Feeding Boiled Eggshells? (Chickens and Coturnix Quail)

[HipMystic]

Can I feed my birds the shells from hardboiled eggs? Do they need to be fed as-is, or can I go ahead and bake them for 10ish minutes to dry them out to store longer?
This is mostly for my quail, as their shells are much thinner than I’d like, but I’m curious for my chickens as well

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You can feed them once you peel if you wish.

Me...I like to bake them, even if it's hard boiled shells, makes them crispy and they crush nicely. And baking them does dry them well so they can be stored, but I usually don't accumulate that many at a time to store, I just give them the shells once they are cooled.

I bake all my shells, usually just pop them in the hot oven when I've been baking something and just turn off the oven and let them sit until the oven is cold. I even have an old dedicated baking sheet that I toss shells onto after I rinse them so they are ready to go.

Some folks don't bake them at all, so it's really up to you.