ABOUT THIS EPISODE
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The chick pulls much of its calcium out of the eggshell, so what the hen ate before she laid the egg matters long before it hatches.
Thin shells, soft shells, or chicks that don't make it: it is not always the incubator and it is not always shipping. Carey and I walk through calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D, why a hen needs all three, whether more oyster shell helps, whether chickens get vitamin D from the sun, and why vitamins in the water are a poor plan.
We also get into soil health and feed quality, what to ask a hatching-egg seller about their feed, whether roosters can eat layer feed, feeding through the seasons, and the concrete block grit and shell feeder. Our free vaccine and disease masterclass is coming to poultrynerdspodcast.com.
Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OnH4uyFxio
Blog with sources and studies: https://www.poultrynerdspodcast.com/2026-episodes/how-thin-shells-affect-incubation
Studies and resources mentioned:
Alabama Extension, Feeding the Laying Hen: https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/farming/backyard-small-poultry-flock-management-series-feeding-the-laying-hen/
Oregon State Extension, How to Feed Your Laying Hens: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pnw-477-how-feed-your-laying-hens
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SHOW NOTES 🔗
TRANSCRIPT 🔗
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when a chicken lays an egg and we incubate that egg, the chick actually will absorb a lot of the calcium out of the egg shell to use- in its own formation.
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always an incubator issue.
00:00:38.760 --> 00:00:40.640
It's not always a shipping issue.
00:00:40.650 --> 00:00:44.510
We've got to go all the way back to the beginning
00:00:52.082 --> 00:01:03.121
So there's this new thing that, I mean, it- it's no secret that we have some nerds that are doctors and veterinarians and stuff like that.
00:01:04.162 --> 00:01:13.442
So with that, there's a lot of discussion about vaccines and diseases, and is it this, is it that?
00:01:14.081 --> 00:01:35.521
And really and truly, you could post in a big backyard group, one set of symptoms and come up with 50 different diagnosises and probably 1,000 different treatments, and maybe only one of them will actually work, unless more than one person says,"Cull it."
00:01:36.201 --> 00:01:36.442
Mm-hmm.
00:01:36.451 --> 00:01:53.972
So, Jennifer had the idea to put together a vaccine disease masterclass-type deal- where we- we've got, examples, actual diagnosises.
00:01:54.972 --> 00:01:55.942
That was a funny word.
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how to fix it, what you can fix, what you need a vet to fix, and then, had the vet look at it to make sure that we're right, which, you know-
00:02:09.512 --> 00:02:18.431
It's all based on research and- Yeah it is divided up, but it is not going to replace a veterinarian's opinion.
00:02:18.532 --> 00:02:25.451
But dealing with birds, we do probably rely on ourselves more than most animals.
00:02:25.792 --> 00:02:40.651
But this masterclass will be free on the poultrynerdspodcast.com website, because we just want you guys to have the information that you need in a central location.
00:02:40.711 --> 00:02:52.231
It will be searchable, and hopefully it will have, everything that you need in order to work with your birds,
00:02:53.481 --> 00:02:54.352
Yeah, like we-
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better
00:02:55.042 --> 00:02:57.831
we really want people to get factual information-
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Mm-hmm
00:02:58.651 --> 00:03:04.262
that is science-backed, especially before you give your bird some kind of treatment.
00:03:05.391 --> 00:03:15.861
not that we don't trust the farmer two miles up the road that's had chickens for 30 years, but sometimes they can be wrong.
00:03:15.861 --> 00:03:15.991
So-
00:03:17.271 --> 00:03:20.073
So- there's a lot of things that people do that...
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and they don't realize.
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Mm-hmm.
00:03:21.542 --> 00:03:32.032
We see it on Facebook, and that's what kinda prompted this idea, was there's a lot of things people do that, create a lifetime egg withdrawal.
00:03:32.382 --> 00:03:34.572
And once you do it, you can't undo it.
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The bird is, it's done, basically.
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You can't eat the meat.
00:03:37.722 --> 00:03:37.882
Like the blue
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spray paint.
