Did you know how great eggshells are for your dog?
Most of us eat eggs often and chuck the shell in the bin. It’s such a waste, and something we should get out of the habit of doing.
Eggshells are a great source of calcium for our dogs.
Personally, after I crack my morning egg, I scrunch up the shell in my hands and mix it with a BARF patty or mince meat. My dog loves it.
If that sounds gross to you, or you want to serve eggshells to your dog with more finesse, we’ll cover that below:
Why are eggshells good for your dog?
Did you know your dog needs way more calcium than you do?*
Insufficient calcium is actually one of the most common problems with dogs fed raw or home cooked meals which aren’t properly formulated.
From following numerous raw and home cooked dog feeding communities it is clear many are aware of the calcium needs of their dog, and often cater for this with a calcium supplement. But they don’t really know how much or how often – it’s pretty hit and miss. Aside from that, the amount of calcium compared to the amount of phosphorous is important also – which is why you often hear about the “calcium phosphorous ratio”.
Rest assured, if you feed raw or home cooked to relatively balanced ratios of meat, organs, and bones, you should cater for a relatively balanced calcium to phosphorous ratio.
Eggshells as a calcium source can be part of your “bone” ratio.
* Note this is per proportion of their total calorie intake and body size
Giving eggshells to your dog raw
If you don’t have any issues with feeding eggs raw then this is your easiest option. Scrunch or grind them, and give them to your dog.
If eggshells on their own aren’t appealing to your dog, feel free to mix them in with other food. Wet, raw, or BARF works best.
I have friends who simply give their dog a whole egg and the dog will happily devour it. Eggs are absolutely packed with nutrition, so why not?
Preparing eggshells for your dog
If you’re not keen on giving your dog raw eggshells, then lets take a look at how to cook them. There are a few simple ways to prepare eggshells, and you’ll want to be as safe, hygienic, and keep them as nutritionally absorbable as possible.
How to sun dry eggshells (1 to 2 days prep)
A great method of “cooking” eggshells is to sun dry them, and Australia makes this very easy for us.
It requires some planning, so if that’s not your thing skip ahead to the next section.
Sun drying eggshells is as simple as leaving them in a sunny spot, and in only a day or two of sun exposure they are clean and easily crushed into powder that is not sharp and is very well absorbed.
You can use a stone mortar and pestle, and if you get in the habit of grinding eggshells regularly this will also become a great vessel for sunning them, grinding them, and storing them!
Eggshells on the double
What if you’re needing the eggshells, like, now… because you’re simply impatient?
It’s easy enough to cook eggshells in your oven, and here’s how:
Crank your over up to a low heat, ideally between 100 to 120C.
Wash the eggs in warm water and roughly dry them. Then crack them and set aside the contents for when they are needed (this can be for your dog, or to bake a cake – whatever you need them for).
Put the shells onto a baking tray and bake for about 10 mins – you don’t have to wait for your oven to finish heating up before you start, just pop them in.
The eggshells will dry out and may turn a golden brown colour. Don’t go too far away as you’ll need to check them often so they don’t burn.
Ovens vary, as do shell sizes and thicknesses. Once they’re looking lightly tanned and the membranes that stick to the insides have dried, take them out and leave to cool.
If you have a mortar and pestle then grind them up with that. If you don’t, you can also put them in a ziplock back and hit them with a rolling pin or other firm item. You can also put the eggshells into some food processors and blenders, but that strikes me as too much hassle (don’t you hate cleaning blenders?). There are many ways to grind eggshells, so you may want to experiment with the kitchen appliances you have, add some flamboyance, and make sure you take a quirky video for TikTok!
And that’s it! Nature’s way to boost calcium intake without using supplements or chemicals. That’s what we are after!
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