Many poultry farmers in Uganda consider egg shells as waste and usually throw them away.
What these farmers don’t realise is that egg shells can be processed to provide minerals that can be used in chicken feed.
Egg shells are rich in calcium, which is important in the growth of chicken. It is necessary in the strengthening of bones and the formation of egg shells.
Layers need a lot of minerals for their bones and for egg shell formation.
In a layer chicken, an egg matures and is released from the ovaries without the hard outer shell. This is acquired at a later stage.
A lot of nutrients are required in the process of shell formation. Sometimes these nutrients are not sufficiently available in the chicken feeds but are readily available in egg shells.
So farmers can utilise the egg shells by grinding them and mixing them with chicken feeds.
A convenient source of egg shells in urban areas are the road side vendors who make egg omelette rolled in a chapattis (rolex). These rolex dealers, mainly the youth, use several trays of eggs every day, and have problems disposing off shells.
All a farmer needs to do is provide them a con[1]tainer where they can keep the shells to be collected later.
Other sources are restaurants and institutions like schools and the confectionary industry where eggs are consumed in large quantities.
The fear that feeding crushed egg shells to chicken will encourage them to start eating their eggs, or that the egg shells can transmit disease are unfounded.
Poultry feed should provide a source of energy that is rich in carbohydrates, fats, proteins and minerals.
The size of an egg is largely determined by the nutrients in the chicken feed.
