Does anyone ground eggshells up and add them to their chicken feed???

[go-veggie]

Someone just told me to do that so my hens get extra calcium and produce eggs with really nice, hard shells. She said that some eggs can be soft when there isn't enough calcium. Is that true? I'm sure the food I buy for them, along with some table scraps, gives them plenty of calcium. I will definitely do it, but I want to make sure it won't give them a "taste" for their eggs or something and then they start eating their eggs, which I heard they might do anyway... Any thoughts on that?

 

[Linda in San Diego]

Once my girls have started to lay I will add toasted ground egg shells to the grit and stuff they will get. In fact, there are several egg shells waiting to be "toasted" right now.

But I am not sure how fine the shells need/should be ground.

 

[lizardz]

Yes, I feed extra calcium to my girls. I save the egg shells, wash them out, then bake them in the oven at about 200 degrees for 10 -15 minutes. After they cool, I grind them up - they don't have to be too fine. I put them in a dish and let them help themselves as they see fit. While the layer feed does have some calcium, it's usually not enough for those hens that are really good layers.
Note: I ususally save up a bunch of eggshells and do them at once. I store them in the freezer until I'm ready to do up another batch. Hope this helps you.
Liz

 

[cthrash1]

I crush them and sprinkle them on the ground in their run. They love it.

 

[yotetrapper]

What is the reason behind cooking them??

 

[lizardz]

Quote:
You don't want your hens getting a taste for normal eggshells - could lead to them eating their eggs on a regular basis.
Liz

 

[Grindlefamily]

what if they are hard boiled to begin with? Are those considered already cooked??

L

 

[priszilla]

they grind better cooked

 

[ruby]

My mom taught me to toast the eggshells, then grind them up so the don't look like eggs. I've been doing this for many years.