FINCHforum

I recently discovered an easy way to crush egg shells for the birds.

Get 2 medicine bottles, one large and one smaller in diameter so that it will fit inside the larger one.

Fill the large bottle about half full with egg shells.
Put the smaller bottle in the larger one, and press. This will crush the egg shells into small pieces.
Fill the large bottle with egg shells, and press.
Repeat this until the large bottle is full.
I keep the crushed egg shells in the larger medicine bottle, so once crushed, I'm done.

This is a LOT easier than using a motar and pestle to crush the shells, and a LOT less messy than using a coffee grinder.

ac12

I just put the shells in a deep bowl and use the bottom of a drinking glass to crush them.

I use the same method to pulverize freeze dried mealworms.

I break them up with my hands in a bowl.

Sheather

Have done that too a few times, but they cut my skin on several occasions, so I stopped.

you can also use a coffee grinder to powder them.

Great ideas! I use my Nutribullet. My birds only get eggshell in the egg bread that I make for them so I just drop the whole eggs in the Nutribullet, add to the rest of the ingredients, and bake.

cindy wrote: you can also use a coffee grinder to powder them.

I did that ONCE.
When I opened the grinder, a cloud of egg shell dust came out of the grinder. phew....
It was ground way too fine, like talcum/baby powder.
If I use the grinder again, I will try to not get so fine.
Though that is a way to get egg shell powder to mix into the fresh egg food. hmmmm

I don't like to actually POWDER them as my guys will then ignore. I usually just crush with the back of a metal soup spoon. But I only have a few birds so a few eggshells goes a long long way.

Or, you can just let the birds crush the shell. They'll pick at even large pieces and get what they need.

Dave wrote: Or, you can just let the birds crush the shell. They'll pick at even large pieces and get what they need.

The only problem with that is that the birds will sometimes get a big piece and fling it onto the ground. Smaller pieces, not so much.

Mike

Sheather wrote: I break them up with my hands in a bowl.

same haha

Sojourner wrote: I don't like to actually POWDER them as my guys will then ignore. I usually just crush with the back of a metal soup spoon. But I only have a few birds so a few eggshells goes a long long way.

This is what I do, except I use a fork. I imagine a spork would work as well ha.

I use the bottom of a tiny glass measuring cup that measures up to 5 oz. Easy to make them as fine as you want.

Spoke to a new avian vet, he said the same as my other avian vet, grind to a powder, the sharp pieces can cut and get lodged in the throat tissue, GI tract, can cause impaction as well... powder them and add on top of dried or fresh egg food, mix in soft foods. This is especially important if mixing shell in egg food that is to be fed to young in the nest, parents may feed a crushed piece in soft food to young, it can sit in the crop, catch and not be able to pass or if it does the GI tract is so incredibly small the crush piece can get lodged, impact or cut the tissue which can allow a pathway for bacteria to enter the tissue or cause the bird to bleed out.... powdered he said is best. Same with grit...even though birds do not need grit since they hull the seed...but if you insist they need it grind it in a coffee grinder to a powder.

Twin Beaks Aviary makes a product called HATCHED, crushed egg shells. I don't eat enough eggs to supply my birds and it is easier to buy it by the pound than make my own. The Zebras, both m and f , eat the most of it . I buy mine from My Bird Store in NJ (order online).