00:03:39.182 --> 00:03:40.472
yeah, yeah, blue coat.
00:03:41.073 --> 00:03:44.762
So you can't eat the bird, you can't do anything with the bird.
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And what will happen is you'll go to, say, the poultry auction, and you'll buy a bird, and you have no idea what the history of that bird is.
00:03:53.811 --> 00:04:06.562
So just kinda keep that in mind, and if you realize that those things are out there and that people do them to their birds, either knowingly or unknowingly, you don't know what you're buying.
00:04:06.921 --> 00:04:10.551
And, so we wanted to put this information out there.
00:04:10.931 --> 00:04:12.481
it's gonna be free.
00:04:12.612 --> 00:04:15.521
All you have to do is go to the website and search for it.
00:04:15.901 --> 00:04:20.823
And, hopefully it will help some people make decisions on what to do.
00:04:21.542 --> 00:04:28.412
Hey, before we get into today’s topic—make sure you’re subscribed to Poultry Nerds so you don’t miss an episode.
00:04:28.752 --> 00:04:35.322
And if we mention a study, product, website, or other resource during the show, check the episode description.
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We’ll put the links there for you.
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Alright, back to the nerds.
00:04:39.352 --> 00:04:40.072
All right.
00:04:40.391 --> 00:04:44.682
So let's talk about calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D.
00:04:45.272 --> 00:04:47.962
Why do chickens need all three?
00:04:48.632 --> 00:04:54.902
So does it not just help to throw more oyster shells at a bird?
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I mean, only if they eat it.
00:04:59.292 --> 00:04:59.822
Yeah.
00:05:00.022 --> 00:05:01.812
And they need calcium.
00:05:02.812 --> 00:05:07.342
But- Which chi- chickens are smarter than they think, okay?
00:05:07.451 --> 00:05:11.842
Oh, well, than a lot of people think, even though they do some really stupid stuff.
00:05:12.432 --> 00:05:13.712
I'll give you one example.
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The...
00:05:15.252 --> 00:05:19.222
I have a custom blend that is a breeder feed.
00:05:20.022 --> 00:05:38.132
Obviously, when you have a breeder flock, it's gonna be mixed Roosters need X amount of calcium, 1.2 to 1.3, and, non-laying hens need that too.
00:05:39.132 --> 00:05:50.112
Well, when they're laying, they need more calcium because they deplete it a lot, and I use the, oyster shells in the feed to bridge that gap.
00:05:51.522 --> 00:05:54.762
So, a hen ne- needs extra calcium.
00:05:55.242 --> 00:05:55.922
They'll eat it.
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If they don't, they won't They do need them all because the phosphorus really helps make them utilize more efficiently other minerals.
00:06:10.732 --> 00:06:13.462
So Yeah, different.
00:06:13.752 --> 00:06:14.382
they need it
00:06:15.182 --> 00:06:17.292
Do they get vitamin D from the sun?
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H- how?
00:06:20.422 --> 00:06:24.352
Well, the skin is still, I mean, the sun is still touching the skin and stuff.
00:06:24.782 --> 00:06:26.172
yeah, like during the molt.
00:06:27.232 --> 00:06:30.342
Well, what about their head and their comb and that kind of stuff?
00:06:31.342 --> 00:06:39.402
I mean, I highly doubt that they absorb anywhere near enough vitamin D that way.
00:06:40.032 --> 00:06:47.962
I mean, I don't even think people do unless they live in one of those colonies where people walk around all the time.
00:06:48.252 --> 00:06:50.532
And don't slather in, sunblock.
00:06:51.132 --> 00:06:51.532
Right.
00:06:51.912 --> 00:06:52.352
Okay.
00:06:52.362 --> 00:06:55.662
So calcium, we need calcium for the bones.
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Yeah.
00:06:56.391 --> 00:06:56.732
the eggshells.
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Strong eggshells.
00:06:58.902 --> 00:06:59.222
Yeah.
00:06:59.672 --> 00:07:00.462
Nerves.
00:07:01.462 --> 00:07:01.842
Yep.
