Eggshells as calcium additive

[twoquinns]

Eggshells taken strictly from your flock don't provide enough extra calcium in that there's no way to extract 100% of the calcium that went into them out of them.

Do you base this statement on any scientific evidence?

 

[IVRN]

i bake my eggshells first, then crush, then mix into their daily foodstuffs

I am curious why you bake tjem?

 

[TheWasp]

I am curious why you bake tjem?

i find it easier to store them and dries them out

 

[Mcqueary77]

Yes i use it. My chickens were laying soft shells and since i have been giving them their own egg shells in a separate container, its made a tremendous difference. I also have been giving them powdered oyster shell mixed in their feeds.

 

[Borders3]

If you feed the eggshells on the side then they will each take what they need. It is much harder for them to do that if it is mixed in the feed.

The eggshells can be mixed with the oyster shells; mine pick the eggshells out first and then take some of the oyster shells if they need more.

This is what I do. I've noticed mine also eat the eggshell over the oyster shell, they are also very choosy about which bit of oyster shell they are going to eat and spread it all over searching for the right bit.

 

[RoyalChick]

Do you base this statement on any scientific evidence?

A chicken requires a certain amount of calcium for its heart to beat and it’s muscles to work and to maintain its bones. All animals do.

Then it needs a load more calcium to create egg shells.

If the chicken ate (and absorbed) 100% of its eggshells. It would be short by the amount it needs for basic bodily functions.

To make it worse the chicken cannot absorb all the calcium it eats - a lot is wasted and gets pooped out.

That is why just feeding their egg shells is not enough.

If they free range they will eat some plants and insects that have calcium (but that depends on those being available in their range area). We give oyster shell to be sure they have access to enough.

 

[RoyalChick]

I am curious why you bake tjem?

I find them easier to crush if they are fully dried out. I never turn on the oven just for them but if I used the oven for dinner I pop the bucket of chicken shells in when I turn the oven off. That is sufficient to dry them out and make them easy to crush.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Do you base this statement on any scientific evidence?

RoyalChick answered it very well. Animals and humans can't absorb 100% of the nutrients from anything they take in, or else we'd all be able to get by on pills instead of food.

That said, assuming you feed layer feed, the extra 3% or so of calcium in the feed (vs around 1% in all flock or starter) is supposed to be enough to meet the needs of the average layer, so unless you have high production birds you may find they do fine with strictly layer feed to meet their calcium needs. I feed both grower and layer, and some birds have higher needs than others, so I find for my flock that eggshell as the sole calcium source is not enough, they go through it too fast during laying season.

 

[bjdewell]

Who is using eggshells for calcium inputs? Is there any empirical evidence that it is as good as oyster shell? I've been slacking in the calcium department but I've got sacks of cleaned and dried eggshells - put aside for garden use - ready to be put to use in the coop.

All the shells from eggs I don't give away go back to the hens. In their coop, they have food and water, and three small bowls that hang on the fencing containing grit, eggshells, and oyster shells. They always go for the eggshell bowl first, and empty it pretty quickly.

 

[tadkerson]

Who is using eggshells for calcium inputs? Is there any empirical evidence that it is as good as oyster shell? I've been slacking in the calcium department but I've got sacks of cleaned and dried eggshells - put aside for garden use - ready to be put to use in the coop.

The calcium carbonate in the egg shell, around 97 % by weight, comes from the blood supply and ultimately the medullary bone (storge site for extra calcium carbonate) of the chicken. Put the crushed up egg shells into your chickens diet. The calcium and carbonate used to make the egg shell has to be absorbed into the blood stream from the small intestine. Crushing the egg shell into very small pieces will help in the digestion in the intestine and increase the absorption of the calcium and carbonate into the blood stream. If a laying hen's diet is 3% calcium carbonate that will be enough for the laying hen. Egg shells, oyster shells and limestone ( not dolomite) are good sources of calcium carbonate for the laying hen.