Another grit ?

[blb]

Hey all. I took my 4 week chick outside yesterday for an hour and plan too whenever I can. Are they picking up grit? I looked for some at the pet store but it has calcium in it so didn't buy it. I know people say clean sand but dont' really want to buy sand for just my 5 chicks. Can I now give them treats? Will the time they spend outside give them enough?

 

[d.k]

* As far as I know, all grit made for chickens or other birds has calcuim in it. It's supposed to.

 

[stilwellchick]

Hartz parakeet grit is okay for chicks. You can get at Walmart or grocery stores. Just sprinkle a tiny bit on their food. Watch out, don't put a whole dish in there, I have seen them munch it all down. ahhh! Remember that chick starter has everything they need in it. They only need a tiny amount of grit if they are eating things other than their feed. You can look up treats in the Raising Chicks section here too. After they are a couple of weeks old try some mealworms and watch the chickie soccer game start.

 

[MissPrissy]

There are various grades of crushed granite that is used for grit. You may have to do some searching but I know the TSC and similar stores here as well as the feed mills have crushed granite available. If they are pecking in the dirt while outside the dirt should be sufficient as grit.

I usually pick up a 50 lb bag for $5 - $7 and fill an open feeder for free choice for my chickens and sand for chicks but I don't worry about it too much as commercial feed has grit particles in it.

 

[blb]

Thanks, just wanted to make sure they were getting some outside. Yea they were having a great time in the grass, dirt.

 

[twigg]

d.k :

* As far as I know, all grit made for chickens or other birds has calcuim in it. It's supposed to.

There are two types of grit.

The first is a calcium supplement, needed for shell production, but not necessary if layers are being fed on Layers Mash/Crunbles, as they have sufficient.

The second type is a hard grit ... often crushed flint or granite. The chickens store this in their gizzard, and it grinds up food much in the way we use our teeth.

If the hens do not have access to plenty of pasture, they need this at the rate of about 1oz per bird per month.

Just mix it with food or scatter it in the run, they will find it. Some provide a hopper.​

 

[gumpsgirl]

I don't know if there are Southern States Coop's in Maryland (I'm in Virginia and they have them here). I called them yesterday to see if the starter feed that I had purchased from them already had some grit in it. They told me it didn't and said they do sell a starter grit. Maybe check into that if you have a Southern States nearby. If not, try your local farm feed supply store.