Egg shell calcium suppliment

[Hopeful homesteader]

Has anyone tried grinding up egg shells as a calcium supplement for themselves? The idea popped into my head so I looked it up and it suggests using shells from hard boiled eggs and grind it into a powder and either put it in capsules or sprinkle it on food. Says just half an egg shell meets the daily requirement of calcium for an adult and it's better absorbed than over the counter supplements but also contains other beneficial nutrients and proteins. Curious to hear others experience if you've tried this.

 

[Ponypoor]

Have crushed the egg shells and fed before, but found I was too lazy to do this.... And I didn't eat enough eggs haha!

I buy crushed oyster shells (pullet size) and feed that with Grower ration, much easier to put out a tray of that and also mix with their feed.

 

[Hopeful homesteader]

Have crushed the egg shells and fed before, but found I was too lazy to do this.... And I didn't eat enough eggs haha!

I buy crushed oyster shells (pullet size) and feed that with Grower ration, much easier to put out a tray of that and also mix with their feed.

I'm referring to human supplements, not for chickens.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I've never personally done it, but egg shells are actually very popular in collagen supplements as well because of their collagen content.

 

[Ponypoor]

Hmmmm

I'm referring to human supplements, not for chickens.

interesting concept, I would say that as long as you can crush it fine enough and you can ingest it, you stomach acids should do their magic to dissolve it for absorption.

Personally I just take pill form again that lazy thing

 

[Hopeful homesteader]

Hmmmm

interesting concept, I would say that as long as you can crush it fine enough and you can ingest it, you stomach acids should do their magic to dissolve it for absorption.

Personally I just take pill form again that lazy thing

Using a blender would make it easier, I've got a magic bullet blender with a milling blade that would get it down to a powder real fast. Idk where to find empty capsules to put it in so sprinkling it on food or mix it in a spoonful of honey seems the easier route. When I told my mom about it she said that's how everyone took calcium when she was young on her dads farm before pills were widely available and not everyone could afford it. I was surprised to find this was a "thing" really is interesting finding stuff like this even if you don't end up using it, always good to know alternative options.

 

[KRack]

Has anyone tried grinding up egg shells as a calcium supplement for themselves? The idea popped into my head so I looked it up and it suggests using shells from hard boiled eggs and grind it into a powder and either put it in capsules or sprinkle it on food. Says just half an egg shell meets the daily requirement of calcium for an adult and it's better absorbed than over the counter supplements but also contains other beneficial nutrients and proteins. Curious to hear others experience if you've tried this.

I was just looking in to this today, and wondering the same!

I was actually looking in to making a toothpaste with egg shells for my dog.

I've found a couple of articles where people used this toothpaste too, and had great results! I think I'm going to give it a try, and continue to look in to using the shells as a supplement as well. One article I read said ingesting 1/2 tsp (crushed to powder after boiling) for adults was safe, but another warned about calcium supplementation containing high levels of toxic metals (aluminum, mercury, etc.). So I still need clarity on this aspect.

I'll be following along in case someone more knowledgeable joins the conversation! Thanks for starting this thread!

 

[jher77]

it suggests using shells from hard boiled eggs.

Probably because that would kill the germs on/in the eggshell. I microwave egg shells before giving back to the chickens, if I decide to give them any.

and grind it into a powder.

That would make it more easily absorbed by the body.


It probably isn't going to harm you as long as you kill the germs on the eggshell first.

An eggshell contains about 94% calcium carbonate which should dissolve, given time, with an acid.

 

[MasterofNone]

I am a bit late to the party here, but I did this for a time when I was a broke 20-something to ensure that my dogs were getting enough calcium with their (rather cheapo commercial) kibble. I couldn't afford 'good food' for them at the time, so I read a lot about dietary supplements and gave them extras. In fact, one of the reasons I am getting chickens this year is to help with dog feed again.

Anyway, so I rinse the shells well with water (till the membrane or anything that might go foul later is gone. Then lay them out on a sheet of parchment paper or waxed on top of a cookie sheet. I would have to check the temp I baked at (its been a few years and me memory ain't what it used to be), but it was a relatively low temp - 250°F, I think.

Then bake the shells for 20 min to an hour. The whole purpose of this is to make them brittle and kill off any lingering microbes. You don't want to char the shells tho. Then I roll up the wax paper with the egg still in it and use a mallet to smoosh them to bits. Great time to vent any aggressions you might have simmering. Then just funnel them into a clean canning jar with a lid to store like any other herb.

Finally I would measure out what I needed for my nutritional blend mixed with brewers yeast, sea kelp, and a few other healthy goodies and sprinkle it on the dog's food each day. They always, at least, tolerated it. I, on the other hand, hated it. Added to food it was a step above eating dirt, so gritty. Blech. Maybe I needed to grind it much smaller, but I didn't have a food mill at the time. Part of the problem was that I was only dealing with a dozen-ish egg shells at the time, so it was a lot of effort for a small reward. If I have enough shells it might be worth it. Maybe now that I have chickies and a food mill I will try again. Calcium supplements are not cheap.

 

[Wolfie2]

I feed all back to the hens.
Figure they need it more than I do.