Feeding eggshells - bake first?

[FamilyOfChickens]

Yeah, I've heard that said before, but we've never really had any egg-eating problems....?

 

[Chellester]

I have heard that you need to at least crush the eggshells so they no longer look like eggshells in order to keep the hens from becoming egg eaters.

As far as the baking/microwaving, that is just to kill any bacteria and make the eggshells easier to crush. I have known people who give just crushed and not cooked eggshells to their chickens with no ill effects, so if you're not worried about bacteria, you can skip the cooking part.