[steaders]

Another newby question if I may. Well 3 really

Do hens need osyster shell and grit or does one replace the other. Also do you add it to the layer pellets or provide it seperately. And finally how much do they need.

Thanks

(hopefully I will be able to help others soon) 

[Vember]

Hi Steaders

They need both, oyster shell for the calcium (helps make the egg shell) and grit to grind up the food in the crop/gizzard
You can get it all mixed together I think but I buy separate and have a dish of each down 24/7 for all my birds topping it up as and when necessary


sarah

[Aunt Sally]

Just as Vember says. 

I mix the two together and leave a feeder with it topped up all the time.

[steaders]

Thanks for the info Sarah and Aunt Sally.  Is it a special type of grit or will the Garden Centre stuff do?

[joyfull]

Instead of oyster shell you can also wash and bake their own egg shells, crush them up and then feed them back to the hens for the calcium - the ultimate in recycling 

[steaders]

Joyfull, as soon as I get some eggs I'm gonna try this. I'm very keen on this recycling lark.
Can't wait for the little darlings to arrive (Sunday). Must get some Grit

[scabs]

Instead of oyster shell you can also wash and bake their own egg shells, crush them up and then feed them back to the hens for the calcium - the ultimate in recycling 

I've started doing this... 

[lightyears]

i was gonna ask the same question as the OP, saved me the time, thanks!

[Tricky]

sorry to highjack but ive got a question regarding this subject. i went to the animal feed place and asked for grit and oyster shell,  explaining what it was for, and the bag of shell ive got just looks like broken sea shells about 5mm across in size, my question is, is this the right thing to give them and the right size?

[dizzylizzie]

hi, i hope it is cos thats what ive got! i use the oyster shell and the poultry grit. they are in seperate bowls that are in the run 24/7. they dont seem too interested in it so i scatter it around the ground ..then they eat it. i also put the egg shells onto a baking tray in the bottom of the oven whenever its on, grind them witha pestle and mortor and mix with their feed, they eat them no problem like that!

[Tricky]

So when you ask for oyster shell what you really get is just broken sea shells from other small sea going / snail / clam type things and not oyster shells? Please excuse my ignorance.

[hillfooter]

The grit is crushed gravel if the garden centre stuff is small pebble gravel it's not what you want. 

Get it from a feed merchant and you can get a 1kg bag for around £1.  Lifes too short to spend it crushing egg shells.  It takes 200 eggs shells to get a kilogramme and heaven knows how much electricity or gas to bake them.  I don't suppose you have that many hens so you're going to have to save a lot of egg shells over a long time with the risk of breeding pathegenes is not to be ignored.  Alternatively you'll need to bake them in small batches.  There's a small danger you'll encourage egg eating too.  This isn't smart use of recycling effort or of energy generally, get a life and a quids worth of mixed grit and spend the time you save watching your chickens that's why you've got them.

I've kept chickens for over ten years now and have kept between 6 and 40 birds and I've just started my 4th kilogramme bag of mixed grit that's how much you need.  Calcium ( which can be got from oystershell) is already in their feed if you feed a compound layers feed and they will probably scrat up enough insoluble grit from the ground for their gizzards so any you give is just insurance.  If you want to create the impression they are using it big time mix it in their feed and they'll chuck it out and you'll go though it much quicker that way.

Regards

[joyfull]

Just a quick note hillfooter the baked and crushed egg shells are not to replace the grit but are instead of the oyster shell, it is a fed with their layers pellets and is finally crushed so not identifiable as an egg - thus not encouraging egg eating. I bake mine weekly (we get through about 2.5 dozen eggs a week at least here) and put them in my oven when my roast is in (we have one every week not always on a sunday - so no extra energy needed).
ps I do have a life thanks 

[dizzylizzie]

same here Joyfull.. our chickens eggs shells are baked whenever my oven goes on....which is everyday cos i have a family to feed!(and egg shells to bake)  i use the egg shells cos it would be a shame to waste them....and my compost benifits with all the lovely chicken poo!, but like all responible chicken owners i also have grit and oystershell available should they choose to have a munch.....now where did i put my life....i had it somewhere i know i did!

[joyfull]

think you lost it as soon as you got them chickens