posted 2 months ago
I'm going to agree with what seems to be the majority vote.
I do feed eggs back to my chickens. I will toss a number of raw eggs onto a concrete block at feeding time before I give them their feed. When they stop being excited about the number of eggs and waiting anxiously for the next, I stop. The number of eggs given to them in this way will vary based on their excitement level which varies based on whatever is going on in their lives. Different weather conditions, different seasons, different activity levels, and different ages all act differently.
I have also given them broken raw eggs mixed with their feed. It's messier, but they enjoy it.
I don't bother to scramble them first, though I understand if you do. In theory, cooking would kill any potential bugaboos that me be part of the eggs and change the proteins enough that they wouldn't seem to trip the chicken brain trigger that identifies them as "egg". It's a safety measure.
I put no stock in the belief that chickens fed raw egg will develop a habit of eating their own. I'm not sure chickens have that much upper-level thought about it. Egg-eaters learn from other chickens that their laid eggs are delicious, but mine haven't made the connection between the eggs I give them and the eggs they lay.
So, short answer? Feed an egg per hen per day. Or feed intermittently as a treat until they lose interest. Fill in the gaps with other offerings - processed bagged feed, home-mixed feed, grass, fruit and vegetables, kitchen scrap, whatever you'd normally offer them.
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