Using OYSTER SHELLS as GRIT?? Or more bad advice from feed store??

[ruth]

We have 4 feed stores in our small town that started as a farming community and still has a lot of farms. All 4 stores sell only oyster shells. They too all looked at me like I was crazy when I asked for "grit". However, our feed stores are run by men who know what they are talking about and are also farmers and/or raise chickens and deal with farmers every day. What I've learned is that we, here on BYC, treat our chickens like human children and have come up with all sorts of rules, regulations, requirements for raising them that real farmers just laugh at.

Chickens that have access to the ground apparently don't need "grit" because they get it in the form of dirt and sand. They oyster shells not only supply calcium but are an excellent source of grit because well, they're oyster SHELLS. I don't know how long it would take them to break down oyster shell but I know that here in Louisiana we use them for roads and driveways and they never wear out. I'm betting oyster shell stays in the gizzard for a long, long time. It's also nice and sharp and jagged so I think it would do as good a job or better than sand in breaking up food.

Point is relax a little and let your chickens be chickens. They have survived a million years without all the pampering and special provisions.

 

[silkiechicken]

If your birds are on green grass or sifted soil in the city, you'll need to get grit since they can't find it on their own. I've never bought grit for my birds since they are on the ground early in life and there are literally 4 commercial truck loads of gravel on top of 4 previous loads of gravel on the ground they get to scratch through.

Then if someone is a commercial farmer, their chickens often do not eat treats like our birds and they won't need grit when on only processed feed. Generally I think most of the people on the board fall into the pampering category and will buy stuff for their birds larger scale people wouldn't.

 

[wegotchickens]

Spoiled? Our birds are spoiled? Yeah, but we also have big shiny happy birds. Why not spoil them. For most of us here, these are pets. And we want the best for our pets.
As long as we don't kill them with kindness, I think offering both grit and oyster shells is okay.
I haven't given mine any grit since they left the brooder, but DH wishes I would since they're eating the pea gravel around our fire pit.

 

[silkiechicken]

Yeah, we should all be offering oyster shell since free range birds might not get as much as "mimimum requirements" per the bag. Just have to make sure they are getting grit from some source wither it be us or the ground.

 

[MayberrySaint]

If you are using calcium chips (instead of oyster shell), it works as grit, also. Ruth is also correct that oyster shells can function as grit. The only birds that really need grit are younger pullets that don't have access to oyster shell or grit. If they are free-ranging, then they don't need it either. Of course, it won't hurt if you give grit...

 

[SandraChick]

Yea...but I believe that oystershell will break down faster than grit and I wouldn't want them to overload on calcium...

And what about the rooster? He doesn't touch the oystershell.

Now, I free range, so I don't need grit......but I know they're picking up little rocks (I open the gizzard when I butcher my extra roos to see what they've been eating and see if they look healthy).

By the way...pigeon grit works fine.

Sandra

 

[spottedtail]

Why not just offer both shell and grit?
Neither are expensive, they never spoil, they don't take much storage space, and a bag will last a long time.
The chickens will consume it or leave it as necessary.

But I do agree about some feedstore salespeople.
They obviously know very little, yet speak with authority when recommending the wrong feed to career farmers.

spot

 

[MonkeyZero]

I have heard that oyster shells are NO subsitute for grit.

 

[kelli120]

I went through the same 2 days ago, I am lucky enough to live by 3 different feed stores, but at all three I get conflicting information about grit/oyster shell/sand, feed and everything else.

I finally decided to pick the last place and when I told them what I needed one bag of layer feed, 3 pounds of oyster shell and 3 pounds of grit, the clerk said grit??? whats that? So I explained to him that, that is what I found out I needed from a chicken raising forum on the internet and he gave me the strangest look.....like "ooooohhkaayyy"

So then he asked the manager and he said the same, oyster shell acts as grit and they don't need both. Needless to say I'll be going to pick up some grit anyways from somewhere else.