Oyster shell vs egg shell

[CityFarmerRob]

Oyster shells stay in the body longer so they are available especially during nighttime when birds don't eat, but need the calcium to apply the egg shells to the egg their body is working on.

Egg shells are more delicious to a chicken, but they are broken down quickly. It's okay to offer both. Hens don't often eat much of the oyster shells, but they should always be available free choice.

I was curious about this myself, thanks for the info!

 

[CityFarmerRob]

I was going to say the same thing. I just leave egg shells on the side in my kitchen for a couple of days. They dry out on their own and then I bash them a bit into smallish bits (not dust, but pieces the same as oyster shell grit) which takes half a second and then I give them to my flock in a bowl.

Easy peasy, no work involved and they help themselves to what they need.

I believe the only danger in getting eggshells to your chickens is not crushing them or grinding them up enough. From what I have seen and understand chickens are a very visual creature as in monkey see monkey do or in this case, chicken see and chicken do. When one chicken discovers something is good to eat, it doesn't take long for the rest of them to catch on. And if the pieces of shell are too big and the chicken on some level recognizes that the shells that are yummy are the same shells that make up the eggs and then you can get a chicken that starts breaking the eggs just for the shell and the yummy. And then that is a whole other problem. But I'm sure someone disagrees, so go ahead and let me have it.

 

[Chicalina]

I believe the only danger in getting eggshells to your chickens is not crushing them or grinding them up enough. From what I have seen and understand chickens are a very visual creature as in monkey see monkey do or in this case, chicken see and chicken do. When one chicken discovers something is good to eat, it doesn't take long for the rest of them to catch on. And if the pieces of shell are too big and the chicken on some level recognizes that the shells that are yummy are the same shells that make up the eggs and then you can get a chicken that starts breaking the eggs just for the shell and the yummy. And then that is a whole other problem. But I'm sure someone disagrees, so go ahead and let me have it.

I don't think chickens are that bright to put two and two together! If the pieces are too big, they just break them into smaller ones. Yes if an egg breaks in the coop they will eat it, and occasionally an odd thin shelled egg or a shell-less one goes this way because it is easily broken by being jostled in the nest box comings and goings or stood on.But they view whole eggs as eggs (to be either abandoned or brooded) not food.

This is my chickens anyway and I've never had an egg breaker in 17 years to my recollection. Others have as I read about them on here but they are rare.

I also give oyster shell because giving them their own eggs isn't enough. It seems a waste of their body resources to throw eggshells away doesn't it?

 

[K0k0shka]

I believe the only danger in getting eggshells to your chickens is not crushing them or grinding them up enough. From what I have seen and understand chickens are a very visual creature as in monkey see monkey do or in this case, chicken see and chicken do. When one chicken discovers something is good to eat, it doesn't take long for the rest of them to catch on. And if the pieces of shell are too big and the chicken on some level recognizes that the shells that are yummy are the same shells that make up the eggs and then you can get a chicken that starts breaking the eggs just for the shell and the yummy. And then that is a whole other problem. But I'm sure someone disagrees, so go ahead and let me have it.

Broody hens eat the shells of the eggs after the chicks hatch, and those shells only break in two halves, so they resemble an egg a lot more than crushed shells do. And yet hatching chicks doesn’t turn hens into egg eaters. Eating their own shells is literally part of their nature, and nature has ensured that this act won’t sabotage their reproductive success by turning them into egg eaters. The hens that do start eating eggs are rare and are probably responding to the insides of the egg, like if one broke accidentally and they saw what was inside. I highly doubt it’s the shell that’s doing it - because they are meant to eat it after the chick hatches, to replenish their bodies’ reserves, without that becoming a problem.

 

[mossyoakpro]

I would be a sad, sad person without oysters! Lol. But I remember helping my grandmother crush those oyster shells. That is a lot of work. L

You are welcome to mine too....I have yet to get used to the texture.

 

[CityFarmerRob]

Broody hens eat the shells of the eggs after the chicks hatch, and those shells only break in two halves, so they resemble an egg a lot more than crushed shells do. And yet hatching chicks doesn’t turn hens into egg eaters. Eating their own shells is literally part of their nature, and nature has ensured that this act won’t sabotage their reproductive success by turning them into egg eaters. The hens that do start eating eggs are rare and are probably responding to the insides of the egg, like if one broke accidentally and they saw what was inside. I highly doubt it’s the shell that’s doing it - because they are meant to eat it after the chick hatches, to replenish their bodies’ reserves, without that becoming a problem.

I was afraid it was feeding them back eggshells that would have had some egg residue still in them. And I have a hen that was breaking eggs to get to the yummy innards and I had to remove her, she seem to break the eggs in other nesting boxes actually caught her in the act of pecking the egg and scratching at it. It would make sense that nature would have its own safeguards to ensure survival of the species. Maybe like you said, it was just an odd bird.

 

[K0k0shka]

I was afraid it was feeding them back eggshells that would have had some egg residue still in them. And I have a hen that was breaking eggs to get to the yummy innards and I had to remove her, she seem to break the eggs in other nesting boxes actually caught her in the act of pecking the egg and scratching at it. It would make sense that nature would have its own safeguards to ensure survival of the species. Maybe like you said, it was just an odd bird.

Egg eaters suck, especially when they start teaching the others! But I bet she would've still done that even if you'd never fed her eggshells. Even people who feed oyster shell (or only use layer feed with no other calcium) report the occasional egg eater, so it can't be the egg shells... just bad luck...

 

[puddle_drinker]

I'm a fan of re-using egg shells. We use an old pair of blue jeans to accumulate egg shells, the foot holes are sewed closed. Once it's mostly full we stomp on the blue jean shell bag over a couple of days, until the pieces are relatively chicken bite size.

Storing the excess egg shells in the blue jeans bag allows them to dry out and the bag is tough enough to allow the eggs to be crushed in the bag that holds them.

 

[K0k0shka]

I'm a fan of re-using egg shells. We use an old pair of blue jeans to accumulate egg shells, the foot holes are sewed closed. Once it's mostly full we stomp on the blue jean shell bag over a couple of days, until the pieces are relatively chicken bite size.

Storing the excess egg shells in the blue jeans bag allows them to dry out and the bag is tough enough to allow the eggs to be crushed in the bag that holds them.

I used to have a bag for crushing purposes, until I realized how strangely satisfying it is to crush them by hand So now I crush fistfuls of shell and then store them in a large glass jar.

 

[puddle_drinker]

I used to have a bag for crushing purposes, until I realized how strangely satisfying it is to crush them by hand So now I crush fistfuls of shell and then store them in a large glass jar.

I crushed them by hand for a short time, but it's SO much more satisfying to crush them under foot in a bag made of old jeans. Although I think there is a chicken math multiplier that should be applied if you are incorporating egg shells into your chicken yard.