Feeding Egg Shells to Chickens

From the Coop to the Kitchen and Right Back Again

There’s something so satisfying about not wasting a thing on the farm. Anytime this happens you can find me grinning big and feeling like a real farmer! 

What once held breakfast (or lunch or supper or a snack when you get two dozen eggs a day, haha!) can be turned right back into something useful again, and in this case, something your chickens truly need. Feeding eggshells back to your flock is one of those old-fashioned habits that feels both practical and worthwhile. 

A Simple Source of Strength for the Flock

Eggshells are rich in calcium, which laying hens need in order to produce strong, thick shelled eggs. When hens don’t get enough calcium, their eggs can become thin, fragile, or misshapen. Feeding back crushed shells is an easy way to return those nutrients right where they came from, helping support your hens without needing anything fancy or from the store.

A Habit That Fits Right Into Daily Life

This isn’t something that requires extra effort, it simply becomes part of your everyday kitchen habits. As you crack eggs for breakfast or baking, you set the shells aside instead of tossing them. I like to keep a “chicken” bowl out by my sink and dump it every night for the chickens.  It’s one of those small habits that keeps my kitchen cleaner and builds a healthier, from-scratch farm.

A Note on Doing It Well

While feeding eggshells is simple, there are a few notes that many claim are important. Here’s the deal, we do not go by all of these rules, however, if you are worried about it or observe your chickens eating eggs, these may be worth trying! 

Crushing the shells well helps prevent hens from recognizing them as whole eggs, which can discourage any unwanted egg eating. Many also suggest drying or lightly baking the shells first, just to ensure they’re cleaned up and easy to crumble. No major habit changes, so if you observe any issues, it’s pretty easy to make these changes and see if it helps. 

It may seem like such a small, silly thing, saving a handful of shells by the sink, but these are the kinds of habits that shape a sufficient farm. From the coop to the kitchen and back again, it all becomes part of a farmhouse lifestyle, one where even the smallest things are cared for and put to good use.