how old should chicks/chickens to eat egg shells?

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The age for extra calcium (egg shells)  is when the start to lay.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarbear12345678 

i know how to cook the egg shells crush them up and put them on a stove and cook them for 30 min at 200f but how old should chickens be to like eat them? is there age limit? cause i dont what them to get sick if i feed them the egg shells at a wrong age!! thanks!!

OK, I'm curious.  We are starting to save and crush egg shells - the girls should be laying any time now (15 weeks old).  But this is the first I've ever heard about cooking them!  Does this improve the calcium, make them taste better, or what?

There are two reasons to cook egg shell.  One is kill any germs on them. Two is that they dry and can store better.  The heating does not make the calcium in the shells any more available.  Some do not cook them at all. 

I tried baking the eggshells a couple of times thinking it would make them easier to crush, store etc. But I found it kind of messy and an inconvenience, so I went back to just tossing them in the scrap bucket and never looked back. I certainly don't worry about "germs"--there's nothing on 'em but their OWN germs, anyway, and they are eating their food off the same litter they are pooping in. Americans confuse "sanitary" with "sterile" way too much IMHO, and sterile is not healthy for any animal. Chickens need "germs" to be healthy--and so do we!
 

Eggshells are a good source of calcium for the laying hens.  I've been told to crush them well so they don't resemble an egg.  You don't want the girls to recognize what the source is because they will start eating their eggs and then we lose!

Given that chickens like to eat bugs, worms, carrion, dig through compost and horse/cow poop to find nuggets and maggots, I don't think germs is one their bigger concerns.