Rant: my neighbor says hens dont need oyster shells if they free range, is she right or am I wasting $12 a bag

David Walker · 2026-09-29T14:05:11.564716+00:00

Talked to my neighbor Deb over the fence last week and she swore her 9 hens have laid hard shelled eggs for 3 years without a single bag of oyster shells since they roam her yard all day. Ive been buying a $12 bag every 6 weeks at the feed store in Canton and now I dont know if Im just burning money or if her birds are one bad week from soft shells. Anyone here actually ran both ways with the same flock and seen a real difference, or is this one of those things that only shows up when it goes wrong?

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Rant: my neighbor says hens dont need oyster shells if they free range, is she right or am I wasting $12 a bag | Backyard Chicken Keepers - HW Forums