Egg shells for grit?

[Spreckly]

Sorry about all these questions. Despite reading the forum, and possessing two books on keeping hens, things crop up which I cannot easily search out.

I have been keeping my egg shells, baking them in the oven, and then crushing them up to use as chicken grit, but one of my books says never to give hens egg shells.

I have a pile ready to be crushed up, and put in their food dish, together with the mixed grit.

My question is - is it OK to give them to my girls, can I give them as grit without using the mixed grit, or, should I just put them in the compost bin?

[Kaeta44]

I've seen arguments for and against. The idea of providing some kind of grit is to help them grind food up while its going through the digestive process. Personally, I prefer to give them crushed oyster shell, even though I'm sure they get enough grit scratting around the run and my garden.

[cgisby]

I don't do it myself, but I'm sure others do. As long as the egg shells are crushed up enough to not look like egg shell it should be ok, my mums friend done it but didn't crush them enough then the hens started eating the eggs.

[baileysgnasha]

I gave mine crushed egg shells when they was laying softies. It cured the softie problem and since then I've crushed the eggshells up and just sprinkled them over the floor of their run they then choose weather to have a peck at them or not , and eventually it just all disappears be it chickens having it or it composting into the ground. I haven't experienced any problems by doing this as yet.

[Mo]

That sounds sense.
I give mine shells, baked and crushed. Sometimes need a bit of limestone flour as well, if the eggshells seem thin. Yesterday Hannah spent ages in the coop and laid an egg with a thin and wrinkly shell. So limestone on the pellets this morning.

Mixed grit contains both oyster (or other) shell, for calcium, and 'insoluble grit' i.e. lttle stones to help grind the food in the gizzard. So unless they can find plenty of grit in the garden they would still need insoluble grit.

[LisaB]

I give mine baked, crushed egg shells and oyster shells in their food for calcium (and limestone flour if any thin shells or softies)
And then they need grit as well to help them crush their food up as they don't have teeth.

[Abi]

I give mine baked, crushed egg shells and oyster shells in their food for calcium (and limestone flour if any thin shells or softies)
And then they need grit as well to help them crush their food up as they don't have teeth.

That's what I do too

Abi x

[Steve the Gas]

I chuck egg shells on the ground for them to take as and when.
This is calcium for the shell- from the shell - sort of.

[Spreckly]

Right, out with the hammer to crush the egg shells up. Will mix them in with their grit. Thank you all for your replies.

[baileysgnasha]

Hammer ...Thats abit brutal....I just crushed them with my hands then keep running the shells through my fingertips to ensure they nicely crushed! Hammer sounds like the sort of thing my hubby would grab for a job!