VERY deformed egg!

[Eggs4Sale]

Quote:
That's what I was thinking, too. I keep my bag o'oyster shell in the can o'lay crumbles and just dump out a small pile in a random place, near where I lay out crumble lines. There is always one or two hens who go for it, particularly the Rhode Island Red, but most of them ignore it. I guess threehorse's explanation solves that little mystery.

If you put it in a separate little pile, at least you can see which hens show interest.

 

[threehorses]

I do a few things - sometimes I put some in the feed, sometimes I toss it out to try to get interest, and always I have a little two-hole cat feeding dish that I got from the dollar store -I keep grit in one side, oyster shell in the other side. I have to stir it up every week or so just to make it look more interesting. Funny - when I got new hens and I put the oyster shell in their feed once, they really picked out every bit piece by piece.

It made me really feel better.

 

[Mystyk13]

Thanks! I will definitely start offering it seperatley as well.

 

[rockymom]

I have tried putting out oyster shells for my girls and they do not touch them. I have resorted to baking and crushing their old shells and feeding them back. Any suggestions about the oyster shell? I tried to break them down because they seem kind of big pieces, but they are really too hard to break.

 

[Eggcessive]

I have tried putting out oyster shells for my girls and they do not touch them. I have resorted to baking and crushing their old shells and feeding them back. Any suggestions about the oyster shell? I tried to break them down because they seem kind of big pieces, but they are really too hard to break.

This thread is about 9 years old, and you might get more replies if you start a new thread of your own. Do you feed layer feed? That has plenty of calcium, and the crushed oystershell that you put out is available for them if they need extra. My hens always will eat the finely crushed eggshells more eagerly than the oystershell. You might shop around for a brand of oystershell that is more finely ground. I get mine usually at TSC.