Egg shells

[MnBFitz]

Do you feed your chickens their egg shells? Why or why not?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Yes - I have always used them as a feed back - while they are not the best option for a calcium source they are one source that can be used and since I always mixed them into the oyster shell bin they still got plenty of the more absorpable calcium found in the OS. You'll often hear that doing so will cause egg eating, but given the drastic change of form between offering crushed egg shell and a whole, fresh egg in a nest box the actual chance of such a correlation is improbable.

 

[balloonflower]

I choose not to. Oyster shell is easy for me to get, inexpensive, and easier to store. I don't find it worth the time to dry and crush the shells and would rather just toss them in the compost.

 

[chickB26]

Good point

 

[MnBFitz]

Thank you! We have always fed our chickens the shells. I've heard pros and cons both ways.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Yes - I have always used them as a feed back - while they are not the best option for a calcium source they are one source that can be used and since I always mixed them into the oyster shell bin they still got plenty of the more absorpable calcium found in the OS. You'll often hear that doing so will cause egg eating, but given the drastic change of form between offering crushed egg shell and a whole, fresh egg in a nest box the actual chance of such a correlation is improbable.

X2

I offer egg shell and OS.
I bake mine - I just usually toss them on a cookie sheet and pop them in the oven when I'm finished baking. Not too long or too hot - burned egg shells stink (don't ask how I know this

)
Baking them makes it easy to store the extra in an airtight jar.

My girls will gobble them up, plus they do eat the OS too. I've found that my rooster will eat an occasional piece of shell, but won't touch the OS, so it may be a good source of calcium for the boys if you feed an all flock type feed (lower calcium) instead of layer pellets.