Homesteaders frequently feed their chickens crushed egg shells to provide this essential nutrient; but is this practice truly wise?
Hens that begin egg production without first being put on a proper diet can quickly deplete their bone reserves, leading to rapid atrophy. Supplementing their feed with oyster shells or limestone powder is one way of helping prevent this.
Contents
Clean
When a chicken lays an egg, her body leaves behind a protective bloom that seals its pores to prevent bacteria from passing through and polluting its contents. Rinsing an egg removes this protective coating, opening its pores up further – so we advise drying spent eggshells prior to feeding them to your flock.
By giving your hens an extra source of calcium (they require 2 grams to produce one egg), in the form of dried, crushed egg shells, you can ensure they receive sufficient amounts to lay strong, thick eggs. Without enough calcium stores in their bones to access calcium stores for egg laying purposes, deficient chickens often produce thin-shelled eggs causing skeletal issues or lameness if their stores of stored calcium deplete too quickly resulting in thin shelled eggs being produced instead. It is best not to mix egg shells with feed or any other sources of calcium as this could create toxic build-ups of calcium. Instead, give hens free access to piles of dry crushed egg shells every other week or offer free-choice piles of dry crushed egg shells alongside their feed!
Dry
Calcium is essential in helping chickens produce eggs. Aside from their regular feed, she gets additional calcium through kitchen scraps and treats.
However, she may require additional sources of calcium in hot environments or when her diet varies drastically. Commercial layer feed usually provides the ideal balance of nutrients; if chickens are getting too much of any one nutrient or their environment disrupts her body chemistry, she might require extra calcium supplements in her diet.
Drying egg shells makes them easier to manage and turns them into a powder that’s easily add to food, lowering the risk of your flock becoming egg eaters by not associating crushed shells with food sources like chicken feed, vermicompost or garden soil as natural fertilizer sources – as well as helping repel pests such as snails.
Crush
Many people feed their chickens crushed egg shells because they contain plenty of calcium – an excellent way to ensure hens have plenty of the mineral needed to produce eggs! It is essential that eggshells be dry-crushed so as to be unrecognizable to their chickens as being eggs – otherwise your hens may start associating the shells with freshly laid eggs, potentially leading to their consumption!
To avoid this issue, eggshells can be dried in an oven before being crushed into powder form and added as part of their regular feed, providing extra calcium without the taste of shells. Hens should only receive calcium from their own eggs; store bought or friend’s eggs may contain bacteria or parasites that they don’t require! Roosters and drakes do not need the extra calcium that eggshell powder may bring them.
Feed
While some homesteaders mix eggshells into chicken feed as an extra source of calcium, offering free-choice options is preferable so that chickens do not become dependent on unnatural sources for their nutritional needs. Furthermore, mixing calcium sources with chicken feed could cause digestive issues similar to what happens when too much of one type of food is eaten at one time.
Hens require approximately 2 grams of calcium to create one egg. The shell formation process takes the most time-consuming portion of this production cycle and demands much calcium carbonate, either from diet or from existing stores such as bones in her thighs, ribs wings and comb.
Crushed oyster shells or limestone flour offer the ideal free-choice calcium source, ensuring that your hens receive sufficient amounts for strong and healthy egg production.
