well as added protein and help with keeping them with probios.

Are you giving them any Apple Cider Vinegar in their water at all (the kind with the "mother" in it - not pasturized/distilled). You can add 1 tablespoon per gallon of water. This also helps keep them bright eyed and bushy tailed

(helps with health).

 

[willkatdawson]

hennysmom what do you mean the " kind with mother in it"? I hope I didn't buy the wrong kind. All natural right? Don't you love it "fodder store"

that makes the feed store sound so much better..

 

[HennysMom]

yes.... I do

Fodder store.. hee hee

The "mother" is all the slimy goopy stuff sitting on the bottom of the bottle.... ever seen apple cider, all natural, like in a country store, just pressed? They dont remove the "gunk" - so you shake it up. Same thing with the ACV, that gunk should be on the bottom.

 

[willkatdawson]

Great, thanks. I think I got the right kind then.

 

[Oopoo]

Hi,
I give my girls egg shells that have been "baked" at 250* for about 10 minutes, they start to turn a light brown. I cool and crush them up. At first they ate a ton of them and then I think they figured out that it is for calcium and not grit. I also use crushed limestone for grit as it has calcium in it. They are doing fine on both and I have not had any egg cannibals. Only 1 of my 6 hens has started to lay so I don't know what will happen when they all do.