Having your eggs and eating them!!

Can you feed the egg shells back to the chickens?
Also how long should i leave the eggs before collecting?
 Thanks Brooke

I have read that you can feed the egg shells back to your girls.  I have only had my girls for a 1 week and 1 day, but this is how i have been doing it.  I have first washed as much "egg white off" I then blasted them in the microwave just to kill anything off and then put them in a pestle and mortar and ground them down to a grit and then put this back in the mash/layers. They have eaten it twice and they are still rosey and popping eggs. But hopefully the older more experienced cluckers here will confirm this is OK.  I dont leave my eggs for any time at all. I have had two warm eggs (just popped out) but my girls are afternoon layers and as i am not there they get a few hours to leave the nest box.  But hopefully the older more experienced cluckers here will confirm this is OK.

Chickens tend to lay their eggs every 25 hours
although I do have one that lays the same time every day for 3 weeks then changes routine for a bit  
 

I collect any eggs as soon as they've been layed if I'm around,
 I tend to spend too much time with my girls an know who's laying when etc...  :oops: