Why are my 7 week old ducklings suddenly eating A LOT of grit?

[OneEggToRuleThemAll]

My four ducklings will be 7 weeks old on Monday. They are still indoors day and night while my husband finishes their duck coop. They are as big as cats now, except for my Magpie who is still pretty small and more like the size of a large kitten. Anyway, the last few days, they have been emptying their little grit dish DAILY. I've noticed my Buff Orpington eats large mouthfuls of grit at a time. I buy them the chick grit from Tractor Supply. Why are they eating so much of it? Should I now buy them regular grit instead of the tiny chick grit? They get salad and peas twice per day, along with their feed, so they definitely need the grit, but can they OVEREAT grit? Thanks in advance!

 

[nuthatched]

Yes, they can over eat grit, I'd remove it.

 

[NatJ]

I buy them the chick grit from Tractor Supply. Why are they eating so much of it? Should I now buy them regular grit instead of the tiny chick grit?

I would try the larger grit.

If the grit is too small, it just goes right through them, instead of staying in the gizzard to grind their food. That would make them need more grit to replace it, which might cause them to eat a lot more grit (but if all the grit is small, it goes right through as well, so eating more will not really help.)

 

[OneEggToRuleThemAll]

Yes, they can over eat grit, I'd remove it.

Thank you for your reply! But don't they need some grit in order to digest leafy greens and peas? They get both of those twice per day.

 

[OneEggToRuleThemAll]

I would try the larger grit.

If the grit is too small, it just goes right through them, instead of staying in the gizzard to grind their food. That would make them need more grit to replace it, which might cause them to eat a lot more grit (but if all the grit is small, it goes right through as well, so eating more will not really help.)

Good to know! Thank you for replying!

 

[nuthatched]

Thank you for your reply! But don't they need some grit in order to digest leafy greens and peas? They get both of those twice per day.

Not daily though, maybe once a week.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I just leave it out separate from my feed bowls and mine eat it as needed. Reg. grit once they get around 8 weeks old.

 

[crazy chicken ladies]

What is grit? Should I be giving it to my ducks? Right now all I give them is duck food.

 

[CatInTheHenHouse]

What is grit? Should I be giving it to my ducks? Right now all I give them is duck food.

Grit is basically rocks that birds eat to grind up their food.

 

[NatJ]

What is grit? Should I be giving it to my ducks? Right now all I give them is duck food.

Grit is little rocks.

The grit (rocks) mostly stay in the gizzard, to grind up the food the duck eats (or chicken, or pigeon, or whatever.) Birds do not chew their food with teeth, but grit in the gizzard is their way of breaking up food into little bits so it is easier to digest.


If the duck food is made of things that were ground up and then stuck back together into pellets or crumbles, then no your ducks do not need grit. That food is already ground up. Grit will not cause any problems, but is not needed either.

If your ducks eat whole grains, or grass, or other things, then yes they need grit to grind that up in their gizzard. Ducks who free range will often find enough grit for themselves (rocks of the right size), but ducks who are kept in a pen will need to have grit provided to them if they are eating foods with whole grains or other chunks.