The Science Of Feeding Grit To Poultry

Our yard is mostly dirt with lots of gravel. Can I just scoop up a bunch of it and put it in the brooder box for the chicks? It will have a large variety in sizes from tiny to larger pieces.
 
Unfortunatly, I already put the feed in the containers I keep it in to keep mice out of the bag. I'll just have to eat the cost and hold onto it for next year or find someone in my area that needs it. When I switch the to a different feed, is it best to mix it in with what they have now gradually to it being just the new feed?
Mix the two and use it up. It will be too old and possibly moldy if held too long.
 
What I learned: There is a science to feeding grit. It is more than just supplying stones to birds to help grind their feed because they don't have teeth.

Many people have studied growth rate and grit. To some degree the studies bear this out. However, the difference of rate of growth was so small as not to make feeding grit financially feasible during the growing stages, simply for growth's sake. In broilers, during the finishing stages, feeding insolvable grit with mash and hard grains resulted in significant gains in weight, well worth the adding grit. Feeding mash only with grit during finishing did not result in same weight gains. So it seems the grit was enabling the better digestion of the whole grains , resulting in better weight gain in the finished broilers.
Grit's worth is 2 fold ( 2 very important folds).
1. It helps develop a bigger healthier , stronger gizzard for the laying hens ( don't so much care about this development of a better gizzard in the broilers because they are being butchered anyway. The stronger, healthier gizzard in the laying birds helps digest their feed better resulting in more nutrition being absorbed to make more and better eggs.
2. In broilers, the grit helps digest the whole grains added to their mash during the finishing period. This results in significant weight gain in the finished birds.
--------------------
Grit that is too small for the bird's age and needs simply passes on thru the G.I. tract and does not benefit the bird. This is why sand is not a good idea for chicks. They need "flint grit" , i.e., chick-sized grit with sharp edges which do not wear down easily.
Oyster shell is good for providing calcium to the hens for laying. However, it does not do well for supplying grit for digestion because the sharp edges are easily worn away by the acid in the gizzard. This is why we feed both insoluble grit and oyster shell to laying hens.
None of the calcium supplying substances we could call and use as "grit" are best for both supplying grit and calcium. Supplying high magnesium* limestone grit for chicks is actually very harmful. It is much better to use insoluble grit plus either oyster shell or cockle shell for calcium. Tho research proves oyster shell is the better choice.
* low magnesium limestone grit can be used to advantage in certain poultry areas. However, the combination of insoluble grit and oyster shell has been proven scientifically superior so why stress using the limestone grit?.
Best,
Karen
Here is the source for much of my research. This pithy little book not only has the biblio cites, it has abstracts of each one. A wealth of knowledge on many aspects of grit. Tied in well with the other scientific articles I was reading on the Net.
Grit for poultry: bibliography and abstract.
Author: Branion, Hugh Douglas, 1906-
Published: New York, Granite Grit Institute of America [1960]
Physical Description:
84 p. 28 cm.
http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89043737196;view=1up;seq=1
:goodpost:
 
Wow thats more than I know about my dogs insides. I feed mine cheetos, italian bread, chips, cookies, dried mealworms and veggies. I suspect my intentions are different from most. I just want a big happy chicken family. I usually break half the eggs they produce and give it back to them. So far they have not broken a single egg on their own. My dogs have figured out where the nesting box is so if they get there before me the eggs are usually gone. My rooster Tony is a great defender but my one dog that takes the eggs is a chihuahua mix so there is really no interaction between them. I do enjoy the eggs and so do they. They are free range so the get all the dirt they want along with the sand baths they love so much.
 
What I learned: There is a science to feeding grit. It is more than just supplying stones to birds to help grind their feed because they don't have teeth.

Many people have studied growth rate and grit. To some degree the studies bear this out. However, the difference of rate of growth was so small as not to make feeding grit financially feasible during the growing stages, simply for growth's sake. In broilers, during the finishing stages, feeding insolvable grit with mash and hard grains resulted in significant gains in weight, well worth the adding grit. Feeding mash only with grit during finishing did not result in same weight gains. So it seems the grit was enabling the better digestion of the whole grains , resulting in better weight gain in the finished broilers.
Grit's worth is 2 fold ( 2 very important folds).
1. It helps develop a bigger healthier , stronger gizzard for the laying hens ( don't so much care about this development of a better gizzard in the broilers because they are being butchered anyway. The stronger, healthier gizzard in the laying birds helps digest their feed better resulting in more nutrition being absorbed to make more and better eggs.
2. In broilers, the grit helps digest the whole grains added to their mash during the finishing period. This results in significant weight gain in the finished birds.
--------------------
Grit that is too small for the bird's age and needs simply passes on thru the G.I. tract and does not benefit the bird. This is why sand is not a good idea for chicks. They need "flint grit" , i.e., chick-sized grit with sharp edges which do not wear down easily.
Oyster shell is good for providing calcium to the hens for laying. However, it does not do well for supplying grit for digestion because the sharp edges are easily worn away by the acid in the gizzard. This is why we feed both insoluble grit and oyster shell to laying hens.
None of the calcium supplying substances we could call and use as "grit" are best for both supplying grit and calcium. Supplying high magnesium* limestone grit for chicks is actually very harmful. It is much better to use insoluble grit plus either oyster shell or cockle shell for calcium. Tho research proves oyster shell is the better choice.
* low magnesium limestone grit can be used to advantage in certain poultry areas. However, the combination of insoluble grit and oyster shell has been proven scientifically superior so why stress using the limestone grit?.
Best,
Karen
Here is the source for much of my research. This pithy little book not only has the biblio cites, it has abstracts of each one. A wealth of knowledge on many aspects of grit. Tied in well with the other scientific articles I was reading on the Net.
Grit for poultry: bibliography and abstract.
Author: Branion, Hugh Douglas, 1906-
Published: New York, Granite Grit Institute of America [1960]
Physical Description:
84 p. 28 cm.
http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89043737196;view=1up;seq=1
Interesting read.
Thanks!
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom