Whole oyster shells ok for chickens?

[southernsibe]

Is it ok to give whole oyster shells to the birds? They have pecked what was left of the oyster out. Do the shells have to be cracked up?
Thanks
Rachel

 

[brooster]

Yes, they have to be ground up into small pieces.

 

[southernsibe]

Does anyone have any ideas how to go from whole oyster shells to pieces?
Rachel

 

[silkiechicken]

Large mill? No idea, but they shells would be good as a side supplement in it's own dish if they could swallow pieces of it.

 

[arlee453]

Put them in a bag. Take a good hammer and a rock or extra cinder block or something else solid like that (not your concrete driveway unless you don't mind chips out in the concrete)

Color a picture of your most irritating individual on the bag.

Now, smash smash smash with the hammer. Good exercise for you, maybe even some good agression therapy....AND nice small pieces of shell for your chickens...

 

[mdbucks]

dont think about me or you will have oyster shell dust.

 

[Gonzo the Great]

Quote:
I've used that technique on several accounts and seems to work great!

 

[countryentertainment]

or you could go to the feed store and ask for a bag of crushed oyster shells for you chickens. Or throw them in the driveway and run over them when you come and go with the car. There are some things not worth the time you spend doing them, or only worth doing once to say you did it, this sounds like one of those things to me!

 

[Gonzo the Great]

Better yet! Toss them onto a heavily traveled road and then wait an hour. Of course, you risk the addition of steel belted radial residue to your hen's diet!

 

[Redfeathers]