Feeding EGG shells

[Doormantnt]

Just need some advice....how should/can I feed the shells back to them....
I don't want to create egg eater, and I know they should be dried, but just let them sit, and air dry, or slow bake to "dehydrate". I tried that once, and WOW egg shells get as brittle as glass. Or can I just crush them up so that they don't resemble eggs, and to worry bout drying?

Need some pointers...thanks in advance...

TNT

 

[dacjohns]

I don't see any problem with feeding the shells back to the chickens. We've never had any problems.

Some people dry, some people don't.
Some people dry by baking, some people air dry.
Some people crush, some people don't.

We used to dry and crush. Now we just throw them in the compost pile.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

I dry them out, crush them, then mix them into their grain feeder. Many folks just throw them back to the birds as-is.

.....Alan.

 

[SurprisingWoman]

Like others said,

sometimes I air dry, sometimes I don't.

Sometimes I crush them, sometimes I don't.

Sometimes they are mixed with egg that I have cooked, sometimes they aren't.

 

[Doormantnt]

thanks for the replies..

I'm thinking, just air dry the shells, then free choice like oyster shells?? but mixing with daily scratch will probably work to. Trial and error with everything else..LOL..

Thanks
TNT

 

[HEChicken]

Whenever I use an egg, I place the shell on a tray that I keep in my oven. When I'm going to use the oven, I pull the tray out, cook/bake, turn the oven off, then put the tray back in the oven. The residual heat as the oven is cooling off is all the egg shells need to be thoroughly dried out. Then I crush them and store them in a jar. I don't mix the shells in with their feed but offer it free choice in a separate container that is available all the time. When I notice the level is getting low, I add some more from the jar.

 

[Doormantnt]

Thank you for the idea HEChicken. that sounds like a very do-able option....

 

[sbarab]

Funny you should ask, I just dumped a bunch of eggshell out of my food processor a few minutes ago. I let the eggs air dry and then I put them into my food processor.

 

[cybercat]

I have an egg shell bucket. All cracked shell go into this bucket to dry. After a few days or once a week they get crushed down so I can add more. I just trow egg shell off my back porch and the chickens come running to eat them up. No need for extra calcium ass shells and feed are enough. one less cost there.

 

[ubumartin]

I just dropped an egg on the floor. I scooped it up and scrambled it with the shell and fed it back to them. I hate to waste an egg. They gobbled it up in 2 seconds. They were very happy to get it back!