Chickens Need Calcium Too

Published on Wednesday, February 3, 2010, by CHOW Video Team / Edit Post

Chickens Need Calcium Too

In an extension of the chicken/egg conundrum, Esperanza Pallana, who writes the urban farming blog Pluck and Feather, explains that eggshells are a good source of calcium, a nutrient that chickens require in order to lay eggs with strong shells. Be sure to grind up the shells, though; otherwise your chickens will be confused over what’s an edible eggshell and what’s not.

CHOW Tips are the shared wisdom of our community. If you’ve figured out some piece of food, drink, or cooking wisdom that you’d like to share on video (and you can be in San Francisco), email Meredith Arthur and tell us what you’ve got in mind.

ALLCHOW Tip
POST A COMMENT |4 Comments

COMMENT

  • to add... although there was a bountiful amount of oyster shells on my grandparents farm -- we never had a problem with weak egg shells -- nor did i ever see a chicken lay a "mystery blob" in my lifetime.

  • yep... mad cow was caused by grinding cattle waste parts back into the cattle feed supply... oyster shells is a better idea.

  • Feeding a chicken by-product to chickens just sounds worng to me. Wasn't it something like that with cows that caused mad cow disease.

  • This is very poor advice as it increases the chances of the hens eating eggs from other nests. the better solution is to feed ground oyster shells.