Question to those that feed their chickens eggshells back to their chickens.

[Ema]

when my girls were all still laying in full, once a week I would make all kinds of dishes that required eggs, the shells then would be baked at 350 for 5 minutes, then crushed and placed in a coffee container for storage. the reason for baking is because I didn't want little flies etc all over the dried up shells and because it dried them faster, so I could crush them faster and store them and out of the way.

I would just mix with their feed. when they stopped laying I bought Oyster shell which at one point I couldn't even get here in my little town, but new feed store owners will order anything I want

Ema

 

[ll]

30 seconds in the microwave, crush, feed-off.

Edit: After cooking/crushing, I store overnight in the fridge in tupperware if it's too late to feed to 'em.

 

[duckinnut]

I just air dry them on the counter until I have a bunch, then throw them in a giant coffee container with a couple of round rocks and shake. 30 seconds later tiny little chips of egg and then I just dump it right into the scratch grains. On to the next thing. Washing,baking,microwaving is time wasted for me. My Lord these cute little creatures recycle their poop and drink out of the nastiest puddle they can find and not out of the crisp clear water you give them. Not to mention eat worms and bugs like ants,sow bugs,wood roaches and various other things like toads. But to each his or her own. If you want to wash or wash and bake feel free it just won't be happening around here.

 

[Carin]

Has anybody considered asking the nearest fast food or restaurant for their egg shells? We usually have breakfast at a restaurant on a Friday and they give me a shopping bag full of eggshells by the time we leave. I usually ask when we walk in and it is only the eggshells of eggs that were used while we were there. When I get home I bake the whole lot for 15min just to dry it out and get it more brittle. My own eggshells go in the compost

 

[txchickie]

I keep them in an old margarine container in the fridge until it's pretty much full. Then I mash/grind them until I am tired of doing so, and mix them with scratch and scatter around their pen.

 

[PtldChick]

Air dry in a box where they get tossed. A week later? They are brittle as can be. Simple crush and mix in their feed. Done. Save the energy for important stuff.

x2 - they dry out and no bacteria grows on mine.

 

[chookhead]

I just feed them to the chickens. They may set out on the counter in a scrap bucket for a day, but I don't wash or bake them. I've never had a problem with egg eating....

me 2 lol i have accidently dropped a few eggs i call my hens over they eat it all up neva had a problem with egg eating

 

[JodyJo]

I have a bowl on the stove, I use the eggs, throw the shells into it, and after a week or so, transfer them to a gallon sized zip lock, I crush them and add them to their oyster shell feeder...no baking, no washing or rinsing...no issues with egg eating here either.

 

[newchick13]

I keep a large plastic container with a lid in the fridge. Through out the day I add any scraps for the girls and the eggshells that go in there are nuked for 2 minutes so they crumble easier.

 

[Ariel72]

I have a scrap bucket I take to my chickens every night. As I use eggs I just break the shells up small with my fingers and add them to everything else in the scrap bucket.