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Cell function.
00:07:04.252 --> 00:07:05.152
That's how...
00:07:05.572 --> 00:07:22.052
So if a b- if a bird has all the calcium that it needs, that can also b- well, calcium and B vitamins both play a role in birds that act kind of psychotic.
00:07:23.072 --> 00:07:27.701
like when you first open the pen, you got some that start running around and going crazy.
00:07:27.701 --> 00:07:29.012
They get real flighty.
00:07:29.432 --> 00:07:29.872
Mm-hmm.
00:07:30.012 --> 00:07:33.482
And, act like they're gonna fly up and break their neck or something.
00:07:33.802 --> 00:07:34.242
Mm-hmm.
00:07:34.822 --> 00:07:47.262
They typically are deficient in, vitamin B, one of the vitamin Bs, or calcium or both.
00:07:48.262 --> 00:07:49.532
And you don't even realize it.
00:07:49.612 --> 00:07:58.932
But, like I've told people, you can't buy a supplement, mix it in your feed, and expect it to work miracles overnight.
00:07:59.932 --> 00:08:04.662
It's gonna take a couple weeks for those extra vitamins and amino acids to get into their bodies.
00:08:06.022 --> 00:08:10.182
But once they do, you're gonna notice different behaviors.
00:08:11.062 --> 00:08:13.532
you're gonna notice them not to be as flighty.
00:08:14.192 --> 00:08:15.802
They're gonna be more friendly.
00:08:16.442 --> 00:08:25.162
They're gonna get up under your feet and make you aggravated because you're fixing to step on them, because they wanna see you.
00:08:25.192 --> 00:08:26.182
They wanna have fun.
00:08:27.002 --> 00:08:29.102
But that's because they need those vitamins.
00:08:29.722 --> 00:08:31.162
See, I did not know that.
00:08:31.172 --> 00:08:39.572
So I sell birds to people sometimes, and they're like,"Oh, your birds are so crazy," and, or they do this or they do that.
00:08:39.881 --> 00:08:45.871
And I, look over at mine, and they're all, got their faces mashed up against the fence waiting for me to come over there and see them.
00:08:46.091 --> 00:08:46.741
They're like,"Hey, what are you doing?"
00:08:46.971 --> 00:08:50.631
I, I don't have that problem, so
00:08:50.782 --> 00:08:51.831
cause you feed good feed.
00:08:52.692 --> 00:08:53.682
Huh, never thought
00:08:53.841 --> 00:08:54.099
about it.
00:08:54.099 --> 00:09:02.229
I never thought about that either, until about four years ago, and somebody, helped me put the two and two together.
00:09:02.229 --> 00:09:12.509
And I was like,"Nuh-uh." And so I started, I changed the feed just to those couple of birds and nuh-huh.
00:09:13.509 --> 00:09:23.989
And, fast-forward a few years, and got a feed company, feed store, and supplement, and, All because I got tired of mixing a whole bunch of crap together.
00:09:23.999 --> 00:09:27.109
So- Or got lazy, however you look at it
00:09:27.479 --> 00:09:29.509
where do they get, phosphorus from?
00:09:30.509 --> 00:09:31.778
Hopefully from their feed
00:09:32.308 --> 00:09:32.788
Oh, okay.
00:09:32.819 --> 00:09:34.678
So it has to be added in.
00:09:35.678 --> 00:09:38.149
Well, I mean, they're gon- they're gonna eat it one way or another.
00:09:38.769 --> 00:09:56.788
birds that free range a lot do typically consume less feed because they're eating grass, bugs, whatever, and they're getting a lot of those nutrients, provided that your farm has those nutrients available.
00:09:57.408 --> 00:10:02.918
one of the problems that we battle in the South is essentially sucky ground.
00:10:03.949 --> 00:10:14.089
our ground is nowhere near as healthy as it is up North and, we have to do stuff to it, but we can fix it and get it that way.
00:10:14.668 --> 00:10:30.189
But if you have good nutrient-rich dirt and grow, like grass, just regular Bermuda, alfalfa, whatever grass, birds can, they can survive in that environment.
