Processing Egg Shells for Feeding as a calcium source

[jvls1942]

Quote:
you people are working way too hard.. the shells do not have to be crushed, cooked, dried or processed.. just take the two halves of the egg shell and put it on the floor with your chickens and watch what happens..

and they will not put two and two together to figure out that it is an egg..

I believe that people who claim to have chickens who eat eggs in the nest are mistaken.. I have had this happen,BUT the egg had gotten broken and then, yes, the chickens will eat a broken egg..

It might be a rare chicken that eats eggs, but I have never had that problem in over 40 years of having chickens..

 

[FractalFarmer]

Mortar & pestle works great for crushing if you have them. But maybe I *am* working too hard...

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
I hope you are pulling my leg..

 

[luvmygirlsinAK]

This was a really interesting thread. I have always been afraid to give the girls egg shells as their sole source of calcium because of what I have read-that eventually they become weaker and weaker as a source of calcium and then you start having problems with calcium deficiency such as walking problems, thin egg shells, etc. Those of you who have been giving your chickens only the egg shells for many years, could you respond to this?

Have you ever had any problems with this, or is it a good idea to give some oyster shell grit along with it? Don't they eat what they need of the oyster shell anyway, and leave the rest alone? If they do, then surely it would show up in how much oyster grit is getting used when supplementing with egg shells?

Hmm, much food for thought here.

 

[Splash_Guard]

This may be overkill, but I always wash out the membrane then either store in fridge or bake immediately @350 for 20 minutes. You can crush with fingers or put in plastic bag and roll it out to a finer powder with rolling pin. Oyster shell is fed in addition to crushed shells.

It seems some people have never had a problem with chickies eating their own eggs, but I have, and I think it's from throwing shells with raw membrane back to them instead of washing out and baking.

 

[chickenlady]

I use the egg, put the shell in a scrap bowl, crush with a spoon and feed to all the girls. I agree that there is no work needed here. Let them eat the membrane out of it, that is very healthy for them. I too will throw them an egg every now and them and let it smash on the ground, talk about chaos, lol. They love it. In less than a minute all the yolk and shell are gone. I have never had a problem with an egg eater.

 

[HennysMom]

I do the same - rinse them out and then throw them into a bowl on the counter to dry out (it dries the membrane out) and makes it easier to crush them.

Just crush them in my hand or in a sandwhich bag and mix them into whatever goody the girls are getting for the day. Yesterday they got 3 eggshells mixed into their "goody box" of oatmeal, cooked spinach, scrambled eggs and some ACV - all warmed of course as it was a little chilly

They dont seem to have issues. I never heard of microwaving or cooking the shells...

To answer someone elses question - my girls also get grit and oyster shell on top of their egg shells as well. They only get their shells mixed in once or twice a week as an "extra" - they're eggs are pretty hard shelled so they're getting enough calcium. But they also get yogurt and cottage cheese too so that helps.

 

[rdranch]

Our shells get put in an uncovered container and are left to dry in the garage. When the container is full I put them in a ziplock freezer bag to crush up and them they go in the oyster shell dispenser.

 

[cluckychick]

I put mine in an empty plastic coffee container and then crush them with a colander and throw them in the sandbox in the run

 

[Hobbley_Farm]

My egg shells get thrown in a plastic container by the sink. WHen its full, I put them on a cookie sheet and cook the for 20 minuts or so at the default setting of 350. Then I pull them out and put them in my food processor and it takes about 30 seconds to turn 2 or more dozen eggs into a grit/flake type texture. Then I just sprinkle it on their food. I've already trained my girls (who eat TONS of eggs) to toss them in the plastic container.