Dried eggshells

[paul-inAZ]

Mine just sit at room temperature. As long as they stay dry no bacteria will grow.

[lovezebs]

Lucille

Hello stranger .

I just store them on the counter, but I usually use them up very quickly, (other than the tiny crushed bits that I mix into my bird grit mix).

I offer them, and they take what they need. The next day, when papers get changed, any left overs get tossed.

[Koko]

No hardboiled shells in my house are wasted!
I crush hardboiled shells because my birds do not even touch bigger ones, they are lazy to be true.
Crushed hardboiled shells are fantastic chips for them. Sometimes I feel they are eating their chips and watching on me as they were in the cinema... I am being observed!

[finchboy]

debbie276

...... Getting some my finches to eat the egg portion has been a task, but oh boy, do they all love the shell!

Its usually gone in minutes. I do notice a lot on the floor of the cage though, maybe I should crush it up a bit more.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one worried about sharp edges, heck, I was scared at first letting them have it without drying it out due to the jagged edges.

Hey, this is music to me!
You see. I have never succeeded in getting my strawberries to eat any boiled egg. I have kept a lot of egg shells which I will pulverise and serve to them in a cage cup. I dry them in the scorching sun after peeling off the membrane.

I also won't want to serve the little creatures with pieces of egg shell with sharp or jagged edges. Try crushing some with your fingertips and see how it will cut you. I bought a pounding bowl to crush things for my little birdies.

[slwatson]

Gouldian lover

I always boil my eggs, and sometimes I leave the egg shells and mash the whole egg in a mixer for my egg food. Other times, I'll peel the egg, (makes it easier to dry out the eggs when I don't have the peel on them) and then I'll toss the egg shells on a paper towel with a paper plate, and put them in the microwave to dry the membrane out. Boiling already killed the germs, but I like to dry the shells out more. Then I wad up the paper towel with the egg shells inside and crush them into the smallest pieces I can. I read somewhere on here that someone had a finch get impacted with an egg shell because the piece it ate was too big, so I'm paranoid about giving my birds large egg shell pieces. Using the microwave does make them more brittle, but I haven't had any issues with my birds because I always mix the shells with the eggs anyway.

[Sally]

finchboy Try adding some freeze-dried bloodworms to your egg food, most Strawberries love them, and that might get yours eating egg food. You have to mix the f/d bloodworms in well, otherwise they blow all over the cage bottom because they are so light.

[finchboy]

I remove the membrane inside the egg shells before I dry them. After grinding them into powder, I keep it in an airtight jar on the shelf.
But in spite of my efforts, my two finches are oblivious of the egg shell powder in the separate feed cup.

@Sally
Having prepared some mashed boiled egg which was ignored by them, I am hesitant to try different recipes, especially when I only have two finches which can't consume much anyway. The thought of wasting all the laboriously prepared food is off-putting.

[debbie276]

I remove the membrane inside the egg shells before I dry them. After grinding them into powder, I keep it in an airtight jar on the shelf.
But in spite of my efforts, my two finches are oblivious of the egg shell powder in the separate feed cup.

Have you tried leaving the pieces larger? They may not just like powdered shells.

[slwatson]

finchboy

How do you remove the membrane efficiently? I've spent countless hours peeling the membrane away from the shell, but when I started boiling two dozen eggs at a time, I stopped because it took so long! I also find myself using organic eggs, and they're typically so fresh, I can't peel the eggs once they're boiled without getting chunks of egg white with the peel. The membranes on those eggs are tougher and harder to peel from the egg. I've tried several tricks too...cracking the eggs once I remove them from the hot water and covering them with cold water and ice immediately. Nothing I've tried with the fresh organic eggs has worked.

[paul-inAZ]

Why remove the membrane or bits of adherent egg white? Its all protein.
Once cooked and thoroughly dry no bacteria will grow.

[debbie276]

I wouldn't waste my time removing the membrane, its all good.

[xz_zebs]

I've been baking my egg shells and the membranes just dry out and blow away. No need to pick them out or process further than loading the baked shells into a ziplock to be crushed into pieces (1-4mm) with a roller.

[Spreckles]

Amazing how many variations on the theme....just set the shells on the counter to dry. No cooking or washing here.

[slwatson]

Honestly, I was just curious to know if there was a magic way to peel fresh organic hardboiled eggs. I've gotten to where I just mix them all whole in my mixer and I don't peel them anymore, but if I ever wanted to, what's the best way.

[finchboy]

debbie276
Yup maybe I should try giving them the shell. I remove the membrane because it's like a piece of thin rubber which gets in the way with their tiny beaks. I have much patience in peeling it. I have not tried baking though, which I must.
@paul-inAZ
I will try as you suggested.