What did our great grandparents do about oyster shell?

[simba49450]

hi chirpy,

they didnt have that stuff way back then and your right the shells were hard enough, normal grit is what the birds digested. oyster shell is overrated and true it makes the shells very much harder than giving them just plain ole grit. if you have shells that are way to hard then the chicks have a harder time breaking through. chicken factories that produce eggs for the store is givin oyster shell for transport thats just what they do. i have never given mine oyster shell and never will. my last flock that i had never had a prob with thin shells and they never had it. people dont agree with me on the oyster shell debate. but unless you are planning on shipping eggs they dont need it. over the years companies have developed this theory that oyster shell should be offered. all it is really in a nut shell is a way for these companies to make money and people fall for it. but for the people who use it more power to them if they choose to use it.

 

[silkiechicken]

They asorb cacium from oyster shell just like they'd asorb any other mineral or viatmin. It get's slowly ground up in the gizzard like sharp rocks at the edge of the ocean and the acid internals eat away at the shell particles just like it would happen if you placed a hand full of shells in a jar of vinegar. That way the dissolved calcium can be asorbed in the gut.

As for to give or not to give. Ask 5 people and get 10 answers on the "best" "right" "ideal" ways to feed.

I offer it free choice and all is good on this front. Mom back in china never fed the chickens anything other than scraps, but they did not get 6 eggs a week per hen nor were the birds ever healthy enough or allowd to live past 2-3 years old, when we know here, on a good diet, birds can live into their late teens.

 

[seminolewind]

Thanks for the reply.
I threw some out yesterday, and it has been picked at.

 

[Village Farm]

Quote:
They get the calcium out by dissolving it, the same as you do. Stomach acid is VERY acidic and calcium is highly reactive with acid (for a demo, toss some chalk into some vinegar). Quite a lot of the shell will come out the other end of the chicken, but they are able to obtain the calcium they need by absorbing dissolved calcium. No further crushing needed.

 

[Leah-yes I know I'm crazy]

seminolewind wrote:
I can't understand how chickens get the calcium out of the shell pieces. Those shell pieces are so hard-they ruined my food processor, I was trying to grind it up. I finally resorted to rolling the car tire over a bag a few times. So how?

I still don't know how. Does anyone out there know?

I would say putting them in a bag and mashing them with a hammer. Might try heating them somehow. Most everything breaks easier when hot, like nuts is what I had in mind.

I think they scrape it off the shell bit by managable bit the same way a parakeet does. It's more like licking an icecream cone and less like taking a bite out of an apple.