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If you give the shells back to them, I believe they either need to be baked, or boiled - thus sterilising the egg shell... then crushed up to make sure they don't look like an egg. I've given some crushed up in a bowl of rice to them before, but mine are fed on layers, which is a complete feed - contained exactly what's needed for laying, and also contains the required grit. They'll obtain grit by free ranging around the place, by eating soil, bugs, bits of grit, stones (watched mine gobble a large stone the other week!) etc.
If you give them corn, then they'll need extra grit to be able to grind it up - so whenver I give mine some corn, I'll give them oyset shell grit too.. have never measured it, my three have maybe a cupped handful of corn along with a closed handful of grit a couple times a week at most.
I've recently been more so giving them greens as a treat as they've pretty much eaten my lawn completely - they went through half a bag of spinach between them the other day, didn't expect them to eat it all - they're so greedy.
Edit: I think I boiled the shells for ten mins, or you bake them until they darken in colour.. crushing them helps them not notice it's they're own shells they're eating... and therefore they won't associate the shells as the eggs they lay - which could encourage egg-eating.
I've read that their own calcium in their shells is more rapidly absorbed, but the amount in the shells is so tiny that it's hardly worth while in comparison to the amount they can get out of their feed/oyster.
More advanced hen keepers will be better able to answer it though - I've only had my 3, since last october.
Edit2: I crush, and compost my egg shells now as I can't be bothered to do the above
Easy to rinse, and bang in my compost crockpot thingy in the kitchen!
If you give them corn, then they'll need extra grit to be able to grind it up - so whenver I give mine some corn, I'll give them oyset shell grit too.. have never measured it, my three have maybe a cupped handful of corn along with a closed handful of grit a couple times a week at most.
I've recently been more so giving them greens as a treat as they've pretty much eaten my lawn completely - they went through half a bag of spinach between them the other day, didn't expect them to eat it all - they're so greedy.
Edit: I think I boiled the shells for ten mins, or you bake them until they darken in colour.. crushing them helps them not notice it's they're own shells they're eating... and therefore they won't associate the shells as the eggs they lay - which could encourage egg-eating.
I've read that their own calcium in their shells is more rapidly absorbed, but the amount in the shells is so tiny that it's hardly worth while in comparison to the amount they can get out of their feed/oyster.
More advanced hen keepers will be better able to answer it though - I've only had my 3, since last october.
Edit2: I crush, and compost my egg shells now as I can't be bothered to do the above
Easy to rinse, and bang in my compost crockpot thingy in the kitchen!
I'm not sure whether she had been eating the shell herself or if half the egg is still inside her
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