Roasting or toasting of egg shells?

[alaskachick]

I would like to recycle the shells from my hens for their calcium supplement. I was told that the egg shells need to be cooked first. Does anyone know how this is done?

 

[Qi Chicken]

Put them in the oven when it is preheating or after you have taken your food out. Leave for 20 min. Put in zip loc or blender and crush.

 

[ranchhand]

I've never bothered cooking them. I toss them in the bucket of veggie scraps, whack it all with a wooden spoon and toss them out to the flocks. Eighteen years and it hasn't gone wrong yet.

If you really want to do it, you can microwave or bake them until thoroughly dry. My scraps go out daily, so age is not an issue here.

 

[Ohhhdear]

Don't bother doing anything with the eggshells except maybe drying them for a couple days before crushing them so the inner membrane's dry and they're easier to crush with the rolling pin or your hand. Remember chickens are outdoor, barnyard farm animals. We tend to overthink their needs and put our sanitary standards on what they eat and how we feed them, but it's not necessary.
Yeah, common sense stuff, like clean coop and fresh water, but hey, the girls eat bugs, worms, spiders, mosquitoes, scratch in the mud and all sorts of stuff.

 

[briteday]

I dry them in an ice cream bucket that I keep under the sink. When there seems to be enough I put them in a zip baggie and mash them up to small bits so the birds can easily pick them out of the food bin.