00:10:30.189 --> 00:10:30.359
Hmm.
00:10:31.359 --> 00:10:31.389
But
00:10:31.389 --> 00:10:31.418
that-
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They'll get their protein from the little b- the little bugs that are gonna be crawling all in the grass.
00:11:23.579 --> 00:11:25.408
No, they're vegetarians.
00:11:26.199 --> 00:11:26.869
Yeah, okay.
00:11:27.778 --> 00:11:30.379
Just like you need a rooster so you can have eggs.
00:11:30.889 --> 00:11:31.379
Uh-huh.
00:11:31.939 --> 00:11:36.679
Okay, so the phosphorus comes from, like natural plants and things like that?
00:11:37.369 --> 00:11:37.519
Yeah.
00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:37.869
Okay.
00:11:38.369 --> 00:11:38.778
All right.
00:11:38.789 --> 00:11:40.609
So what about vitamin D?
00:11:40.669 --> 00:11:44.979
Where is that If they're not getting it from, enough from the sun, where are they getting it from?
00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:47.089
their feet, feed.
00:11:48.089 --> 00:11:55.949
Jeff and I was talking the other day because there's a large number of people that love to put vitamins in the water.
00:11:56.949 --> 00:12:03.019
And do you know how many vitamins are actually water-soluble?
00:12:04.019 --> 00:12:06.429
Well, I know because you tell me, but go ahead.
00:12:07.429 --> 00:12:07.719
Touche.
00:12:08.379 --> 00:12:22.528
So if you spend that, like 70,$80 for that kilo tub, the two-pound jar-looking thing, that's got 100 different vitamins in it, that's cool.
00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:27.009
But if they don't drink it while it's in suspension, they're not gonna get it
00:12:28.009 --> 00:12:38.528
Okay, so this is gonna be sort of a tangent, but things that people don't think about is, you alluded to it, that the ground is not as healthy.
00:12:38.589 --> 00:12:42.929
If the ground isn't healthy, then the plants aren't as nutritious.
00:12:42.949 --> 00:12:51.939
If the plants aren't as nutritious, the feed can't be as nutritious, which means the birds don't get the nutrition they need when we feed it to them.
00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:52.778
Right.
00:12:53.419 --> 00:13:01.859
So it's important, I guess, to make sure that the ground is taken care of to grow the nutritious feed.
00:13:03.329 --> 00:13:14.479
I mean, y- everybody- It's a cycle will tell you, like all the farmers, the ones that are known for pasture-raised this, and I'm a member of APPA and I go to their conferences every year.
00:13:14.979 --> 00:13:28.289
That's the American Pasture Poultry Producer Association, and every seminar that I've sat in that talks about, it a- it all starts with the dirt.
00:13:29.289 --> 00:13:39.299
Because the dirt, you can plant whatever you want, but if the nutrients are not in the dirt, they will not transfer to the plant.
00:13:40.619 --> 00:13:54.459
And then the plant won't grow it and be able to give those nutrients to your chickens, your pigs, your cows, your goats, whatever you have grazing it and eating it.
00:13:55.459 --> 00:14:02.908
So i- it's very important, and in the South, a lot of it is acidic.
00:14:03.849 --> 00:14:15.879
So which I really hate that a lot of ag extensions is who people go to for their soil samples.
00:14:16.789 --> 00:14:26.989
they'll take soil sample and say,"All right, you put two tons of chicken crap per acre, and your stuff'll grow better." Well, duh.
00:14:28.219 --> 00:14:32.769
That- It's not gonna get worse, so yeah.
00:14:33.849 --> 00:14:47.139
But if you're in the South and your dirt is already acidic, and you put literally hot crap straight out of a chicken house on it, it's gonna be a little more acidic.
00:14:48.139 --> 00:14:50.649
And then your...
00:14:50.849 --> 00:15:00.269
what you're growing ain't gonna reap the benefits from it till, next year when the acidity level comes down, and that's assuming you don't put more crap on it the next year.
