We have been keeping dirt in the pen for our 2 month old chicks who are growing fast and seem to have most of their feathers already .
We bought oyster sheels and want to know if they can have them yet or if they need them .
Thanks .
When to Feed Oyster Shells ?
Also do ducks [couple months old]need oyster shells ?
they are for calcium, so it depends on the kind of duck, will they lay eggs? do they forage?
i don't think chicks need them till a month before htey start laying. and if they free range well, they may never eat them at all, but best to have a pan out in case. certain breeds are better at foraging, and some have higher or lower nutritinal needs, and some lay more eggs than others...
can't remember your kinds of chicks, i would say at about four months of age.
Thanks Tamara .
They are bantams, not sure what kind, but they don't have feathers on their feet and the stand up fairly straight.
I will continue to put a little dirt in their pen.
This evening they get to roam around some in the net temporary pen we made. It is 25feet long and about 5 ft.wide.I bet they will like their first outing.
Sorry for not posting much lately, but I have been ill .Getting old is one new ailment after another it seems .
sorry about you rhealth. take care.
Thanks but it is just one of those things .
Am I paranoid or am I being ignored by the others ? Tamamra ,you are the only one who has replyed to me in awhile .And I appreciate it.
If I said or done something I wish they would tell me what it is.
Cliques can take away individuality and ruin a website, hope thats not what is happening here.
Hi whatsup--the only reason I didn't comment is I was waiting for the same answer--my 16 week olds should start laying in a couple weeks (hope, hope) and I was wondering when I should start giving them crushed eggshells for calcium--also am gradually moving them onto layer pellets. From what I understand you don't want to give them extra calcium too early because it can cause metabolic problems. And you don't want to change them suddenly from chick to layer. But even though I know these things, I want to hear what people who have actually done it say. All I've got is book-learning:0)
So in answer to your concern--you just ask questions we don't know the answers too. But tf always does!
Hi Cats, I don't give much advice yet because I'm affraid it may be wrong . But soon as I learn, then I can pass it on to others.
Thanks for the help, it has been a real adventure getting birds before you have knowledge.I had them for short while several yeras ago, but then we had to give them up for awhile.
People here have been very helpful .
Hi, whatsupdoc, the only reason I don't post too much is I don't have very much to say (yeah, right).
If I have an answer to a question, you can be sure I will post it. But until then, I am "lurking" around. BTW, TF is a very helpful person.
GG
OK, you guys, cut it out! [embarrassed]
whatupdoc, when your quesiton is in the topic title, people who don't have time to read all the threads may miss it if either they don't need that info or can answer it.
now, the threads that are complaining or joking or bragging, well then EVERYBODY has something to say LOL, or when an opinion is requested, then LOOK OUT!
but ask a simple question and then *some folks* just sit back and wait for tamarafaye to come inside out of the heat and spill out her brain onto the keyboard....
my sense of humor is back, must be the nice increase in humidity, coupled with the lack of high temps,,, AHHHHH!
If you spill your brain out onto the keyboard, does it go into that white bucket? Just wondering, LOL! ; 0 )
how 'colorful' tf.....spilling brains onto the keyboard.....invokes all kinds of vivid images...know what you mean though....lol
whatsupdoc....I saw your question too, but didn't know the answer. I was waiting as well. :)
Tf, your answer clarified why my intellligently thought out and extremely valid questions always have to be bumped up:0). Or maybe y'all just don't like me.......don't answer that!:0)
If you feed your chickens a good layer feed, you don't need to give them any oyster shell. It's already in the feed. You don't need to give them layer feed until they start laying.
That was what I had read--that you don't need to start giving them layer feed until they start laying--but I don't want to keep buying the brand of chick starter that group is use to--and if I am going to change their feed (which is suppose to be stressful) within the next two weeks I may as well do it integrating the layer pellets. I can't get pelleted chick starter--so they are going to have to learn how to eat pellets as well--not something they seem very enthusiastic about.
I am just going to offer them baked and finely ground eggs shell because I can't stand throwing them out and I have too many for my vermiculture bin. I bought some eggs from an egg factory-outlet and the shell are so thin they are almost transparent. You barely touch them to the rim of a bowl and they shatter--the yolks are very small too. Hopefully these will be my last store bought eggs.
What all my chicken books say is not to give them layer feed or extra calcium until after they start laying, that it is harmful to give them too much calcium when they don't need it.
Its what my books say too....I'm just trying to be practical. They free range most of the day so I don't think adding the layer pellets gradually will overload them--and when I say gradually, I mean it. You can hardly find the pellets now--but they just aren't interested in it. I don't want to change them suddenly and hopefully by the time they are laying (should be in 2 weeks) they will have adjusted to eating pellets. Right now they won't eat them at all.
Hi all, Sorry for acting silly, and I was just being paranoid.
It has been a trying month .I am now spending lots of time on another site to see how to fight this new illness I just found out last week I have .I am first to ever have sugar problem in either side of my family.The meds they gave me make me sick and I'm trying to find out how to do without them.
Actually, whatsupdoc, I feel the same way sometimes when I post something and no one replies. Like, did I ask the wrong question? Just forge ahead. The answers are out there.....And being sick just makes you feel more vulnerable. Hope you figure out the best way to treat it!
Hey whatupdoc...I'm new here....but I hope you find the best way to treat what you have too. I know being sick is no fun, and I hate to see anyone go through it! I hope you can find the answers you are looking for!
Catscan....you mentioned baking and grinding up your eggs shells.....I have heard this a couple of times now. I just give my shells to my 'girls' whole.....do you know why they should be ground up? Do they digest them better or is so they don't start eating eggs? If so, I'll have to start doing that. Like you, I can't stand to throw anything away! Just wait, your very own fresh eggs soon! I know waiting for those first one's can seem like forever and having to buy store ones can seem like torture.....but I bet you go through the roof with excitement when you get your first couple!! I know I did! : )
I am so excited ladybugs! Last time I got to this point, my pullets all turned into roosters and I had to start all over again.:0)
Yes, the reason for grinding them up is so they don't get the idea that they should eat eggs. I am baking mine because they come from the grocery store and so are from battery chickens--and that is usually the source of salmonella in eggs. Don't want to inoculate my babies. Probably not likely, but it makes me feel better.
oh my goodness, what a blow! You have been waiting a double long time then....can't wait until you say the first one has been laid!
I think I probably at least better start crushing them up....I don't wanting anyone to get any
funny ideas!
Thanks for replys yall.
My ducks won't eat anything but grass and duck starter .Is this normal ?
We have offered them everything the chics eat .
yeah, sounds about right.... you might want to consider leaving some areas unmowed for them...
Ducks and geese prefer green things like lettuce, grass, dandelion greens. I also tried kale on mine and they ate it but seem to like the lettuce better. I don't give them iceberg lettuce cause that is very low in nutrition. I stick to the really green ones. My ducks also love earthworms.
A little while ago I was carrying some zinnias to plant in my garden. The geese saw me and thought it was food for them! I suspect there is a lot they would eat in my garden if they could get in there!!!!
MollyD