Burnt my eggshells!

[Nicos]

Ok- so I put about 12 eggshells in the oven with my roast and when I had a peek they have gone all black where they were in contact with the baking tray.

Ok- so I'm used to eating burnt food ( rubbish oven..clearly not me!!)


..BUT ..can I still grind the shells and give them back to the chooks..or will they notice the taste and refuse them????

[Bephlam]

No idea...never done the baking egg shells thing...BUT...I burn things in our crappy oven all the time!!

[lizzylemon]

If they eat worms, maggots and other unmentionables so surely they won't turn their beaks at a few burnt offerings.....Will they?........hmmmmmm

[MaureenHall]

Don't see why not, it's still calcium isn't it. My lot have had the odd burnt shell (ground up) and it doesn't seem to have done them any harm

[Nicos]

Ok- will go for it then...just seemed too much of a waste to chuck them away!

Thanks !

[Snadger]

Everything I BBQ usually finishes up as a burnt offering and it still gets eaten. Good enough for me it should be good enough for chooks!

[lynda66]

should e fine it's only charcoal .... will stop em getting heartburn and bad breath .... or was that wood?

[Lemon]

Do you find that toasting egg shells in the oven absolutely stinks?!?!!?

The bits where the egg white has dried usually goes brown - I think that's what smells. I've given it to the chickens mixed in with porridge and it gets eaten (can't be bothered making porridge anymore).

Have you tried sprinkling crushed egg shells around seedlings and veg plants in garden to deter slugs? I think the prickly edges of the shells are uncomfortable for them. It works for a while before too much rain makes the shells embed into the earth and thus stop being so prickly for slugs. If the chooks won't eat burnt shells then maybe it's a good slug deterrant?

[Qwerty]

Do you find that toasting egg shells in the oven absolutely stinks?!?!!?

Yeah! Phoar! Mum was doing some in the oven while using the hob for dinner just now. I was a little puzzled by the eggshell smell. What is she cooking?!

[lizzylemon]

stoooooopid question: why are you cooking them anyway? Does it make the shell easier to digest, change the shell composition or something special like that?

[sheena]

I burnt my first set of shells yesterday too, put them in the oven whilst I was making bacon and onion pudding nd didn't realise that they were still in there til i went to check on the pudding 2 hours later!

They weren't too badly burnt, just a little singed around the edges, but they didn't mind them.. from what i saw this morning, there was nothing left of the shell at all. Got my next batch in just now, must remember to check them before i go to bed.

They also love burnt toast (did that this morning too). I did tell you that I can't cook didn't i? lol

[Hilary B]

stoooooopid question: why are you cooking them anyway? Does it make the shell easier to digest, change the shell composition or something special like that?

there are 2 advantages to 'roasting' shells
1) disinfecting, so reduces chances of passing on any germs
2) dehydrating, so they become crumblier.

[Glutton4...]

Do you find that toasting egg shells in the oven absolutely stinks?!?!!?

The bits where the egg white has dried usually goes brown - I think that's what smells...

I rinse mine out first!

[Flummery]

I did it for the first time yesterday - rinsed out first and then roasted for about 10 minutes while my loaf was in the oven. They do pound down quickly when roasted. I always thought it was a bit of an old wife's tale - from the days when you couldn't get shell grit. However, my chicken supplier said it's good to use sprinkled on any damp food - fruit or damp veg as well as mash type foods - because the calcium that has actually come from the chicken's own body is easier for it to absorb back again. I'd never heard that before but to me it makes sense.

[Nicos]

They were more burnt than I thought..so decided to chuck them in the end!

Yup- they do smell don't they , even when rinsed out!!

I've got another big batch to do...so it looks like I'll need to roast/bake something for supper tonight!!

Yesterday I spent ages watching Betty munching her way through an oyster shell- I kept wanting to get her to put her foot on it to keep it still whist she pecked at it!!!She ate quite a bit of it too!!!