Grit vs Oyster Shell (Two Different Jobs)

Grit and oyster shell look similar but do different jobs. Grit is insoluble crushed granite. It sits in the gizzard and grinds whole grains, seeds, bugs, and coarse forage the bird cannot chew (chickens have no teeth). Any bird eating anything other than pure crumble needs grit, offered free choice in a small dish. Free-range birds pick up their own from the ground. Chick grit (fine) for chicks, adult grit (coarse) for grown birds. Oyster shell is soluble calcium carbonate. It dissolves in the gut and supplies the calcium a laying hen pulls out of her bones every 24-26 hours to build the next eggshell. Offer it free choice in a separate dish, never mixed into feed, so only the birds that need it eat it. Do not force calcium on chicks, growing pullets, or roosters, extra calcium damages developing kidneys. Crushed eggshells baked at 250 F for 10 minutes and crumbled work as a free oyster-shell substitute. Sign a hen needs more calcium: thin, wrinkled, or shell-less eggs.