to grit or not to grit....

[Rooneytune]

Is there a reason not to make grit available to chicks? I have some in with my little girls and they seem to enjoy pecking at it (that is before they kick it all around a bury the dish)... was I wrong to put it in for them? I am new to this and don;t wanna mess up

 

[EricH]

it wouldnt hurt, in my opinion i would have some available to deter the possibility of crop problems. just my opinion...

 

[dianaross77]

It can't hurt. If they were being raised by a hen, they'd be out finding stones and dirt to eat along with foraging for food with her.

 

[AnimalFriend<3]

I gave my chicks some at a week old and they love it! They all refuse to eat eggs, grapes or any other treats i give them but with in a couple hours the grit is always gone.

 

[buckaroo's wife]

Is there special small grit or do you give regular?

 

[Doopy]

buckaroo's wife :

Is there special small grit or do you give regular?

Sure there is special grit for the young'uns. Go out to the place where you plan to have their chicken run when they grow up and get a big hand full of dirt. Yup plain old dirt - don't look for anything special - any dirt will do. Toss it into the brooder and let them play with it. They will fill their crop with it and also it will introduce them the the bacteria that they will be getting on a daily basis when they are in the run. It's not healthy for the chicks to grow up in a sterile environment and then be thrust into the outdoor world un-prepared. Yup, chickens eat dirt every day.

edit - I can't spell worth a darn!​

 

[Tapsmom]

Hi, my chicks are about 2 weeks old. I've given them some tomatos, bananas and today they had some cantalope. We had been to TSC and gotten some "Poultry Grit" That says "insoluble crushed granite" When we opened the bag the pieces looked big to me for the little ones. Can we use play sand? (We can use some more for the kids sandbox anyways) Do I need to treat them for Cocci (sp) or anything else before we take any dirt from outside?

 

[CowgirlPenny]

Quote:
Yes, play sand is fine. I picked up two new bags today for mine.

 

[Tapsmom]

Do I just put a bowl of it in their pen? Don't they also roll in it to clean themselves? Also, can I use ashes from the woodbrning stove for them the "bathe " in or is that just silly? (I'm brand new to this as you can see

 

[CowgirlPenny]

Quote:
For my chicks I put a small dish in their brooder. For my roosters I just toss a bag on the ground in their run and spread it out a little. They pick at it along with whatever else is on the ground.

I'm not sure about the ash. I would worry about maybe respiratory issues from the powder? Someone more experienced can tell you!