Feeding back eggshells for calcium - how I do it!

[yyz0yyz0]

I am new to chicken rearing and have some hesitations feeding egg shells back to the chickens. I've read in other forums and blogs that this practice might encourage chicken to eat their own eggs. How true? Has anyone experience this? Or is it completely ok to feed my gurlz with eggshells?

It's not the feeding of shell that can be the problem so much as the shell looking like an egg. If the shell is almost whole so it looks like an egg then at some point they may look at a fresh egg as food and once they start it's hard to stop.

As long as the shells aren't nearly whole it is normally no problem.

 

[pdirt]

I'm new to this whole chicken thing so about everything that I do for them I learned from you all! I always love seeing how everyone does things. This is one little thing that works well for me, so thought I'd share:

I like the idea of feeding eggs back to the chickens. Its re-using of resources and best of all its free! Also, my chickens aren't too keen on the oyster shell.

I don't like the idea of just setting raw eggshells out in the coop to grow bacteria and mold, so this is how I do it:


Then I start a new bag.

Its not rocket science, but just a little sumpin that works for me!

Leslie

 

[jstlitlome]

Well I'm glad to hear I'm not totally crazy! lol

We go through about 6 eggs a morning (us and the dogs) , and if I throw them out into the run each day, they dont all get eaten. This really doesnt take much time and they do like the shells better than the oyster shell. Plus they are free!

 

[Hooky56]

Hi
Just share with you that we wash are shells and then break them up on a baking tray and toast in the oven while cooking dinner then feed them to our birds they love them toasted