when to give chicks oyster shells??

[ElaynasChick]

Hello! my chickens are now 13 weeks old and i heard that chickens will start to lay when they are 16-18 weeks so we are getting pretty close!! since they are getting close to laying when should i give them oyster shells for the calcium that they will need?? and when should i open up the nesting boxes (i blocked them of so that they would not think it is a place to sleep or something)?? also i am not switching them to layer feed i asked about it a while back on this forum and for various reasons i will not be giving them layer feed. Thanks guys

 

[mskluck]

Hello! my chickens are now 13 weeks old and i heard that chickens will start to lay when they are 16-18 weeks so we are getting pretty close!! since they are getting close to laying when should i give them oyster shells for the calcium that they will need?? and when should i open up the nesting boxes (i blocked them of so that they would not think it is a place to sleep or something)?? also i am not switching them to layer feed i asked about it a while back on this forum and for various reasons i will not be giving them layer feed. Thanks guys

I would offer it now. Chickens instinctively know what they need. Make it available for them in a dry place. In my coop I have like a feeding dish with 2 compartments. It screws into a wall. Keeps it clean as long as its above the breast so nothing gets flung out and no poop accidents in the dish.

 

[SueZ 24]

I think that it would be best if you waited until you got your first egg to give them oyster shell so they don't get too much calcium and make sure that even though you aren't giving them layer feed that the food has enough good nutrients to lay eggs efficiently. Also, I would open up the nesting boxes soon so they get used to them and know that they can go inside and don't make themselves nests on the floor.

 

[mskluck]

Hello! my chickens are now 13 weeks old and i heard that chickens will start to lay when they are 16-18 weeks so we are getting pretty close!! since they are getting close to laying when should i give them oyster shells for the calcium that they will need?? and when should i open up the nesting boxes (i blocked them of so that they would not think it is a place to sleep or something)?? also i am not switching them to layer feed i asked about it a while back on this forum and for various reasons i will not be giving them layer feed. Thanks guys

I would leave it open with a fake egg to "train" them. Most birds prefer to perch at night.

 

[ElaynasChick]

I would leave it open with a fake egg to "train" them. Most birds prefer to perch at night.

okay so open it now and place fake eggs in it?

 

[ElaynasChick]

I think that it would be best if you waited until you got your first egg to give them oyster shell so they don't get too much calcium and make sure that even though you aren't giving them layer feed that the food has enough good nutrients to lay eggs efficiently. Also, I would open up the nesting boxes soon so they get used to them and know that they can go inside and don't make themselves nests on the floor.

okay i feed them purina non-medicated chick starter so i think that will be okay along with the oyster shells

 

[ElaynasChick]

I would offer it now. Chickens instinctively know what they need. Make it available for them in a dry place. In my coop I have like a feeding dish with 2 compartments. It screws into a wall. Keeps it clean as long as its above the breast so nothing gets flung out and no poop accidents in the dish.

oh you keep the feed in the coop? i keep the feed, water, and grit in the run in that okay? i leave nothing in the coop (also half of my run is covered so that is where i leave the feed, water, and grit, and by half i mean about 20ft out of the 40ft)

 

[chickenlittle21]

I think that it would be best if you waited until you got your first egg to give them oyster shell so they don't get too much calcium and make sure that even though you aren't giving them layer feed that the food has enough good nutrients to lay eggs efficiently. Also, I would open up the nesting boxes soon so they get used to them and know that they can go inside and don't make themselves nests on the floor.

Agreed

 

[Lizzy733]

At that age, they should have moved to chick grower by now. When they will come into lay depends heavily on the breed. If they are your typical sex-link egg laying machines, then around the 18 week mark is accurate - could be a few weeks before or after, but 18 is the average. For heritage breeds, you will be waiting a bit longer - average is 24 weeks.
If they are sex-links I would strongly recommend putting them on a pelleted feed which includes calcium around 17-18 weeks and start offering oyster shell in a side dish now as they will not over-indulge. An egg a day is very demanding on them and you are likely to run into nutrition issues with just loose grain feed and calcium on the side - they're like people and don't always eat what's best for them :/ There's a bit more lenience with other breeds that lay less as they aren't expending so much on keeping egg production up.
If they are roosting consistently, you can make nesting boxes available now with fake eggs as they will investigate and remember this as a safe place to lay.
You should notice a distinctive shift in their behavior when they are getting close to lay. All of mine went a bit stir-crazy, were anxious constantly, became much more vocal and wanted to explore outside the run as much as possible. When they are a week away from starting, you may see them exhibiting lordosis, or 'squatting' behavior.

 

[rosemarythyme]

You'll get varying responses. You can provide oyster shell now if you want or hold off until after the first egg. But I'd open up nest boxes now because 1) the birds need time to explore the boxes before they use them 2) if you do get birds wanting to sleep in them, better to figure it out now (before there's eggs) so you can remedy the issue before it becomes a problem. But if all the birds are roosting happily that shouldn't be an issue.