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!
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
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
- rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
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.
-
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 970
- Joined: Thu Sep 09, 2010 4:50 pm
- Location: MO
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?
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
- Full Member
- Posts: 24
- Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2010 10:11 pm
- Location: Australia
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.
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.
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.Lifestyle Lift Journey wrote: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.
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
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.
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.
-
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 970
- Joined: Thu Sep 09, 2010 4:50 pm
- Location: MO
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 !
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 !
-
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 970
- Joined: Thu Sep 09, 2010 4:50 pm
- Location: MO
-
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 970
- Joined: Thu Sep 09, 2010 4:50 pm
- Location: MO
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.
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
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
-
- Senior Member
- Posts: 105
- Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2011 5:33 am
- Location: Sharjah, UAE
-
- Green Thumb
- Posts: 461
- Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2011 4:53 pm
- Location: Atlantic Beach, Fl. (USDA Hardiness Zone 9a)
Yes, there are tons of micro/macro organisms in the soil that will start the decomposititon process. https://www.organicgardeninfo.com/soil-microorganisms.htmlgarudamon11 wrote:Can I just add the mashed egg shells to the soil without compost?
The only thing they really need is water and shelter from direct sunlight, I.e. mulch, or at least covered with a little soil.
-
- Senior Member
- Posts: 105
- Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2011 5:33 am
- Location: Sharjah, UAE
-
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 6113
- Joined: Sun Mar 28, 2010 11:43 pm
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
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
[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.
TIA![/quote]
My question is why removing the inner film from the egg shell? Is it danger? Thanks.
-
- Green Thumb
- Posts: 461
- Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2011 4:53 pm
- Location: Atlantic Beach, Fl. (USDA Hardiness Zone 9a)
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.tomc wrote: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.