How do I get my chickens to eat egg shells?

[Tala]

Mine LOVE them! I put them in a stainless steel bowl and warm them till they are crispy whenever I'm already warming up or cooling down the oven. Then I crush them up so that they don't look like an egg, and serve. They will eat half a doz crushed egg shells in a day, but they only eat their oyster shells when they *need* to.

There is conflicting opinions on whether or not the eggshells are actually bio-avaliable, but I know my grandma used to feed the shells back to her flock and I'm sure it doesn't *hurt* anything, so why not? Might as well have the chickens turn the shells into compost for me if nothing else. hehehe

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Thanks so much everybody!

 

[elmo]

Remember, though, that although crushed eggshells may be a source of calcium, they don't function as grit.

 

[HEChicken]

Mrs. Fluffy Puffy :

So should I just get the shells and put them on a cookie sheet and stick them into the toaster over and let the bake until the are crunch - able?

Here's what I do: every time I use an egg, I place the shell on a tray in my oven. When I need to use the oven, I pull the tray OUT. I cook my casserole (or whatever), turn the oven off and pull the food out. Then I put the tray of egg shells back INTO the oven. The residual heat from the oven as it is cooling down is all that is needed to completely dry/slightly bake the egg shells. Doing it this way, I don't have to watch the time to make sure I pull them out before they burn - I just leave them there while the oven is cooling. It is sometimes the next day before I open the oven again, pull the tray out and crush the shells into tiny pieces (1/4" or so). I then keep them in a jar until the outside bowl needs refilling.

Unfortunately, now that I'm giving eggs away to other people, I'm not getting to keep all my shells so I'm starting to run out and might need to actually purchase some oyster shell for the first time

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Thanks so much HEChicken!!!!

 

[FrenchToast]

I rinse the shells and while rinsing I wipe the slime out with my finger. No need to air dry befor you put them in the oven. Just don't let water sit inside the shells.
I wouldn't feed the raw shells, especially ones that have been sitting around a while because I would think bacteria could grow on the raw stuff inside the shell even though you rinsed them.
I made the mistake of turning the oven on to high once and they burnt!! lol
I like to think a low heat at a longer time will sterilize them as well as make them real easy to blend up.

Mrs. Fluffy Puffy :

I tryed letting the shells air - dry, but the sac inside the shell would crunch up! So should I just get the shells and put them on a cookie sheet and stick them into the toaster over and let the bake until the are crunch - able? Thanks,

 

[LarryPQ]

After I crack my eating eggs, I put all the shells on a plastic plate and microwave them for 1.5 minutes. Then they get dumped into the "chicken scraps" bowl. When I have time, I put all the scraps into the food processor until the shells are basically pulverized/powder. If I have something to mix the puree into, I do that by hand, and then put it out. They go nuts, and there are rarely leftovers.

 

[dragonlair]

I have my friends save all their eggs shells. I mix them with mine, bake them or put them on the wood stove to bake/dry. Then I crunch them up into tiny peices. I mix then with the pellets or whatever treats I made for them that day.

Mine hens don't get out much in the winter. Even giving them extra calcium in the form of eggs shells and oyster shells the egg shells were getting very thin. I started adding vitamin D3 to their water. In about a week or 2, the shells were back to being very hard. I also added vitamin A to their water every other day and the yolks went back to being nice and orangey instead of the pale yellow they had become this winter.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Thanks!! We have 2 wood stoves, could I bake them on there?

 

[Tala]

Mrs. Fluffy Puffy :

Thanks!! We have 2 wood stoves, could I bake them on there?

Sure! I've cooked all kindsa stuff on my parent's woodstove. It's easier than a campfire

You really just kinda cook them till they are drier and crunch easily, it's not like baking a cake where you have to get it "just so"
My chickens don't seem to care if they are slightly burned or just barely done, lol​