Thursday, January 12, 2012

Putting egg shells in wild bird feed?

I read that you can put crushed chicken egg shells in wild bird feed to help the birds get the extra calcium they need for their own eggs. Anyone else try this?



I assume they need to be cooked egg shells so as not to pass on any diseases - but I find the egg shells difficult to crush as small as I think they need to be - I've tried crushing them with a mallet, the food processor and manually - but they stick together and don't crush well. Anyone have a good trick for doing this?



Thanks!

Putting egg shells in wild bird feed?
The eggshells need to be dried, but not necessarily cooked. But baking does help to dry them. They also do not need to be ground too fine - I have seen birds break off bits of eggshell and peck at it until it is the size they want.



Many commercially available wild bird seeds and other products (like suet) have additional calcium in them, but you can always offer the eggshells if you want.



"It is helpful to provide calcium suet to nesting birds and to birds that are rearing their young. Calcium can be provided by offering suet with calcium (such as Wild Birds Unlimited's Calcium Care) or ground up egg shells. Be sure the egg shells have been completely dried before placing them out for the birds." http://www.wbu.com/edu/nest.htm



"To give your birds a helping hand, consider providing extra sources of calcium this time of year. Calcium can help strengthen bird eggs and give the young a better chance at survival. Research shows that many birds seek out calcium during nesting season. You can provide crushed eggshells that you have dried and cooked or a calcium-enriched suet, such as Wild Birds Unlimited Peanut Butter’n Jelly Suet Dough or Calcium Care suet."

http://www.wbu.com/subscribe/emails/03/0...



Here is a good website detailing a study doen in 1999 on adding eggshell to a wild bird's diet - what percentage of birds, and what species, took the eggshell: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Publication...
Reply:This definitely works for chickens but other birds not sure unless its ground fine.



Bake shells in oven then crush they shouldnt stick together then
Reply:If you "cook" the shells in the microwave for about 30 seconds, you can them crush them up (the do NOT have to be finely ground) then you can add them to the seed. Birds pick out what they want/need and leave the rest. I just smash the shells up in my hands once they cool down, it's quite easy and they don't seem to stick together much. You could also attach a cuttlebone to a tree near their feeder, that will give them extra calcium as well.
Reply:ok eggs are a good source of calcium but anouther good and safe one is cuttlefish...dont clean or wash it just leave it the way you find it,as washing will do no good.Eggs have to be clean so baking in oven is a bit mesy and can burn it so it loses its value,microwave them for about 8to 10 mins and then if you have one a mortal pestel for cooking,i use this and it grinds the shells and i do cuttle fish into a very fine powderso this is the easiest way that i have found
Reply:u mite cause ur bird neck to start bleeding %26amp; plus i will not get digested
Reply:I feed wild birds, and I've never heard of this.



My suspicion is that it's not accurate. After all, nature provides what wild creatures need--our seed is a convenience, maybe a treat, but not a need. If they needed extra calcium for egg-laying, they'd have died off long ago rather than breeding like crazy until many areas have pest species.



So if you're having trouble crushing them the way you'd like to, maybe it's just fine if you don't bother.
Reply:You have to either let the eggs dry out or bake them for a few minutes so they're nice and dry. They should crush up easily then.
Reply:I use the egg shells from raw uncooked eggs, just wipe the inside of the shell to stop them being too sticky or leave them upside down for the night before crushing them.



Wrap them in tissue and crush them up that way, although I'm not sure you should mix them in with the food, put them in a separate bowl, the birds use them as grit which grinds up food in their stomachs before it is fed back to the chicks.
Reply:You can bake egg shells for about 10 minutes, them crush them finely. you can add it to the bird feed.


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