As a new chicken owner I was so afraid of doing the wrong thing. Medicated or non-medicated feed? To use food grade diatomaceous earth or not? Buy the bag of oyster shells or re-purpose egg shells? Books, blogs, and online forums are filled with conflicting information. How does one not get paralyzed by fear of making the wrong choice?
The verdict: one can only do the best they can with the information they have, their resources available, and their own values as a guiding light.
So when it comes to a calcium supplement, we choose the simple, free, self-sufficient route: feed egg shells back to the chickens.
Our Method
Step 1: Collect Shells
We keep a bowl under the sink next to the compost. When an egg is cracked, I rinse it with water, let it dry on the counter, and then add it to the uncovered bowl under the sink.
Step 2: Bake Shells
Once you have enough shells to fill a cookie sheet, it’s time for a quick bake. I’ve heard this step isn’t necessary to kill off any bacteria, but regardless it helps the crushing stage by making them more brittle. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (ish) and bake the shells for 5-10 minutes. Let cool.
Step 3: Crush Shells
Grab a mortar and pestle, wooden spoon, or even a blender, and crush them down to small pieces. The idea is for them to not look anything like an egg so the chickens don’t start getting the idea to become so self-sufficient that they begin eating their own eggs.
Step 4: deliver to coop
Come and get ’em! We put the shells in a plastic container for the chickens to enjoy separate from their food. Someday I’d like to have a more permanent container attached to the wall to keep it from flipping over, but for now this gets the job done.
