Safe to Use Older Eggshells as Supplement?

[K0k0shka]

I've never baked the shells, not knowing that was the way to do it. I rinse them and then gently boil them for 3-5 minutes, drain, rinse again and let cool. They are perfectly clean and white and crush easily with your fingers.

Baking is a lot faster and more convenient than this, and less messy. And with baking you don't lose the nice egg remnants on the shells, which are a bonus for the chickens, they don't need to be washed off.

 

[Bawkbok]

Baking is a lot faster and more convenient than this, and less messy. And with baking you don't lose the nice egg remnants on the shells, which are a bonus for the chickens, they don't need to be washed off.

ok thanks for that. I'll resort to baking from now on.

 

[TooCheep]

That's not true. Eggshells can provide all the extra calcium a hen needs, and in fact that's what birds do in nature and that's what farmers did throughout history, before fancy modern feeds were invented.

No bird in nature has ever laid dozens of eggs/month. They filled their much lower calcium needs via their food, not by eating egg shells.

So, when propagating the popular advice that eggshells are not enough, make sure to include the disclaimer - they are not enough ONLY in the long run and ONLY if you use your own chickens' shells exclusively. But if you always have enough shells on hand to give them, whether you supplement with store bought eggs' shells or your neighbors' discarded shells, then they are absolutely enough.

I assume a certain minimum level of intelligence. I also assume that people asking about food/supplement needs are talking about the long term and will not be back on BYC asking additional questions on a regular basis. There is no reason to offer short-term only info unless that is asked for.

I've had 2 chickens that ended up with thin egg shells on layer feed which is why I do recommend offering egg shells even with layer feed. Any birds that need the extra will have it available. Since I switched to all-flock, my girls eat all of the egg shells and some of the oyster shell as well. I let them determine how much supplementary calcium they need.

If you want, you could have a much shorter post and just say that additional egg shells from other sources could eliminate the need for oyster shell.

 

[TexasBlues]

Nor scientific about it. If I use the oven for baking or cooking dinner I put the bucket of eggshells in once I turn the oven off.
So I guess the eggshells go in at 350 or 425, depending on what I made to eat, and then cool down from there.

that's what i do every morning after making breakfast. I took a quart jar full of crushed eggshells and spread them through the yard where the birds scratch. i was surprised at how fast they ate them up.

 

[Ridgerunner]

So, when propagating the popular advice that eggshells are not enough, make sure to include the disclaimer - they are not enough ONLY in the long run and ONLY if you use your own chickens' shells exclusively. But if you always have enough shells on hand to give them, whether you supplement with store bought eggs' shells or your neighbors' discarded shells, then they are absolutely enough.

Chickens need calcium for body maintenance and growth. If they are laying eggs they need a lot more calcium for eggshells. Chickens do not digest and absorb all the calcium they eat, some calcium passes through their system and out the rear end.

If the only calcium source were their own eggshells it is obviously not enough. But that is not the only source they have. Chicken feed has some calcium. If they can forage or you provide treats many plants are a calcium source. A lot of the creepy crawlies they catch and eat can contain a lot of calcium. They may find various types of shells in their foraging, snail shells for example. If the native rock contains calcium they can get a lot of calcium from that, especially limestone.

If your chickens are getting enough calcium from another source they may not even eat their eggshells if you offer them to them.

I suggest a fairly simple test. If your eggshells are hard and thick enough, they are getting enough calcium from some source. If your shells become thin, offer a calcium supplement.

I grew up on a farm that had a lot of limestone on it. We never bought oyster shell or any calcium supplement for the chickens. The eggshells were fed to the pigs we were growing to butcher. The chickens did not even get their own eggshells yet they laid hard-shelled eggs.

Just because one person does OK feeding eggshells to their flock does not mean everyone on the planet will. We are all unique and need to find our own solutions if we even have a problem.

I have some (okay, many!) eggs in my fridge that I think are past being good to eat. Is it safe to break them open, compost the insides, and rinse out the eggshells to give to the girls? Do I need to bake them in the oven?

If the eggs are past good to eat I'd probably want to bake them to sanitize them before feeding the shells back to the chickens. If they are not "past good to eat" I would not rinse them or bake them. If you can eat the eggs they can eat the shells.

 

[K0k0shka]

Chickens need calcium for body maintenance and growth. If they are laying eggs they need a lot more calcium for eggshells. Chickens do not digest and absorb all the calcium they eat, some calcium passes through their system and out the rear end.

If the only calcium source were their own eggshells it is obviously not enough. But that is not the only source they have. Chicken feed has some calcium. If they can forage or you provide treats many plants are a calcium source. A lot of the creepy crawlies they catch and eat can contain a lot of calcium. They may find various types of shells in their foraging, snail shells for example. If the native rock contains calcium they can get a lot of calcium from that, especially limestone.

If your chickens are getting enough calcium from another source they may not even eat their eggshells if you offer them to them.

I suggest a fairly simple test. If your eggshells are hard and thick enough, they are getting enough calcium from some source. If your shells become thin, offer a calcium supplement.

I grew up on a farm that had a lot of limestone on it. We never bought oyster shell or any calcium supplement for the chickens. The eggshells were fed to the pigs we were growing to butcher. The chickens did not even get their own eggshells yet they laid hard-shelled eggs.

Just because one person does OK feeding eggshells to their flock does not mean everyone on the planet will. We are all unique and need to find our own solutions if we even have a problem.

Yes, I know, and I agree. I was just responding to the post that said feeding eggshells was not enough, and that you had to use either layer feed or oyster shell in addition to eggshells, which isn't necessarily true. Layer feed and oyster shell aren't necessary if you have enough eggshells to give, or like you said, if there are other sources of calcium in the environment. I always keep in mind that a large fraction of the BYC audience is inexperienced people, who are going to read things and draw conclusions. So if things aren't explained in detail, those people may draw the wrong conclusions.

 

[Anon112]

Thank you all for the advice. I think that I will bake the eggshells, just to be safe and offer them in a separate dish from the oyster shell.