00:15:00.989 --> 00:15:23.329
more often than not, a pH test is as important or almost as important as a soil test because We have acidic there's people in the South that literally all they need is calcium carbonate lime on the, on their dirt to get the pH to, six to seven-
00:15:24.239 --> 00:15:24.359
Hmm
00:15:24.419 --> 00:15:25.429
to have healthy soil.
00:15:26.429 --> 00:15:31.579
Well, maybe you should test mine,'cause I'm fixing to disperse Mount Poopmore across my yard.
00:15:32.949 --> 00:15:33.569
I can do that.
00:15:34.109 --> 00:15:34.569
Okay.
00:15:34.839 --> 00:15:35.129
Well, we'll
00:15:35.129 --> 00:15:35.408
make a
00:15:35.408 --> 00:15:35.839
video about that.
00:15:35.839 --> 00:15:38.179
that's a service that we offer.
00:15:38.749 --> 00:15:59.449
we, we'll actually take small samples from all over, put them in a bucket that's been bleached so nothing from the outside gets in it to mess it up, and then we take your dirt and we mix it up real good, and then we fill the sample bag and send it to the lab.
00:15:59.459 --> 00:16:02.339
That way it's got a good mix of the whole area.
00:16:03.249 --> 00:16:09.569
So when you do get an answer, it'll be a good average, and you'll have better chances of it actually working.
00:16:10.509 --> 00:16:11.189
Interesting.
00:16:11.899 --> 00:16:20.219
But in the South, it is possible to graze animals and not buy hay If your dirt's healthy.
00:16:21.149 --> 00:16:25.959
Because people up north, they don't buy a lot.
00:16:26.179 --> 00:16:30.719
there's a lot of them up there that will make it and sell it down here.
00:16:31.719 --> 00:16:41.579
and, even My son and I have had this conversation because he's cheap, and he don't like spending money, and I tried to tell him about this.
00:16:41.899 --> 00:16:53.519
Texas has pretty good soil, and I'm like,"Well, why do you get cows You get cows from Texas, right?""Oh yeah, that's where the Beefmaster started." I,"Yeah.
00:16:54.269 --> 00:16:57.969
How much hay are they feeding out there?" none.""Oh.
00:16:58.859 --> 00:16:59.139
Hmm.
00:17:00.089 --> 00:17:07.378
Somebody probably They probably got healthy soil." I ain't spending that kind of money." we get in it every year.
00:17:07.778 --> 00:17:38.848
Last year, I did a five-acre plot there on his main farm, and I fertilized it like I wanted to, and I planted the cover crop like I wanted to, and I told him to keep stuff off of it for, 45 days after it was planted to grow, and don't let them eat it down below five inches, and keep them off of it again for 30 days.
00:17:39.979 --> 00:17:43.719
And if you could do that, I said it'll probably grow all year.
00:17:44.338 --> 00:17:45.019
Ain't no way.
00:17:45.528 --> 00:17:45.898
Yeah.
00:17:47.189 --> 00:17:51.538
Probably will It was the greenest part of his yard for two years
00:17:52.538 --> 00:17:53.398
Soil health.
00:17:53.788 --> 00:17:53.818
Mm-hmm.
00:17:53.828 --> 00:17:59.528
So that brings us back to our v- calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D.
00:17:59.998 --> 00:18:14.928
So when a chicken lays an egg and we incubate that egg, the chick actually will absorb a lot of the calcium out of the egg shell to use- Mm-hmm in its own formation.
00:18:15.418 --> 00:18:15.598
Right.
00:18:15.598 --> 00:18:27.228
So when we talk ab- when people ask, why didn't their chicks hatch, or why do they have these deformities, and we always say,"You have to go all the way back to the beginning," and this is one of the reasons why.
00:18:27.298 --> 00:18:28.888
Always an incubator issue.
00:18:28.888 --> 00:18:30.768
It's not always a shipping issue.
00:18:30.778 --> 00:18:30.808
Mm-hmm.
