I know chicken grit has been discussed a lot here, but I have a question and my searches have provided no good results.

I bought 40lbs of starter grit from a local feed store many months ago. When I started washing it last weekend (it was reeeeeaaaally dusty) I noticed that it must be crushed oysters and not granite. I say that because I found a little piece of oyster shell that didn't get ground up enough (it was about the size of a nickel).

Is there any issue with using oyster shell based grit versus granite based?

I don't think the chickens care one way or the other

Sorry couldn't resist that one LOL! No I don't think it makes any difference.

Considering some use real dirt and greenery on their layout I do not see any difference if it is oyster shells. Stone is not organic but those other items are. Once ballasted it should be fine.

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Is there any issue with using oyster shell based grit versus granite based?

Only to the oyster.......

I knew I'd get some cracks over this. But yet I had to ask. I'm a glutton for punishment.

I did notice that when wet it had a slight odor. Not a problem since I have no intention of keeping a wet pile on the layout.

Drying this stuff inside instead of out in the sun takes a bit longer. I put it into the bottom of a few rubbermaid totes and then let a fan blow over it all. It rained the other day so there was no point in leaving it all outside to try to dry in the rain.

I think this is probably the ONLY way I will deal with oysters aside from buying the Mrs. some pearls some day.

Crushed oyster shells do not look like real ballast.

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Originally posted by DennisB:
Crushed oyster shells do not look like real ballast.

Actually, for the most part it looks very good. It's a bit white, but I have a few containers of grey & black ballast that I'm blending in.

Right from the feed store it has a nice salt & pepper look and appears almost the same as some of the commercial ballast the local train store sells.

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Originally posted by Sofasloth:.....I think this is probably the ONLY way I will deal with oysters aside from buying the Mrs. some pearls some day.

I don't know about chicken grit oyster shells but this is how I deal with those succeulent bi-valves.

We eat them all winter.

This is probably more than you wanted to know about chicken grit, but the grit itself (normally crushed granite) is used in the chicken's gizzard, half way down the esophagus, to help them grind the food they eat (despite what some jackalope believers think, chickens don't have teeth to do this). In nature chickens (and other birds) would swallow small stones and rocks, but in a chicken coop these are hard to come by.
Oyster shell is feed to chickens for the calcium (normally to egg layers), again in nature they can get it from other areas, but without calcium egg shells get really soft and leathery.

It is possible that you have either one of two things... The producer of your grit either purposely mixes granite and oyster shell and therefore killing two birds with one stone (you knew a pun had to get in here sooner or later), or they make both products and since neither are harmful they don't always clean out the grinder in between batches.

As long as it looks good, I wouldn't worry too much about it. I have some granite grit I plan to use when I get that far (50lbs. for $3.50 is a good price to me) and if I need to darken it up, I'm going to use a trick out of Rich Battista's video: http://www.blackdiamondrailway.com/index.html and put some on a large sheet of paper, spray a light coat of black paint on it, shake it around and keep doing so until I have the color variations I'm happy with.

wild mary,that is a BEAUTIFUL thing!!

...keep the rails polished...

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Originally posted by wild mary:
I don't know about chicken grit oyster shells but this is how I deal with those succeulent bi-valves.
We eat them all winter.

Such a shame to see those two lemons contaminated by those "things." Are you sure someone didn't sneeze on your plate?

More power to you if you can eat those, especially raw like that.

If you haven't tried it, you don't know what you're missing.

I had a dozen oysters last night and 2 failed!!!

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Originally posted by John Devlin:
I had a dozen oysters last night and 2 failed!!!

John, I bet those oysters weren't from the Chesapeake Bay either. We only eat them in months that have an "R". But hey 10 out of 12 ain't too shabby. BTW they're great in a Bloody Mary.

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If you haven't tried it, you don't know what you're missing

Oh I tried them and they get about half way down my throat and my brain reminds me how they look like boogers and up they come LOL!

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Originally posted by VaGolfer1950:

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If you haven't tried it, you don't know what you're missing

Oh I tried them and they get about half way down my throat and my brain reminds me how they look like boogers and up they come LOL!

HA! Exactly how I see them. Oysters & clams, no thank you. Too many reminders of bronchitis side-effects.

I'm open minded about many foods. I tried calamari while in Spain (never again will I eat that!). I love seafood, but not all of it. The worst thing is that I love shrimp but when I turned 30-ish I developed an allergy and now I cannot eat it or it could kill me. Funny thing is that I can eat crab & lobster with no problem (other than I cannot afford them anymore), so it's not a total shellfish allergy.

Back to the ballast. I did notice that after washing for dust removal, as I turn the grit around to make sure it's dry, it generates new dust. The color is good, but I will be spraying with flat black (98 cents a can) to darken and take the shine off some pieces that have it. If I need more I can get another 10lb bag for $1.50 down the street from my office. When I need money to help pay for the kids to go to preschool, I'll sacrifice some on the layout to help.

It may not be commercial, but it looks as good as some that I have seen in local shops and it was good enough to be on a layout in one of the current CCT magazine layout articles.

There's no need for justification. As long as you are happy with the chicken grit, nothing else matters. It's your railroad empire.

May, June, July, and August do not have "R". 8 months a year.

How about "play sand"?

I have been using chicken grit for a number of years(15). I do not worry about the dust. When you wet it down and glue it in place after placement, the dust is no longer a problem. I have never had a problem placing it because of dust. IMO washing the grit before using is a wast of time.

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Originally posted by trains41:
I have been using chicken grit for a number of years(15). I do not worry about the dust. When you wet it down and glue it in place after placement, the dust is no longer a problem. I have never had a problem placing it because of dust. IMO washing the grit before using is a wast of time.

After what I have gone through this week with the cleaning I would agree with you. All the work to clean and dry and the stuff just generates new dust. There may be less than originally there, but there is still dust.

There's a prototype for everything. New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal, opened around 1951, was ballasted with sea shells. Yes, sea shells.

I went into the station aboard a BNSF Super Bowl special in 1997, and the evidence was still there, though the ballast was somewhat poorly-maintained.

Please, heed the warning on the bag about breathing in the dust from chicken grit. It's carcinogenic.