At what age do baby chicks start to DUST BATH?

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ArraAchicksMama said:
Does the grit help them get ready for dirt?
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The grit is important if they have any food other than chick starter, and the minute they go outside they will catch bugs. So I always give mine a bowl of grit from day one and they bathe in it! Mine also bathe in their shavings. I give them a bowl of sand.
 
RoyalChick said:
The grit is important if they have any food other than chick starter, and the minute they go outside they will catch bugs. So I always give mine a bowl of grit from day one and they bathe in it! Mine also bathe in their shavings. I give them a bowl of sand.
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They are only having starter feed. No other source of food.
 
RoyalChick said:
No itsy bitsy spiders in the house?
I am sure it will be fine, but chick grit is inexpensive so I always feel it is safer to let them have some just in case.
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Okay, I wanna do this the safest way to avoid chick mortality. If I give them pure dry dirt to bathe in, do I have to mix in chick grit? I thought chick grit is only to be mixed with non-starter feed foods? Confused..
 
ArraAchicksMama said:
Okay, I wanna do this the safest way to avoid chick mortality. If I give them pure dry dirt to bathe in, do I have to mix in chick grit? I thought chick grit is only to be mixed with non-starter feed foods? Confused..
Click to expand...
Bathing and grit are separate things. It just happens that I put my grit in a big enough bowl that they bathed in it.
Usually people put a bowl of grit available for them to help themselves. If they are free range then it isn't usually needed because there are rocks in the dirt, but many people always leave a bowl of grit available.

Now to bathing. They love to bathe and it is the most hilarious and adorable sight. When they are grown they will likely find their own places to bathe. I suspect for babies in a brooder it isn't necessary to give them a place to bathe - but they enjoy it so much, why not?!
In terms of what to give them, they love sand. Some people prefer dirt from the yard because it gives their little bodies a chance to develop immunity to whatever nasty things you have in your soil. But sand is just as good and they will love it.

I don't give mine dirt until 10 days because I have Marek's in my flock and I only bring in vaccinated chicks. The vaccine takes 10 days to reach its full effect so until then I keep them in the house.
 
ArraAchicksMama said:
Okay, I wanna do this the safest way to avoid chick mortality. If I give them pure dry dirt to bathe in, do I have to mix in chick grit? I thought chick grit is only to be mixed with non-starter feed foods? Confused..
Click to expand...
The grit isn’t for the dust bath. It is used to aid digestion. I sprinkle chick sized grit into the chick crumble at feed time. The earlier the better. Using grit improves digestion and feed efficiency. Studies prove that grit fed chicks significantly out perform control groups in growth performance.
 
RoyalChick said:
Bathing and grit are separate things. It just happens that I put my grit in a big enough bowl that they bathed in it.
Usually people put a bowl of grit available for them to help themselves. If they are free range then it isn't usually needed because there are rocks in the dirt, but many people always leave a bowl of grit available.

Now to bathing. They love to bathe and it is the most hilarious and adorable sight. When they are grown they will likely find their own places to bathe. I suspect for babies in a brooder it isn't necessary to give them a place to bathe - but they enjoy it so much, why not?!
In terms of what to give them, they love sand. Some people prefer dirt from the yard because it gives their little bodies a chance to develop immunity to whatever nasty things you have in your soil. But sand is just as good and they will love it.

I don't give mine dirt until 10 days because I have Marek's in my flock and I only bring in vaccinated chicks. The vaccine takes 10 days to reach its full effect so until then I keep them in the house.
Click to expand...
Ahh thank you!! They got both Mareks and Coccidiosis vaccines. Do both take about 10 days to take in effect?
 

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