Young chickens oyster shell dilemma

[Mouthpear]

I have had many, many youngster try out the shell grit, and never, ever had a problem from it.
How many chicks have you had that got stunted?

None since I don't feed them calcium (other than what's in the starter). Stands to reason.

 

[JuliosRun]

I was just wondering if anyone has actually seen them eat any significant amount of it. I never have. I imagine the amount they would eat wouldn't cause any harm to them at all.

Why haven't you? Maybe because people don't do it. Maybe people learned. Much like you don't hear about people dying of bacteria in the water here in the states at least, much. Why because, people have learn not to drink stuff that hasn't been treated, like the city water. City water being the starter feed.

When Not to Add Calcium

"Young birds should never eat high calcium diets. Having more calcium than they can adequately absorb causes damage to their kidneys and therefore can shorten their lifespan."

So the calcium in the starter feed = regular diet, plus any extra = high

 

[JuliosRun]

I was just wondering if anyone has actually seen them eat any significant amount of it. I never have. I imagine the amount they would eat wouldn't cause any harm to them at all.

Excess calcium intake has been shown to reduce growth and feed efficiency and to increase bone ash and bone strength in growing chickens. Source and level of dietary phosphorus have been shown to affect calcium tolerance. The effects of high calcium can be largely explained by its effects on intestinal pH.

 

[Brooks_]

read post #30

That does not explain how access to oyster shell is high calcium.