Oyster shell vs egg shell

[BigBlueHen53]

I feed starter/grower only, so all their calcium comes from oyster and egg shells. I also let them take a break over winter. With 4 hens, I go through maybe 2-3 bags per year.

What size bag? I get a 50-lb. bag and it lasts my 23 hens at least a year.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I have a rooster and some older hens that don't lay, so I feed an all-flock formula that does not contain calcium. Only the layers help themselves to the oyster shell. I don't feed eggshells to my chickens. Too much like work, lol.

 

[ChicksnMore]

i rinse, dry, bake, crush, then add the powder to their feed. I also use the powder in compost and when I plant tomatoes.

For those that don’t bake and feed shells without mixing with oyster shell or feed - do you ever have problems with chickens going after the eggs in the nesting box?

I don't bake or crush the eggshells. I just toss them out as is and the chickens gobble them up. I have a lot of chickens and none of them will touch an egg unless it's broken. Nor do any of them peck whole eggs to break them. In my 50 some years with chickens, I've only had once where I suspected a hen was breaking eggs on purpose.

 

[ChickyMudder]

i rinse, dry, bake, crush, then add the powder to their feed. I also use the powder in compost and when I plant tomatoes.

For those that don’t bake and feed shells without mixing with oyster shell or feed - do you ever have problems with chickens going after the eggs in the nesting box?

No, my hens don’t eat their eggs. I only give them oyster shell.

An elderly hen began eating her eggs was old and had poor absorption.

 

[K0k0shka]

i rinse, dry, bake, crush, then add the powder to their feed. I also use the powder in compost and when I plant tomatoes.

For those that don’t bake and feed shells without mixing with oyster shell or feed - do you ever have problems with chickens going after the eggs in the nesting box?

That's a whole lot of work! Why do you rinse them? And why both dry and bake? Seems like too many steps to this process. And why crush them to a powder? The chickens need to be able to see and identify the eggshells, so they can regulate how much they eat based on their needs. If you hide eggshell powder in the feed, they won't know how much they're eating, and too much isn't good for them in the long run. Commercial feeds that have calcium added have a formula of calcium to feed that's supposed to provide the right amount, but it's hard to guess if you're just eyeballing it. Especially because chickens' calcium needs vary greatly throughout the year and their lives. When they slow down or stop laying because of molt, winter, sickness, or age, their needs decrease, but if you have a mixed flock, and you pre-mix the calcium (or use layer feed that has added calcium), you're feeding everybody the same amount regardless of their needs, so some chickens will get too much while others may not be getting enough. Having the calcium in a separate container is best, so they can regulate themselves. They know best how much they need.

 

[TaylorGlade]

People have used whatever has been available to them. My grandma didn't even know what an oyster was

I would be a sad, sad person without oysters! Lol. But I remember helping my grandmother crush those oyster shells. That is a lot of work. Lol

 

[AntiqueB]

I buy in 4-5 lb bags.

 

[Happy Chick Home]

The membrane contains enough glucosamine and collagen that eggshell membrane is now sold as a supplement for joint pain.
The hen needs these nutrients for each egg (and possibly her own knees) just as she needs calcium daily.
My chickens love eggshells. Providing they have plenty of calcium supplements, they respond crazy to raw eggshells, either fresh or air dried. Next they are still crazy about are cooked shells (from boiled eggs). Last they go after cleaned, air dried and crumbled or powdered shells like they go after oyster shells: good this is here but not exciting.
Have not had any hen breaking eggs on purpose. Have one hen with very weak shells. Those often break and are eaten quickly. I only see some residual moisture, yolk or shell when I take other eggs from the nest.

 

[Chicalina]

That's a whole lot of work! Why do you rinse them? And why both dry and bake? Seems like too many steps to this process. And why crush them to a powder? The chickens need to be able to see and identify the eggshells, so they can regulate how much they eat based on their needs. If you hide eggshell powder in the feed, they won't know how much they're eating, and too much isn't good for them in the long run. Commercial feeds that have calcium added have a formula of calcium to feed that's supposed to provide the right amount, but it's hard to guess if you're just eyeballing it. Especially because chickens' calcium needs vary greatly throughout the year and their lives. When they slow down or stop laying because of molt, winter, sickness, or age, their needs decrease, but if you have a mixed flock, and you pre-mix the calcium (or use layer feed that has added calcium), you're feeding everybody the same amount regardless of their needs, so some chickens will get too much while others may not be getting enough. Having the calcium in a separate container is best, so they can regulate themselves. They know best how much they need.

I was going to say the same thing. I just leave egg shells on the side in my kitchen for a couple of days. They dry out on their own and then I bash them a bit into smallish bits (not dust, but pieces the same as oyster shell grit) which takes half a second and then I give them to my flock in a bowl.

Easy peasy, no work involved and they help themselves to what they need.

 

[K0k0shka]

I was going to say the same thing. I just leave egg shells on the side in my kitchen for a couple of days. They dry out on their own and then I bash them a bit into smallish bits (not dust, but pieces the same as oyster shell grit) which takes half a second and then I give them to my flock in a bowl.

Easy peasy, no work involved and they help themselves to what they need.

That's what I do, too. If I have recently cooked something and have a lot of wet eggshells that won't dry well when stacked inside each other (I stack them to save space because otherwise they take up a LOT of space on my counter), then I'll stick them in the oven after whatever it was I was baking, just to dry them up faster. And then I crush them very minimally, again mostly to conserve space rather than break them down for the chickens. So some pieces are as big as a quarter, some are smaller. My hens don't lay in the winter, so I buy eggs, but I save the shells in a large glass jar, to use when they resume laying. That way I always have more shells than what they produce, to ensure they are never at a deficit (if you only ever feed what they produce, some calcium gets lost along the way when shells get spilled, some calcium is used by the body for other purposes, etc. and over time you can end up with a net loss).