recycling the shells

[gutshall]

We want to try recycling the shells. We understand that if we wash, dry, and crush them that the hens will take that as a calcium source. But how small is crushed???

And the shells are so sharp, will my girls be OK???

Thanks for any feed back you might be able to offer!

 

[Jennings Gamefowl]

what i do is cut them up to about the size of laying crumbles and they are good for the hens... it shouldnt hurt them if the shells are small enough

 

[little_grey_bantam]

I read somewhere, old farmers used to bake them in the oven to change the taste of the eggs (it also changes the colors to a sort of light copper and the smell is different also) so the chickens won't be "curious" to try and taste and then eat their own eggs. lol

The boyfriend think it stinks, but I think it's a sort of like musk - really light, unless you have the nose of a bloodhound like he does heh lol

 

[eggchel]

The purpose of crushing them is to disguise them. Otherwise the hens might develop a bad habit.

 

[speckledhen]

I do not wash them. Just put 'em on a cookie sheet at about 200 degrees for 20-30 minutes. It makes them very brittle and easy to crush. I wait till I have an ice bin full, then bake them.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The shells are not hard enough to hurt the chickens. They will be ground to a powder in the gizzard. They eat things a lot harder and sharped with no problem. Throw a lobster or crawfish shell in with them and see what happens.

 

[krcote]

I don't wash or bake mine. Just save up a container full, and they are dry enough by that time. Then crush them up to about pea- size. I've never had a problem with egg-eaters.

 

[chickens4me]

I feed my egg shells back to my hens.

I just rinse out the insides really well, so no egg is left inside. Then I crush it up with my hands some, throw it in the pen and the hens just pick at it with no problems that I have ever seen. So far anyway!

Edited because everytime I type "egg" it comes up "rooster" Is this that bad computer virus????!

 

[krcote]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH very funny april fool's joke! ALL E G G words are replaced with R O O S T E R!!!

 

[rigagirl]

i keep my shells in fridge until i have plenty to give to them at once