Calling all chicken experts! ANOTHER Question...

[miss_thenorth]

FWIW, I toss out my egg shells as soon as I crack them. I dont dry them, crush them--nothing. The girls come runing and munch on them. I have NEVER had an egg eater. They wil eat eggs if they are low on protein in their diets.

 

[lwheelr]

If oyster shell does set up (and it can from moisture), just hammer off a chunk and throw it in anyway. Chickens are good at breaking up things and will peck off what they need anyway.

We no longer give our cage chickens grit. We just toss in dirt instead (more natural, way cheaper, everyone wins). And out here, that means chunks of hard, dry clay. It doesn't stop them at all, the lumps disappear rapidly.

 

[i_am2bz]

Well, I put maybe a 1/2 cup of oyster shell in a bowl around noon...they all rushed over, pecked for a few seconds (probably out of curiosity more than anything), then quickly went back to their corn on the cob. Let's see how much is gone when I check on them around 4:30...

They got grit when they were chicks still living inside, but their pen has a dirt floor so stopped when I moved them outside.

BTW, 3 nice eggs today!

 

[lwheelr]

They won't need much of it - It really doesn't take much. If one is low, a few stones is all she'll need.

 

[i_am2bz]

Ok, cool. At that rate, this 50 lb bag will last me 27 1/2 years...

 

[lwheelr]

Well, sometimes they see those calcium stones as an easy way to get grit... So they may gobble them faster than you think they need as they get used to having them there.

We have a 50 lb bag also, and it should last us a year at the current rate of usage, for 11 chickens and some chicks in the brooder.