Commercial Egg Shells?

[Studio2770]

One of our girls, Clara, just laid the first egg yesterday and laid another today!

I feel another egg coming from her and/or Fiona tomorrow. Since they lose calcium with each lay, I want to give it back. I hope to eat the 2 fresh eggs tomorrow and feed them the shells, but we only have 2, the rest are from the store. Will they be fine if I feed them the shells from the store? We do have a treat bag that contains calcium too. Also, can ya'll give me any easy methods to prepare the shells?

 

[redsoxs]

You should give them free choice crushed oyster shell for calcium - this is available in farm & ranch stores. I suppose feeding them egg shells would work but I'd make sure they were crushed up - the last thing you want is chickens pecking into the eggs they lay so make sure it's is crushed and no longer resembles an egg.

 

[countrygoddess]

I just crush the empty egg shells so they're unrecognizable to them so as to avoid egg-eating, then just feed them back to them. Good question about feeding store-bought eggs. Not sure I would trust them. Those may be the ones I bake in the oven first.

You mentioned calcium in their treat bag. That's good, but even better is to have available a hopper or feeder that always just has oyster shell in it and nothing else. Your girls will eat just what they need to keep their serum calcium level just where it needs to be on a day-to-day basis.

 

[Studio2770]

There is a TSC near us, we got our chickens there and I hope to get oyster shells. I already planned to crush the shells to reduce that egg eating risk. Any other opinions on feeding chickens store bought egg shells?

 

[Melinda48]

I think I read (on this site somewhere) that crushed egg shells are fine. I sure hope so! I've been crushing mine and adding them in to the girls' treats!

 

[Studio2770]

I'm just hoping I can feed them the store bought egg shells since we have 12 of those and only 2 fresh eggs. I can't believe it! Clara is in the box AGAIN.

 

[Melinda48]

I'm sure they'll be fine with the store bought shells. They don't know the difference. We've had our girls (from Tractor Supply) since mid May. We have 12 and are getting 10-11 eggs a day now. I have just begun selling them.

 

[Melinda48]

We mix the oyster shell right in with their feed. Works just fine. No egg eating issues so far. We went to the MO State Fair yesterday and it was great fun to actually see (and be able to identify) many of the chicken breeds I have only hears or read about. Could not get over the size of some of them!

 

[Studio2770]

I had a feeling they would be fine with store bought. We got a third egg. Fiona may lay her first egg.

 

[nab58]

I Fed my hens crushed store bought shells until I had enough of their own eggs. I whizzed them with the food processor (I have a mini) and fed alone and mixed with plain yogurt. They gobbled them up like they needed the calcium.