00:18:30.818 --> 00:18:49.688
We've got to go all the way back to the beginning, and that is why I feed your feed to my, animals that I sell the hatching eggs off of, because then my customers get the best possible hatch results.
00:18:50.148 --> 00:18:56.068
And that's a question that people should be asking when they're looking for sellers, what do you feed them?
00:18:56.388 --> 00:19:10.668
Because if they just feed them corn and they're in a cage, well, those eggs may not be as good to be used as incubating eggs as they would be just maybe for eating eggs.
00:19:11.198 --> 00:19:22.308
Well, and like our friend Brittany, the quail lady from Freedom, Freedom, bluh-lah-lah, Freedom- Freedom Flyers Flyers, they've got quite a few quail.
00:19:22.528 --> 00:19:23.048
Mm-hmm.
00:19:23.318 --> 00:19:38.938
And they make their feed on the farm, and they mix corn meal, soybean meal, and a vitamin premix that is specifically designed for their feed.
00:19:39.438 --> 00:19:44.148
it takes half to corn meal, half of it soybean meal.
00:19:44.558 --> 00:19:56.448
What you get from that, this vitamin mineral mix is all the other stuff to get it where it needs to be, and that's why, she has really good hatch rates-
00:19:56.948 --> 00:19:57.298
Mm-hmm
00:19:57.308 --> 00:20:02.588
which, her smallest incubator or hatcher only holds- 56,000.
00:20:02.898 --> 00:20:03.508
Yeah, I know.
00:20:03.658 --> 00:20:04.478
They're huge.
00:20:04.908 --> 00:20:05.018
So-
00:20:06.068 --> 00:20:06.458
Okay.
00:20:06.458 --> 00:20:16.608
So it's very important to make sure that just because you have thin shells or something one thing off, you have to look at the whole big picture.
00:20:16.618 --> 00:20:16.638
Yeah.
00:20:16.638 --> 00:20:26.208
This is one more ex- this is one more example of just sitting back and looking the whole big picture can answer a lot of questions.
00:20:26.598 --> 00:20:34.728
And so the last thing I'm gonna ask you, because it's always so controversial, can roosters- Oh eat laying feed?
00:20:35.688 --> 00:20:36.218
I hope so.
00:20:37.218 --> 00:20:40.212
If not- mine would be dead.
00:20:41.022 --> 00:20:41.912
Mine too.
00:20:42.152 --> 00:20:53.772
my brood fowl, whether it's a large fowl, game fowl, turkey, like during breeding season I feed them breeding feed.
00:20:55.012 --> 00:21:11.512
And, like I said before, mine uses the oyster shells for extra calcium, so the roosters, even though they do dumb stuff, they're smart enough to know that they don't need it, so they'll eat around it.
00:21:12.012 --> 00:21:12.522
Mm-hmm.
00:21:12.542 --> 00:21:24.202
it's just y- you feed the same stuff and you'll have times where there's lots of rocks in the bottom of your trough, and then you'll have times where there's none.
00:21:25.502 --> 00:21:29.732
Because, they don't need everything right then.
00:21:30.692 --> 00:21:30.982
Right.
00:21:30.992 --> 00:21:31.002
A-
00:21:31.012 --> 00:21:33.002
and they're smart enough to know that.
00:21:34.342 --> 00:21:40.492
And we cycle off, they don't get laying feed when they're not laying.
00:21:41.262 --> 00:21:43.662
we both- Mm I think, cycle off.
00:21:43.742 --> 00:21:49.682
And so in the off season, like my turkeys have already switched all the way over to off flock.
00:21:50.192 --> 00:21:56.122
And as everybody stops laying and they're going through the molt, everybody will be switched over to off flock.
00:21:56.532 --> 00:22:04.932
And then when laying season picks back up again in late December or so, then they all start switching back over to layer.
00:22:05.292 --> 00:22:06.552
So it's a-
00:22:07.372 --> 00:22:13.212
And like for me- it's an ebb and flow I'll use the, developer on young birds.
00:22:13.212 --> 00:22:17.632
I'll use the conditioner developer on birds that aren't laying.
