Birds eating eggshells (1 Viewer)

[birdymcgee]

This is my first post. Thanks for having me.
My GF and I have been picking up various hatched wild bird egg halves and putting them in our potted plants for decoration. Today I noticed an English Sparrow female pecking at and actually eating the shells.
Question, should we be putting out our discarded egg shells for pregnant birds' nutritional needs, and will they eat them?
Thanks!
-j

 

[Andrew Rowlands]

Hi folks, welcome to BF

I think the answer to both questions has to be yes!

If you kept hens, you'd ensure they had enough calcium to make eggs, if you had no eggshells, you'd use crushed oyster shells

Cheers,

Andy.

 

[Dave B Smith]

Hello,
On behalf of the staff, welcome to the Birdforum. Looking forward to hearing more from you.

 

[birdymcgee]

Thanks for having me! I look forward to participating in this great forum!
From Texas,
-j

 

[Hanno]

Certainly yes and yes, even in the wild birds will actively seek out old egg shells.

 

[birdymcgee]

Ok, I will be saving my old shells from now on. I know there are a few species here that lay several clutches a year.
Another question. Should I keep the shells separate from feed? Also, should I break up the shells before I put them out?

 

[Hanno]

I don't think you need to break them up.

 

[MarindaR]

Hello! This is my first post; I found this thread via a google search of "birds eating eggshells."

I've been tossing eggshells into the garden in a lazy attempt to up the calcium in the soil (eventually I'll get around to crushing them up and digging them in)... this morning I saw a male sparrow munching on eggshell. I hadn't thought the birds would be interested, but had I thought, I would have expected the females, not the males.