[bazzais]

Whats everyones thoughts on feeding old egg shells back to chickens.

I am sure that I remember as a kid we used to give the shells back to the chickens along with their grit?  Is it right to do this? Do they have to be baked first? Is it against current laws? Am I saving all these eggs shells for nothing except the garden?

I have had an egg with a very brittle soft shell, I know its not bad as we have 10 chooks and its only one egg so far and its prob only one that producing it but what else is missing from their diet if the shells are soft?  What else can |I give them?  They are having grain and layers pellets.

Ta

Baz

[doganjo]

I think baking them removes any bugs, so personally I would.  Mine get them - but crushed up so they don't resemble an egg.  I have heard that if they get the shells back as they are they can start eating eggs but don't know if that's true or a rumour.

[Sylvia]

Bake them in a hot oven, cool and crush them well. Mix with ordinary grit.

[sheila]

two minutes in the microwave and then crushed beyond recognition.My girls never leave any when I put it out.

[little blue]

and if you still don't fancy feeding it to the chooks, we bake, crush and use as a slug deterrant round the veg plants - organic, biodegradable, smells like popcorn when hot, no threat to my friendly hodgehegs or toads or cats!

[bazzais]

Thanks all, I'll give it a go then.

Good idea with the slug repellent too

Ta

Baz

[Lavinia]

opps i've been just throwing ours away...... you learn something new every day.. Will give it a go

[hughesy]

We sometimes bake them, crush them and feed them back to the hens, otherwise they go in the compost heap.

[Helencus]

My ex bats eat the eggs if left too long anyway but saving mine for slug repellents.

[plumseverywhere]

can you do anything with empty boiled egg shells? I assume they need baking too first?

[terryh]

hi guys
i keep canary's and have been feeding chicken shells to my birds for 20 years or more
i pop them in the microwave for 3 minutes it makes them brittle and very easy to crush up 

[doganjo]

What a brilliant idea, much more eco friendly than using the oven for ages!

[Annie22]

My older leghorn got to the eggshells in the compost and took a liking to eggs.  If you don't let her out quick enough she will eat the eggs .  None of my other hens have attempted this.

[plumseverywhere]

one of mine did that annie22 - it was when we weren't getting many eggs so was a bit of a pain! she was eating them as soon as they were laid    I put some pot eggs in the boxes and she stopped, I think getting a bang  on the beak from one of them soon put her off 

[Annie22]

We tried that with our Leghorn "Ducky", but she knew which were hers.  She dosn't seem to lay anymore, well she is 4 and a half, but she still makes the I've just laid an egg noise, run to where she has been and no egg.