First egg!! Oyster shells?

[MommA2K]

I just went to put my girls to bed and found our first egg! I don’t have oyster shells on hand, can I use eggshells? The shell of this egg is hard, but I won’t be able to get to the store until Tuesday afternoon at the earliest. Any input would be appreciated!

 

[Weeg]

Yes, you can use egg shells! Often people give egg shells back to there birds for calcium! You should dry them first, this link will show you how to do that, https://www.peteandgerrys.com/blog/diy-eggshell-calcium-powder
Then you can feed the egg shell powder to the chickens in a separate bowl! Good luck, Avery

 

[Starburst]

I just went to put my girls to bed and found our first egg! I don’t have oyster shells on hand, can I use eggshells? The shell of this egg is hard, but I won’t be able to get to the store until Tuesday afternoon at the earliest. Any input would be appreciated!

Yes, you can use eggshells instead. Just crush the shells and offer it in a separate dish. Congratulations on your first egg!

 

[Teresa D]

I just went to put my girls to bed and found our first egg! I don’t have oyster shells on hand, can I use eggshells? The shell of this egg is hard, but I won’t be able to get to the store until Tuesday afternoon at the earliest. Any input would be appreciated!

As long as your egg shell is cooked to change the flavor and you chop it up fine it will be sufficient . I mix chopped boiled egg and shell with cottage cheese. I am new at chickens but i'm researching all the time. My girls are 16 weeks old this week and still have not played any eggs yet. I measured there bums and only a couple are ready. I'm anxiously waiting.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Congrats on your egg! Your hen will be okay for a few days until you can get some OS, but plan to get some as soon as you can. Some may not agree with me on this, but I do not feel that using just eggshells alone as a source of calcium is sustainable. My reasoning is this: each time you feed the eggshells back to your chicken, she is using the calcium to make new eggs. It's like when plastic bags get recycled. Each generation of bags gets thinner and thinner until finally the bags start breaking, they are so thin. You have to replenish the calcium from a fresh source ultimately, hence oyster shell. Unless you are feeding a layer formula, which includes calcium. Only don't feed layer formula to non-layers as it overworks the kidneys and can lead to early death.

 

[cherylgladys]

As long as your egg shell is cooked to change the flavor and you chop it up fine it will be sufficient . I mix chopped boiled egg and shell with cottage cheese. I am new at chickens but i'm researching all the time. My girls are 16 weeks old this week and still have not played any eggs yet. I measured there bums and only a couple are ready. I'm anxiously waiting.

Hi, my girls are 16 weeks old too, and I am new at all this, but what do you mean, "you measured their bums"?

 

[MommA2K]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hi, my girls are 16 weeks old too, and I am new at all this, but what do you mean, "you measured their bums"?

This is a great question! Can you start a new thread asking it so the answer doesn't get buried in this thread? Thanks!

 

[cherylgladys]

This is a great question! Can you start a new thread asking it so the answer doesn't get buried in this thread? Thanks!

After checking around on some posts, I am pretty sure it means measuring their pubic area, holding the chicken upside down, and if the area looks a little swollen and you can place 3 fingers there, it might mean your pullet is the one that is laying. If your fingers can only stretch to 1 to 1 1/2 fingers then maybe not. Now, don't hold me to this, because I just read it on a post. There was a video of how to do it. I will try to find it for you....

 

[BigBlueHen53]

After checking around on some posts, I am pretty sure it means measuring their pubic area, holding the chicken upside down, and if the area looks a little swollen and you can place 3 fingers there, it might mean your pullet is the one that is laying. If your fingers can only stretch to 1 to 1 1/2 fingers then maybe not. Now, don't hold me to this, because I just read it on a post. There was a video of how to do it. I will try to find it for you....

Please move this to a separate thread.