Eggshells- Are they beneficial?

[branalex97]

I just started raising my two chickens and am switching them to "grown up" food based on what I have read here on the site. I was told to feed my chicks the eggshells from my eggs. I am doing that, after I dry them in the toaster oven and crush them. Does it really help? They seem to love it but want to make sure it is doing some good.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You can feed all the eggshells you want, just make sure there's always oyster shells available as well. The oyster shells take longer to digest than eggshells which means the calcium is available longer.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hens that are laying eggs need calcium for those egg shells. That calcium can come from chicken feed, calcium supplements like oyster shell or crushed egg shells, from some of the plants or creepy crawlies they eat, various treats you might feed them, or if you are in limestone country from the rocks they eat. To me it doesn't matter where it comes from. As long as the shells are firm what you are doing works. Your egg shells will tell you how you are doing in that.

The hen's body does not extract all the calcium that enters her digestive system. A fair amount passes straight through, which is one reason among many that chicken manure makes such good compost for the garden. Calcium is an essential nutrient for a lot of garden plants.

Is feeding eggshells back to the hens a benefit? That depends on how much calcium they are getting from other sources. If they are getting enough from other sources, not really. If you stop feeding them back for a couple of weeks and your egg shells are still hard, not really a benefit. If they are a little thinner, yes feeding the egg shells is a bit benefit. In any case feeding the shells back will not hurt them.