Eggshells as Calcium Supplements for your Chickens

Did you know that eggshells provide a perfect calcium supplement for your chickens?  You might be asking yourself, “why do chickens need a calcium supplement?”  Well, there really are times they can benefit from one.  Yes, it isn’t just humans that need supplements, at times even animals need their diet supplemented with vitamins.

 

I spent years dreaming of owning chickens before we had the opportunity to.  We lived in a small town for years and I even researched if we could own backyard chickens.  Unfortunately, in our community backyard chickens were not permitted.  So I had no choice to wait until God brough us to live in the country.

And then, one day it happened.  We moved to the country.  And before the dust barely settled we were fixing up the coop that was on the property just in time for the order of baby chicks arrived ( I may have ordered it a little prematurely, but we pulled it together.)

I remember when we were fairly new chicken owners as if it was yesterday.  We purchased our first flock 9 years ago.  It was so exciting watching those little furballs run around their brooder box.  They were so ridiculously cute.

Oh, did I mention we had them in the house when they were little baby chicks?  

They got big fast.

And they started to smell really quickly. 

I loved those little furballs, but I was very excited when it was time to send them out of the house into their permanent home.  Cute little baby chicks are much cuter when they don’t smell.

And then we waited for eggs.  We waited, and we waited.  I had done enough research to know when to expect my first egg and those ladies did not disappoint.

One of my favorite parts of the day was when I would go collect the eggs.  I still can’t believe this perfect food can be provided to me by these chickens every single day.

It helps me overlook that they peck at me.  It makes me forget the time I went to let them out of the coop one morning and she flew on top of my head and right out the door into the snow.  The deep snow that she had avoided up until now.  The poor thing sat there in the snow completely stunned until I picked her up and carried her back into the coop.

Never a dull moment around here, I tell ya.

Since that first flock of chickens we’ve had many others – we’ve raised meat birds, and had chickens that lay blue eggs (I LOVE blue eggs.)  At this very moment we don’t own chickens because we were not living in the country for the past three years, but we just recently bought another country home and you can bet I’ve got big plans to build a coop and fill it with laying hens as soon as the snow melts.

Well…I’ve got big plans to ask my husband to build a coop for me….

 

Symptoms of Calcium Deficiency in Chickens

At one point I was noticing that sometimes when I was collecting the eggs I’d have eggs with paper thin eggshells.  Turns out, the girls lose a lot of calcium when they are laying eggs.  Which makes sense. That’s super hard work.

Other signs of calcium deficiency in chickens are:

• poor growth
• lethargy
• leg weakness
• Inflamed joints

There are two main ways to get some calcium back into them.  One is to buy oyster shells.  The other is to use what you have on hand – crushed up eggshells.  Why would I buy oyster shells when I can easily make a natural supplement for the chickens in my own kitchen that can really be done in under 10 minutes?

I want to share with you how to prepare eggshells for chickens so you can have a healthy, happy flock.  I mean, that’s all us chicken owners really want, am I right?

How to Make a Homemade Calcium Supplement for Chickens

All you need to do is start collecting eggshells. Rinse them out and throw them in a bowl until you have a good amount.  

Lay the eggshells in a baking dish, and place them in a preheated oven with a temperature of 375F.  Let them “cook” for about 7 minutes.  This heat helps kill any bacteria on the shells, but I also find they are easier to crush once dried out.

Take them out of the oven, let them cool down, and crush them. The purpose of crushing them is so that they don’t resemble an egg.  You don’t want them to associate the supplement with an actual egg or they might start eating their own eggs.  If you’ve ever had a chicken with an egg pecking problem, you’ll know what I mean.  It’s a problem you don’t want.

The shells don’t have to be a powder, just bite-sized pieces.

I put the eggshells on an aluminum pie plate and put it in the coop.  I know some people just sprinkle it on the ground.  Either way works.  They will find their way to the shells either way.

This is such a frugal calcium supplement that makes both you and your chickens happy.  Your chickens because they will be feeling better, and you because you don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for yet ANOTHER supplement for your house.

Owning chickens is such a wonderful experience, and I’m going to warn you now, chickens are like chips – you can’t have just one.  (which is very true because one chicken would get very lonely if it had no friends.)  

The thing I love about owning chickens, aside from the eggs, is that they are a fairly inexpensive animal to own, and if you are new to homesteading or don’t really know a whole lot about raising animals, chickens are an easy place to start.  

There’s a reason you will find chickens on so many properties of people who live in the country.  They are easy to love, frugal to keep, and fun to have!  And with homemade supplements like this one it is easier than ever to keep your flock healthy.