Feeding egg shells

[kilby]

Quote:
Now...let me see if I am understanding this point: The chickens who lay the eggs, lay them infected with salmonella...so they cannot then eat them for fear of getting salmonella?

Am I understanding that correctly?

Doesn't that seem a little....er....irrational to you?

The salmonella you should be worried about is that which is oxidized by the air. All animals have some salmonella inside their body which does not harm them. It is air exposure that gives it energy to grow. Salmonella sensitive people can get poisoned more easily and if a chicken is sick they would be more sensitive too. Anything that upsets the chickens stomach is going to be paid back with less egg production. My love birds being animals also have salmonella in their bodies but not the amount an unrefrigerated egg would have if it's cracked. Anything wet and warm is wear bacteria thrives. On the other hand if you have eggs for breakfast and immediately give them mushed empty eggshells I don't think that amount of bacteria would grow enough to harm them yet. Just don't give them more than they will snack on like the other contributor mentioned. If it is wise for my lovebirds it has to be wise for the chickens. I sprinkle it after blending on their layer pellets.
They like sprouted organic wheat berries and homemade yogurt as a calcium supplement too. They sure love dandelions. I have three bovan hens, Lucy, Honey, and Red.

 

[Beekissed]

If it is wise for my lovebirds it has to be wise for the chickens. I sprinkle it after blending on their layer pellets.

As I have no point of reference with love birds, I can only tell you what the last three or four generations of chicken gals have been doing with their egg shells....cracking them, keeping them until there is enough to warrant a trip outside and then throwingthem back to the chickens. Never had a sick chicken in all these years, so what is wise for a chicken~for me~is clear enough.​

 

[kilby]

I still think fresher is better and sterile for my new layers is best. Yours have an immunity to salmonella and their eggs are probably higher percentage salmonella so you are higher percentage salmonella than me. We are drinking dinosaur piss anytime we drink water so add that in. You don't know which is having food poisoning I bet because you don't know if one is laying less for a couple days. Or maybe it is not enough egg shell for any to get sick. Don't know. Just talkin' My chickens are my first and one has been laying for a month and even though they are the same age the other one just started and still another I am not sure of. Love chickens.

 

[newburt]

This is good information

 

[Rich386]

I believe that feeding them shell is fine, As long as you crush them so they don't recognize them as eggs.

 

[eggoland]

All I do is just rinse my shells off & set them in the window to dry. I break them up & feed them to my hens a couple times a week. Have never had any sick chickens & NO egg pecking.

 

[ellie32526]

yep, probably fine. I baited mine with the cracked corn mostly so *I'd* know they knew it was there! 'cause you know half the stuff we do for them is really to make us comfortable, not them...

Yep, I agree. My mother remarked after watching me over the last few weeks with my chickens that I have the most spoiled chickens in Texas. She said I do more with and for my chickens than anyone she has ever known. I resemble that remark. I only catch June bugs for them every night so they can have their special treat every morning. I feed them mealworms every day. I turn over rocks in our chicken yard to help them find crickets, centipedes, and spider OH YUCK! If I have any leftover cornbread they get that too. I'm not spoiling them, am I?

 

[Indiana farm chick]

We often have more eggs than we can eat or give way, so I feed them back to the hens. I stir up the egg with the crumbled shell then cook it in the microwave. My hens love this.

 

[Nicole01]

I compost my shells and feed them oyster shell. I read oyster shell has more calcium, but I really don't know.

Just make sure you don't have any egg white in the shells and you should be fine. Once in a while ill see a hen that had poked a hole in the shell and sometimes i see broken eggs in the nest. They have eaten eggs, but its not a habit thank goodness. My eggs do get pretty thin without supplementing with the oyster shell. Maybe its because i free range from morning till night.

 

[Nicole01]

We often have more eggs than we can eat or give way, so I feed them back to the hens. I stir up the egg with the crumbled shell then cook it in the microwave. My hens love this.

I was doing this too, but then I had my hubby take the extras to work and sell them for $2.50 a pack! Now we sell them like crazy.