Egg shells.

[Athiena14]

Is feeding egg shells to your chickens okay? I know a few people do it and I've done it on occasion, but could this cause them to start eating their own eggs after laying them?

 

[azygous]

Feeding egg shells to hens will not cause them to eat their own eggs.

However, offering only egg shells as a calcium supplement isn't adequate. Hens need more calcium than they can get from an few egg shells. Oyster shell is much better or should be given in addition to egg shells.

Also, it's best to completely dry out the egg shells in your oven before giving them to the chickens as bacteria can very quickly form in wet egg shells.

 

[lazy gardener]

I used to rinse all the albumen out of my shells, dry them thoroughly, microwave them, and grind them. Now, I simply put them in a bowl on the counter. When I have a bowl full, I toss them into the run. If I'm not in a hurry, I may stomp on them to break them up a bit. Best practice with egg shells: use only your own (otherwise, I WOULD sterilize them) leave the shells in fairly large pieces, and feed later in the day. This allows best calcium absorption to benefit the next day's eggs.

 

[Athiena14]

Feeding egg shells to hens will not cause them to eat their own eggs.

However, offering only egg shells as a calcium supplement isn't adequate. Hens need more calcium than they can get from an few egg shells. Oyster shell is much better or should be given in addition to egg shells.

Also, it's best to completely dry out the egg shells in your oven before giving them to the chickens as bacteria can very quickly form in wet egg shells.

They mostly get oyster shells.

 

[IamRainey]

leave the shells in fairly large pieces

How does the size of the pieces make a difference? I've been doing the same thing you initially did. Why is breaking the shells down a mistake?

 

[lazy gardener]

B/C studies have shown that larger pieces stay in the bird's gut longer so that more of the calcium is absorbed.

 

[IamRainey]

Thanks for that! I will relax my efforts to work them down to a meal.

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

I personally like to hard boil my small eggs, chop them, shells and all, and feed them to my flock. They love it!