egg shells

[ameliat]

Do most of you just dump them in the compost? I had been collecting shells, (after removing the inner film from the eggs), and when I had a good amount, I would boil them so if there was any harmful bacteria I figured it would be killed. Now with the huge egg recall, I don't feel good saving up a bunch of shells in my fridge (I would keep them in a ziplock bag) and it seems wasteful to boil water for just a few shells at a time. So what are your thoughts? Should I just dump them in my tumbler and not worry about bacteria?

TIA!

[cynthia_h]

I like to pulverize egg shells in an old blender (I have a newer blender for making up juice and for other cooking needs) and then adding the egg-shell "dust" to the compost pile. Sometimes it helps in knocking back ants, too, *if* I happen to have a batch of egg-shell dust at the same time as I have an ant invasion. Not guaranteed, but occasionally gratifying.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[soil]

I'm with cynthia, we dry and powderize ours in a blender. then add the powder to the layers as we build the new piles, turn piles, and amend in the garden soil

[farmerlon]

Also, you can sprinkle the chipped/ground eggshells around plants where you may be having problems with slugs and snails. The slugs/snails don't seem to like the sharp eggshell chips.

[rainbowgardener]

I just crush mine a little bit and throw them in the compost pile, no boiling or grinding... salmonella is a bacterium that lives in the intestinal tracts of animals. So we think it is going to survive months in a compost pile and then infect the plants? Doesn't make sense to me. When salmonella has been identified on plants, it was because water contaminated with fecal matter was sprayed directly on them. Salmonella is passed from animal intestines through feces to other animals.

[tomf]

I am new to composting so my method may not be the best; I just crush them and toss them in to the compost.

[toxcrusadr]

Me too. Crush a bit by hand and toss into the kitchen counter bucket. The salmonella scare has not changed my method. I always figured there was a risk of bacteria, so I wash hands after handling raw eggs and I don't eat raw eggs.

BTW, compost can make you sick if you ingest it. I recommend not eating it. Still good for your plants though. Make sense?

[Lifestyle Lift Journey]

I was just reading a book about raising chicken. There is a little section about Eggs & Salmonella for anyone interested.

Eggs & Salmonella
The Salmonella enteritidis bacterium, which causes salmonella food poisoning, is found in the faeces of many animals, including chickens.
Because hens sit on their eggs, there is a risk that the bacterium can enter the eggs through their porous shells. (Interestingly, it has been found that Maran eggs remain free from salmonella infection, possibly because the pores in heir eggs are small and the bacteria cannot penetrate the shell.) Stringent cleaning and inspection procedures put in place since the 1970s have reduced the incidence of external egg contamination to vertually nil in commercial flocks, although Salmonella enteritidis can still enter eggs in the ovaries of hens before the shells have formed.

I guess if you buy commercial eggs you don't have to worry about it too much. I don't know what you can do if you eat eggs of your backyard chickens other than keeping the chicken environment clean and cook eggs when eat.

By the way, I just crush egg shells and put it in the compost. I don't do anything else than letting the worms eat. I hope this helps.

[cynthia_h]

I guess if you buy commercial eggs you don't have to worry about it too much. I don't know what you can do if you eat eggs of your backyard chickens other than keeping the chicken environment clean and cook eggs when eat.

On the contrary: Over 500,000,000 eggs were recalled in the United States in late August and early September due to potential salmonella contamination. There has been one confirmed death due to the contamination; over 1,100 people have been made ill. Two very, very large commercial "egg factories" in Iowa were the sources of these eggs.

Due to the centralized food distribution system which the vast majority of U.S. food purchasers patronize (large supermarkets and the like), there was almost no way for any U.S. person to avoid knowing about this egg recall.

No backyard chickens were involved. Small farm egg producers experienced demand such as they have never before seen. Grocery stores near my home were at pains to put up signs saying "All our eggs are from California sources." People who have never sold their hens' eggs before were being cajoled to do so, as their practices were perceived to be superior to those in the "egg factories."

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[Kisal]

The changes made over the past 3 decades have made external contamination of eggs with salmonella very rare. These days, it is far more common for eggs to become contaminated while still inside the hen, before any shell has ever formed. Since there is no shell at the time of contamination, the size of the pores in the shell makes no difference whatsoever.

Also, the commercially laid eggs have never been sat on by a hen. The eggs aren't even laid in nests. The eggs are laid directly on the wire floor of the cage, which is angled, so the egg automatically rolls out onto a conveyor belt, and is moved out of the laying house to be processed or cooled and stored.

Eggs from backyard chickens are no more or less susceptible to contamination than are commercial eggs. Most chicks are purchased from commercial hatcheries, and are contaminated while they're still eggs themselves. Contaminated chicks can be bought by a person who is starting a backyard flock, just as readily as they can be included in a shipment to a commercial egg-laying facility.

The hens in a backyard flock, if they aren't already infected when they're purchased, likely have less chance of becoming infected, simply because they have less chance of being exposed to infected hens. That entirely depends on how clean the owners keep the coops, nest boxes, and other equipment, however. I've seen some pretty filthy backyard chicken coops, but I've also seen many that were absolutely pristine.

[tomf]

toxcrusadr thanks for the warning; I will stop eatting my compost now.

