Grower vs layer

[Rainbowdahling]

That's the old school way, and it's free! I grew up on a farm and there was no oyster shell back in the day Different people have different methods for drying. The point is for the shells to be bone dry for storage, or else the egg remains will go bad and stink. Some people air dry them. I find that to be too slow and impractical. You need a lot of surface area to spread them out, for good drying. I also don't like the threat of salmonella (dry or not, they'd still be raw). So what I do is I collect them in a pie pan on the kitchen counter, and when the pan fills up, and I have recently baked something in the oven, I put the pan with the shells in the oven after I've turned the heat off. The residual heat bakes them and dries them up. They even turn a nice golden brown delicious So in a matter of minutes, they are both completely dry and ready for storage, and safe for you to handle. I store them in a large half gallon glass jar, and use that to refill the chickens' bowl.

Amazing, thank you so much for the instructions! I'm definitely going to try that!

 

[Cindy in PA]

Eggs shell is not as long lasting in their system as oyster shell. It's fine, but I would never be without oyster shell.