Feeding chickens eggshells is super great for several reasons!
While it may seem odd to feed eggshells (and even eggs) back to your chickens, it’s actually a great way to recycle the egg shells and keep your feathery friends happy and healthy!
Chickens use up a ton of energy making their amazing egg shells, and they need to take in a lot of calcium for it to happen. Eggshells are jam packed with calcium, which chickens need to continue the cycle. Breaking up the egg shells and feeding them back to the chickens is just giving them the calcium they work so hard for. Oyster shells are a great calcium supplement for chickens, and mine do have access to a small bowl of oyster shells along with the eggshells I give them.
How to feed chickens egg shells
Honestly, lots of folks just break them up and give them right back to their chickens. I don’t do this all the time, but if I grab an egg from the coop and it’s cracked or something, I will break it open and give the raw insides and shell back to the chickens right there. Don’t worry, this does not make them want to get in there and eat all their eggs constantly. It’s a treat I only give when an egg is already cracked or I accidentally break it (happens more than I’d like ha).
What I do most is collect egg shells in a jar in my fridge as I use the eggs throughout the week, then bake them when I have enough. Baking them, in theory, kills off any bacteria that may have grown on them as they’ve sat around cracked for a bit.
Once my jar is full, I do the following:
- Step 1 – preheat oven to 350F.
- Step 2 – cover a pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil (I use whichever I have on hand).
- Step 3 – lay out egg shells in a single layer, they should all be at least broken in half.
- Step 4 – bake for about 10-12 minutes.
- Step 5 – remove from oven and bash them into smaller pieces. I’ve also seen some folks put them in a blender or something to turn them into powder. If you go this route, it can then be sprinkled on their food easier.
- Step 6 – feed egg shells to your chickens:)
What else can I do with the egg shells?
If you have zero interest in giving egg shells back to your chickens, egg shell (crushed very small or powdered) is fantastic for the garden! Don’t need to be baked for the garden, but crushed or powdered and just mixed with the dirt is great for plants! If turning them into a powder, the egg shells can also be mixed with water and sprayed on the plants.
