Can chickens eat eggs and Eggshells?

Part by part

• YesCooked eggs (scrambled, hard-boiled)Preferred; also a chick treat.
• In moderationRaw eggsGrubbly Farms: safe but can start an egg-eating habit; Fresh Eggs Daily lists raw as OK.
• Prepare firstEggshellsDry and crush well; University of Kentucky ASC-241 says boil, remove membrane and crush to kill Salmonella and reduce egg eating.

Why

University of Kentucky's Dr. Jacob says eggshell can be used as calcium if it is dry and broken up, because hens that link shells with eggs are more likely to peck fresh eggs; egg eating usually starts with accidental breakage. Chewy's guide suggests crushed eggshells or oyster shell, about 0.5-1 oz per hen per week as needed.

How to serve eggs and Eggshells

• Scramble or hard-boil, chop
• Dry/bake shells and crush finely
• Offer shells free-choice in a separate dish

How often: Crushed shells or oyster shell about 0.5-1 oz per hen per week as needed (Chewy).

Be careful with

• University of Kentucky recommends boiling shells first to kill any Salmonella
• Don't feed whole or large shell pieces — they can teach hens to peck their own eggs

And for chicks?

Chewy chick guide: scrambled or mashed hard-boiled egg is a good extra protein for chicks.

The treat rules for every food

1. 1Scraps are not nutritionally balanced. Letting them displace complete feed can cause nutritional disorders and lower egg production; hens that fill up on treats can run short of calcium and draw it from their bones, weakening shells.
2. 2Never feed moldy, rotten or spoiled food. Molds can produce mycotoxins (e.g., aflatoxin on corn, peanuts, nuts, rice) that harm poultry, and University of Kentucky notes mycotoxins remain even if visible mold is removed. Rotting food can also be a source of Clostridium botulinum (botulism, 'limberneck'). Stale or wilted (not moldy) produce and bread are generally considered fine.
3. 3Avoid very salty, sugary, fatty, fried or heavily processed human food (chips, fast food, candy, heavily salted leftovers). Merck notes salt above about 2% of the diet is usually considered dangerous for poultry, that birds under 21 days old are more susceptible, and that restricted water access makes salt problems worse.
4. 4Provide insoluble grit (granite grit or small stones) whenever chickens eat whole grains, scratch, seeds or forage; birds that can reach the ground usually find their own. Oyster shell is a calcium source, not grit (it is too soft). Birds eating only a complete pelleted feed do not need grit.

All 10 rules · How much feed they need