00:22:18.682 --> 00:22:36.702
And when they start laying, if I still got half a pallet of developer, then I'm going to my, grow out and I'm gonna put me a scoop of eggshells in the other side of the cement block.
00:22:37.622 --> 00:22:46.672
And- That's what, that If they need extra calcium, that's where they're gonna get it until I change it- Yeah to where the extra eggshells is already in the feed.
00:22:47.122 --> 00:22:47.672
Mm-hmm.
00:22:48.692 --> 00:22:57.292
So, and, for those of y'all that haven't seen that before, I actually straight up hijacked this from our friend Gina over at Rather Farms.
00:22:58.042 --> 00:23:00.292
You take a concrete block and set it on the side.
00:23:01.692 --> 00:23:04.882
I mean, for chickens it's practically indestructible.
00:23:05.932 --> 00:23:15.902
You fill up one side with grit, fill up the other side with egg, air, I mean oyster shells, or eggshells and oyster shells, whatever, and when they need it, they get it.
00:23:16.852 --> 00:23:17.352
Mm-hmm.
00:23:17.842 --> 00:23:24.892
When it rains, the rain goes through it and cleans it out, but it doesn't make it spread out and go everywhere.
00:23:25.312 --> 00:23:25.852
Mm-hmm.
00:23:25.962 --> 00:23:27.282
So works pretty good.
00:23:28.052 --> 00:23:28.512
Yeah.
00:23:28.552 --> 00:23:29.842
Yeah, we're terrible salesmen.
00:23:30.842 --> 00:23:32.152
Here's a concrete block.
00:23:33.292 --> 00:23:34.812
So, yep.
00:23:34.882 --> 00:23:44.182
Yeah, I mean, I had a guy look at me funny the other day because he wanted something that I had already priced, and I chose not to carry it.
00:23:44.392 --> 00:23:53.102
And I told him, I said,"Well, the best place around here that I know to go get that is Tractor Supply." And he looked at me kind of funny.
00:23:53.102 --> 00:23:59.632
He's like,"You're gonna send me to Tractor Supply?" I said,"Dude, they have 50-pound bags of lime for five bucks.
00:24:00.292 --> 00:24:01.282
I can't compete with that.
00:24:02.022 --> 00:24:18.942
I'm not gonna try, and I feel wrong charging you$7 to$8 for it here when it's right up the road for a lot less." But- Even though I have insomnia, I still sleep good at night.
00:24:19.942 --> 00:24:33.912
Okay, so basically the moral of the story is just spend the money on quality nutrition, not on gadgets, like cement blocks, and grit feeders.
00:24:34.282 --> 00:24:34.302
Yeah.
00:24:34.362 --> 00:24:35.852
So we, I think-
00:24:35.972 --> 00:24:38.712
Oh, yeah, don't ever buy a grit or oyster shell feeder
00:24:39.582 --> 00:24:48.362
I think from the beginning of our podcast we have harped on spend the money on infrastructure and nutrition.
00:24:48.792 --> 00:24:48.812
Yeah.
00:24:48.822 --> 00:25:00.862
And we've never said,"Hey, go find the, find this$10 feeder because it's fantastic." I mean, we have some that we really like, but at the end of the day, I still use a lot of buckets.
00:25:01.622 --> 00:25:15.212
I'm gonna tell you right now, I got some feeders that cost a lot more than$10, but that's because a 10-foot long piece of gutter is more than$10.
00:25:16.052 --> 00:25:17.012
Mm, there you
00:25:17.942 --> 00:25:17.962
go.
00:25:17.962 --> 00:25:17.992
God.
00:25:18.302 --> 00:25:22.072
And it's really hard to cut a six-inch piece of pipe in half.
00:25:22.632 --> 00:25:23.492
It is really hard.
00:25:23.492 --> 00:25:24.042
We've done it.
00:25:24.832 --> 00:25:25.672
Makes a great feeder, though.
00:25:25.682 --> 00:25:25.732
All right.
00:25:26.072 --> 00:25:35.412
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