If you have backyard chickens, I know you have eggs coming out the wazoo! But what about all the eggshells that are left behind after all those yummy eggs are used?
Here are two ways I save my eggshells and a few ways why they are useful!
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What’s So Great About Eggshells?
If you think about it, every part of a chicken can be used. From the meat to the bones, the organs, everything is useful. The same goes for the eggs they produce.
What do you usually do with the eggshells after you use the yolks? You throw them away, right? Well, now is the time to stop doing that and start using them instead, here’s why:
Calcium
Eggshells contain calcium that is beneficial to chickens, plants, and even humans.
Eggshells can be dried and crushed and be fed back to your chickens to add calcium back into their diet. I like to do this especially during the winter when bugs and grass are very limited if not nonexistent.
Not only can you feed the shells back to your chickens, you can also use them in the garden to add calcium to your plants. Peppers and tomatoes benefit from sprinkling the calcium packed eggshells around the base of the plant.
Pest Deterrent
Again, eggshells are great for the garden in deterring pests in the garden. You can sprinkle eggshells around your plants and they will help in deterring slugs, snails, and deer. This is great for a natural repellent instead of chemicals. Although, you will have to add eggshells after it rains as the the rain will lessen their effect.
Skin Care
This article talks about how eggshells can actually be used as a beauty hack for skincare. You can use every part of the egg to use as a facemask, spot treatment for the skin, and even on your teeth. I found this info during a quick google search and I thought it was fascinating!
Vitamin Supplement
I shared some information about eggshells on Instagram, and a comment stuck out with new to me info. If you prep the shells properly, you can use eggshells as a calcium supplement in your own diet. Essentially free vitamins from nature! Incredible!
How Do You Save Eggshells To Use?
I think there is some debate on this, and I can’t tell you what you should do, but this is what I do.
Air Dry
When I use up my eggs, I simply crack the egg, use the yolk, and toss the shell into a mason jar I have sitting on the counter. This allows the shells to air dry on their own time and I don’t have to fuss with the oven to dry them out.
Now, I don’t wash my eggshells, I just let them dry on their own and I haven’t had them mold.
Warning: do not place a lid or cover if you let your shells air dry. This will result in mold and it is not pretty. Yes, I made this mistake one time and never did again!
If you are using the shells to consume or use on skin, I would recommend washing the shells before letting dry.
Oven Dry
If you prefer to wash and oven dry your eggshells, you can. I have done this one time but don’t find it better than air drying.
Start by turning your oven to 200 F. Then rinse your eggshells and placing them on a cookie sheet. Once the oven is ready, you can put the shells in the oven and let them dry for about 10 – 15 minutes.
Crushing or Powder
Once your shells are dried, you can either crush the shells by hand or you can use a blender.
I use my single use blender to pulse the dried eggshells to get them as small as I can or even to a powder.
Storage
You can easily store your crushed or powdered eggshells on the counter in a ziplock back or mason jar. I keep mine in a jar with a lid on the counter and take some out to feed the chickens while the rest is waiting for the garden. In my experience, it takes a lot of eggs to get enough crushed shells to be of use so they have lasted me through the winter without any issues.
There you have it. A few reasons eggshells are great to keep and how to store and use them. I hope you found this information helpful and if you use eggshells for something other than what’s on this list, please let me know in the comment section!
Until next time,
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