The best part about feeding your chickens eggshells is that it is free, and then the eggshells won’t go to waste!
Will my chickens start eating their eggs?
This is one of the most common reasons why people won’t feed their chickens the eggshells, and it is because they are worried that the hens will start eating their eggs. My theory is that if your chickens are purposely breaking and eating their eggs then they may be deficient on something. The reason that I think that is because just about all of my hens have had a fresh egg that broke (usually from if I dropped it), and I have not had a single hen try to eat the eggs. Every flock is different though, so if you get a crazy hen that starts to eat her eggs try to figure out what the cause may be, and then go from there. If you are worried about your hens eating the eggs then there are some extra steps that you can do to prevent it!
Reasons why your chickens need a calcium supplement
To read why your chickens need to have a calcium supplement check out this post here. You need to let your chickens have free-choice to either oyster shells or eggshells if you want your hens to stay happy and healthy! We prefer to feed our chickens eggshells because it is free which helps to cut down on the costs of raising them!
How to (using the air dry method):
This is the method that we like to use, but if you are using eggshells that aren’t from your own flock then I would suggest using the baking method. That way if there is any bacteria in them the oven will kill it.
- Start by collecting your eggshells into some sort of bowl or container.
- At the end of each week, crush your eggshells into small pieces.
- Then lay them out on a pan to dry overnight.
How to (using the baking method):
If you are concerned that your hens might start eating their eggs, then I would recommend that you use this method!
- Start by collecting your eggshells into some sort of bowl or container.
- At the end of each week, crush your eggshells into small pieces.
- Then lay them out on a baking sheet and bake them at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes or until the membrane part of the eggshell is dried out.
Note: Feeding eggshells might not work for your flock so I am just sharing my experience, but experiment and figure out what works for you!
Other articles that you may like:
- Everything that you need to know about the fairy egg
- Important chicken terms to know
- Do you know the importance of oyster shell and grit?
The 1912 Homestead 