Do Eggshells Have Enough Calcium????

[Cindy in PA]

How long a bag will last will have something to do with how many chickens there are.

Good point. I have 12 chickens and 8 guineas. It still will last about a year.

 

[salt and pepper]

ok, thanks for giving me something to compare to

 

[nok13]

no problem. everytime u cook, save the eggshels and then either lightly toast them or nuke them int he micro... then pound or grind them up not to powdery then put some out in their scratch area, theyll eat what they want of it... saves money, uses shells

 

[lbrtyldy]

I just crush the egg shells up and throw them out to the girls. Is there a special reason for nuking, etc.?

 

[nok13]

dries the sticky eggy stuff that lines the shells and just makes it harder to crush them cause the pieces kind of stick together... just a bit, or toasting just to get that 'fresh' sticky eggy stuff off them... i actually crush them in a mortar and pestle as i dont have a food processor...

 

[(sub)UrbanCoop]

I feed my eggshells back to my hens. It really takes no time at all to rinse them and store them in a bowl under the sink. When my bowl is full I bake them, crush them, and feed them back to my hens. I probably bake my shells once every 2-3 weeks and have enough to fill a 32 ounce yogurt container half way (so over a month I can fill the container).

I have 2 backyard hens (at the moment) and feed them about 1/4 a cup every 4-6 weeks. So a yogurt container will last them 5-6 months or longer.

Here is a quick tutorial on baking the eggshells:

http://www.littlehomesteader.com/2012/11/a-use-for-everything.html

Really. Your hens only eat the eggshells if they feel they have a deficiency. So if they are foraging and have a good layer pellet/crumble they may only peck at the shells on occasion to remind them what's in the cup.

Totally worth 30 minutes of your time (approx) each month.