Feeding raw egg and shells?

[normajean]

Hello everyone and sorry to have been away so long!
I have a quick question about whether I should or not be feeding older (3-4day old) eggs broken up to my hens.
They really like to drink them up and I really hate to see the eggs go to waste. My dog also partakes in the feast.
My main concern is sickness from the eggs not being cooked and the second concern that I have is whether this will incite problems with teaching them that they can start eating their own eggs.
My thinking so far is that they are not breaking them open to get to the egg inside so they will not associate eating the egg already broken with breaking their own egg to eat it.
I hope this makes sense and I appreciate any advice. I really don't want to start a problem that sounds to be very difficult to cure.
Thanks and happy holidays!!!!

 

[silkiechicken]

Probably would be best to cook them so they don't get the idea. As for sickness from raw eggs... unlikly with healthy birds, as most human sickness is from bacteria on the shell, and well, chickens dig around in their own poo...

 

[pinkchick]

I never feed raw egg or shell to my animals. I wash shells and dry them out in oven and crush them before I feed. If an egg lasts long enough to go to waste in my house I definately scramble them up before feeding.
Never Never Never RAW EGG!

Hope this helps!

 

[Wildsky]

I never do raw egg back to the chickens.. But my dog LOVES em that way.

 

[msgenie516]

Hi,

Maybe I misunderstood your post, but eggs that are 3-4 days old are not "old" by any means, unless you mean that they already had cracked shells.

I definately agree with the others, do not feed your chickens raw eggs! That can only invite trouble. I understand that once you have egg-eaters, it is a difficult problem to cure. I believe cooked (scrambled) eggs are fine.

I hope this helps! Genie

 

[soonerdog]

You might teach them to start eating their own eggs!

 

[davidb]

I always feed my egg shells back to my chickens alway heard to bake them first,but I never have and If I find a cracked egg or one that the crows pecked, I throw it down and bust it, Its never hurt my chickens or caused them to eat eggs and Ive had chickens for 35 or 40 yrs. raw eggs is good for you. so why would it not be good for chickens

 

[gritsar]

Giving them raw eggs may or may not lead to egg eating, but the thing is egg eating in chickens is a difficult if not impossible habit to break. Most people end up culling the offenders. Why take the chance? Scramble em up.

 

[greyhorsewoman]

I agree with davidb ... I've had chickens off and on most of my life and always fed used eggshells to them. Never thought to clean, bake, or crush (No offense to those of you who enjoy it, but I really don't have time for all that ... I'd just compost them).

I don't have a RASH of egg eating chickens. In fact, right now, I don't have ANY. Every so often, I'm a clutz and will drop an egg during collection ... it breaks, chickens have a field day cleaning it up ... end of discussion.

I've had egg eating hens in the past. Solution ... cull the offending hen. Egg eating is a tendency that comes about for some reason, but I have seen no evidence that it is a learned behavior.

 

[swtangel321]

I wouldnt give them back raw eggs either due to the fact that it MIGHT cause egg eating, I always scramble mine up before giving them back to the hens. Now my dog gets raw eggs and loves them, she has such a nice coat but a REALLLL stinky butt somtimes, LOL!!!!