Do crushed egg shells spoil?

[BartolicsBroods]

I have been looking and looking and I cannot find anywhere that says if crushed cooked egg shells spoil. Our chicks will be here in late April (this will be our first chickens) so I was thinking about getting a head start and prepping the egg shells from our store bought eggs until our chickens are old enough to produce(I just can't see wasting them). I just don't want to feed them something that could be spoiled. Please let me know the amount of time you store your shells, so I can get a rough idea. Thanks!

 

[Fred's Hens]

They'd have a hard time spoiling, I should think. Everyone has their own rituals regarding the re-cycled egg shells. We don't fuss a bit. They just get tossed into a bucket. Two weeks later, they crush into bits with no effort at all.

 

[GPowell]

If you think there spoiled and you really don't want to give them to your chickens, throw them into your compost.

 

[chad-o]

Common sense tells me that the shells after cooking are just calcium and they can't spoil.

 

[pdirt]

I've only had one small jar of shells "spoil"...some mold grew in the bottom of the jar I as collecting them in. I tossed those. We've been doing this for months, using both cooked and raw egg shells. I do bake them all when baking a dinner so they crush easier. We've tried just air drying them and IMHO, they crush way easier once baked. Lots of opinions here on the eggs shells, but for us, this works.

 

[MamaKitty913]

Hi I just put mine in a recycled baggie and roll with my rolling pin, I add them to my water jug for the garden tomatoes, and green peppers LOVE it!

 

[chad-o]

The mold had to came from the little bit of egg left in the shell. Most of the time it just dries but if conditions are right mold grows.

 

[pdirt]

The mold had to came from the little bit of egg left in the shell. Most of the time it just dries but if conditions are right mold grows.

I'd have to agree completely. Usually we store the "working jar" of egg shells under the kitchen sink, which is quite warm and dry due to a heat vent running under the cabinet there. I think the jar with the mold was not stored there, but in a cooler cabinet (with less air flow). We do try to get most if not all of the egg white from the shell from hard boiled eggs, but we all know the joy of peeling a too-fresh egg! I figure if the bits of remaining egg white dries, it's just extra protein for the birds when they eat the shells.

 

[BartolicsBroods]

Thanks everyone for their input!