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Can I give my baby chicks dirt from the yard?

post #1 of 4
3/27/11 at 12:29pm
Thread Starter 

I had read something on here about cutting out a chunk of grass from the lawn and giving it to baby chicks for grit to help digestion
but I live in the south and we have mostly clay here
is it still safe to do that?

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post #2 of 4
3/27/11 at 1:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 7_chicks_for_luck 

I had read something on here about cutting out a chunk of grass from the lawn and giving it to baby chicks for grit to help digestion
but I live in the south and we have mostly clay here
is it still safe to do that?


Hmm... Chickens love to dig up the grass until there is only dirt left, then they just love to chew it or take dirt bathes in it. It is the natural thing that they do. I am sure that it is "okay" to let them eat the clay/dirt, but I wouldn't give them too much.

What I did was bought some chicken grit, dug a hole and filled the grit in the hole. Then mixed in the grit with a little dirt. They loved it! They chewed it, played in it, & bathed in it.
(And the chicken grit had calcium which kept their eggs very strong)
(Also it stopped them from digging more holes in the yard! wink )

Perhaps you could try that?... Good luck with your chickens. smile

What do you think of meyer Hatchery? I'm getting chicks soon and I need every single little comment you have on the hatchery. (Good or bad!) PM me if you have any comments, THANKS!
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What do you think of meyer Hatchery? I'm getting chicks soon and I need every single little comment you have on the hatchery. (Good or bad!) PM me if you have any comments, THANKS!
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post #3 of 4
3/27/11 at 3:11pm

Yep, tht's fine to do. I do it for mine starting when they are about 3 weeks old. A hunk o' grass and dirt, and a box of sand, and the little buggers are in peep heaven! LOL

(Our soil is mostly clay, as well. Hasn't hurt a chicken yet.)

- Mak
1 White Crested blue splash Polish hen, 4 Red Star hens, 2 Dominique hens. The Chicklets: 2 EE, 1 LB, 1 GLW, 1 BO, 1 Austrolorp
People who count their chickens before they are hatched, act very wisely, because chickens run about so absurdly that it is impossible to count them accurately --Oscar Wilde
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- Mak
1 White Crested blue splash Polish hen, 4 Red Star hens, 2 Dominique hens. The Chicklets: 2 EE, 1 LB, 1 GLW, 1 BO, 1 Austrolorp
People who count their chickens before they are hatched, act very wisely, because chickens run about so absurdly that it is impossible to count them accurately --Oscar Wilde
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post #4 of 4
3/27/11 at 3:44pm

We have sandy soil...
but I fix a shallow dish filled with garden soil for them starting at
about a week or so old.
They love to bath and pick at it smile

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