Most of the time, our eggshells make their way into our compost, but occasionally, we use them to make a calcium powder to feed back to our chickens.
If you didn’t know, hens need a lot of calcium in order to make the hard outer shell of an egg. Hens that lack in calcium will produce thin egg shells or shell-less eggs. Luckily, we have yet to have any shell-less eggs around here, but we do get a few thin shells from time to time.
Now, most people will buy oyster shells online or at their local feed store as a calcium supplement, but we like use what we have around the farm as a way to save money and to be more sustainable. Plus, we know exactly what went into making that egg and the health of the hens who laid it.
One concern that people have is: will feeding the eggshells make my chickens start eating their eggs?
Honestly, the results may vary. It might increase the chances, or it might reduce the chances of your flock eating the eggs. Most (not all) chickens eat eggs in order to get the extra calcium that their bodies need. So, when you supply that calcium, it *should* take away their need to eat the eggs. We don’t have any egg eaters within our flock (and hopefully it stays that way!). But, you can always have that one chicken who might just love the taste of eggs no matter how much free choice calcium you give them.
How To Make Calcium Powder
When I am done with an eggshell, I throw the shell into a mason jar that I have sitting around the kitchen. I typically wait until my jar is full to make calcium powder
- Preheat oven to 225F.
- Pour the eggshells into a pot of water and boil for 15 minutes to sterilize.
- Drain the eggshells and spread out on a baking sheet. Bake the eggshells at 225F for 20 minutes.
- Crush or grind the eggshells using your preferred method (mortar and pestal, coffee grinder, blender – just make sure you clean your tools well. I can’t imagine something worse than eggshells floating in my coffee)
Notes –
- You don’t have to grind your eggshells if you don’t want to. However, I like to make mine more of a powder so that my chickens don’t associate it with eggs and start crushing any eggs that I may have in the coop.
- Avoid using store bought eggshells. These are better used in the compost. With using store bought eggshells, there is a chance to spread unwanted bacteria to your flock.
- You can provide this calcium powder in a free choice tub, mix into their feed, or simply throw into their chicken run.
If you are making a lot of calcium powder and want to try something new, eggshells make a great calcium supplement for humans. Use 1/4 teaspoon of calcium powder and add it to your smoothie, yogurt, etc!
Calcium powder can also make a great addition to your garden. Mix about a tablespoon of calcium powder into your soil to provide an extra boost of nutrients. Tomatoes, leafy greens, eggplants, and peppers especially love the extra calcium!
Let me know how you like to use calcium powder in the comments below!