[toxcrusadr]

toxcrusadr thanks for the warning; I will stop eatting my compost now.

Glad to be of service folks.

And BTW don't eat chicken poop either.

[LizzL]

Also, you can sprinkle the chipped/ground eggshells around plants where you may be having problems with slugs and snails. The slugs/snails don't seem to like the sharp eggshell chips.

that's what I do! Boiling them first seems a bit, ehm, much? Is that really necessary?

[ACW]

My eggs come from the farmers market when I can get there .
My way is shells back in the box or tray ,thats a cardboard egg box/tray when the eggs are used the tray and shell go in my compost bin and get a little crush ,with the other veg waste they soon disapear into the mix .
not that we use a lot of eggs maybe 6 or 8 a week !

[toxcrusadr]

Yes, in my opinion, as does removing the inside film, which I assume contains a lot of protein = nitrogen.

IALBTC (It all leads back to compost).

[toxcrusadr]

Let's try this again. I meant, no, I don't think boiling is necessary nor is removing the film.

It would help if I knew how to do a forum post right.

[neil17]

Hello all, I learned this from my mother and it seems to work pretty well if you put egg shells in a 5 or 10 gallon bucket of rain water and let them sit about 3-4 days then pour it on your plants it works wonders very good results for me smells pretty bad when your pouring it but works great only raw egg shells though not boiled they lose there potentcy when boiled.

[Alfred]

I just crush them and put them on heap,I turn the heap over occasionally and keep it moist and thats it!

[rosegirl]

I've been adding egg shells to my compost for years. Crush them, (or not) depending on the day and the time I have, and toss them on the pile, when do you find time to boil and all that?

[jakrustle]

Hi, everyone. First post on this site. I am in the Phoenix area of Arizona.

If you get a chance, look up a guy by the name of Gil Carandang. He is very well established and reknowned for organic agricultural practices. His idea is to cook the egg shells well (I cooked mine for 20 minutes or so at about 450 degrees on my grill). After cooking and cooling, he suggests taking the egg shells and breaking them down physically, with a blender, in a paper bag with a rolling pin, etc. I used a coffee grinder. Worked great!

Once crushed, you take about 3 parts organic apple cider vinegar to one part egg shells and cover the shells for about 2 weeks ( I have mine in the fridge, in an old yogurt container and I burp it now and then - especially right after you mix the shells with the vinegar). The cider vinegar will extract out a very good amount of Calcium Carbonate that will be beneficial to your plants just as they go into flowering.

Be best you look Gil up. He has some great practices that can be used in home gardening.

Here's a link on some of his ideas for bacterial and fungal teas:
https://tribes.tribe.net/effectivemicro/thread/d6b8fd03-e2c7-4650-a658-51fdf4f013ad

JaK

[nickolas]

.I have 12 chooks of my own which means lots of egg shells left over. I dry then crush then powder all my egg shells and apply it to my many compost piles as well as to my 2 bathtub worm farms and also apply it to my organic liquid fertilizer system as a good source of calcium.

[garudamon11]

Can I just add the mashed egg shells to the soil without compost?

[john gault]

Can I just add the mashed egg shells to the soil without compost?

Yes, there are tons of micro/macro organisms in the soil that will start the decomposititon process. https://www.organicgardeninfo.com/soil-microorganisms.html

The only thing they really need is water and shelter from direct sunlight, I.e. mulch, or at least covered with a little soil.

[garudamon11]

Ok thats easy, thanks for that

[DoubleDogFarm]

A rehashed post from a year ago. Fun.

I have a old style propane oven with a pilot light. I just leave a metal bowl in the oven and add duck egg shell as they come along. Crush the previous ones and add the fresh to the top. These dehydrated shells are hand crushed and feed back to the ducks. I still purchase oyster shell, but not as often.

Eric

[jeff57]

Egg shells are one thing that doesn't make it to my compost pile. I clean and crumble them up, or use a mortar and pestle to grind them up. I combine them with used coffee grounds and add this combo directly to the soil where needed.

[yoseph]

[quote="ameliat"]Do most of you just dump them in the compost? I had been collecting shells, [color=red](after removing the inner film from the eggs)[/color], and when I had a good amount, I would boil them so if there was any harmful bacteria I figured it would be killed. Now with the huge egg recall, I don't feel good saving up a bunch of shells in my fridge (I would keep them in a ziplock bag) and it seems wasteful to boil water for just a few shells at a time. So what are your thoughts? Should I just dump them in my tumbler and not worry about bacteria?

TIA![/quote]

My question is why removing the inner film from the egg shell? Is it danger? Thanks.

[tomc]

Boiling shells, roasting shells, removing membrane(s), is a collosal waste of time.

Colliform bacteria isn't that persistant.

Crushing egg shells will probably make them available quicker, and may improve esthetic of sifted finished compost.

[john gault]

Boiling shells, roasting shells, removing membrane(s), is a collosal waste of time.

Colliform bacteria isn't that persistant.

Crushing egg shells will probably make them available quicker, and may improve esthetic of sifted finished compost.

I agree. I've actually never heard of boiling shells or removing the membrane. I can't count how many I've thrown into the compost.