Best way to offer chick grit ??

[boat309]

So my chicks are about the right age to start giving them treets so I will also have to start giving them grit. How should I offer it to them? Should I just put it in a bowl in the brooder and let them have as much as they want or is their another way?

 

[couuntrygirl13]

Mix it with their feed.

 

[Farmer Viola]

I sprinkle it in their feed, and I also use wooden boards in the brooder to elevate waters and feeders. I will put little piles of grit on the wood, which they love.

 

[jwcloud]

hello i keep hearing the (grit) ? here is ? what is it how young do you start giving it to the chicks im sorry but i have no idea what im doing alot different than cattle ! one more thing how long do you feed them chick starter ? thankyou for the help this seems to be a great site !!!!!

 

[Farmer Viola]

hello i keep hearing the (grit) ? here is ? what is it how young do you start giving it to the chicks im sorry but i have no idea what im doing alot different than cattle ! one more thing how long do you feed them chick starter ? thankyou for the help this seems to be a great site !!!!!

hello and welcome!!!!

you can buy chick grit in bags at your local feed store. it is like hen grit, but broken up into smaller rocks. the rocks go inside their gizzard (stomach) which is a muscle, and the rocks help grind up the food since chickens don't have teeth. if your chick/ens go outside and free range, they likely eat rocks/grit by instinct! I will sprinkle grit in the chick's feed, or on the ground they like to peck it up.

I feed a combination "starter/grower" that is 18% protein until they start laying eggs. at this point you have the choice to feed them layer feed, which is still 18% protein plus added calcium which is needed to create egg shells.

if you plan to raise chicks alongside adults, or roosters and hens on the same feed, you can do what I do and keep them on 18% grower forever. then, you have to offer oyster shells free-choice as a calcium supplement. it just depends on your situation!

 

[jwcloud]

that make alot of sence now ! i built my 7 hens a dusting box yesterday and put dirty river sand the girls went to town lol , i free range them at least 3 sometimes 4 days a week but i was concerned about the chicks thank you alot ,,,, never new this chicken stuff was so much fun !!!!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

At the moment our chicks are still stuck in the coop (run will be finished THIS weekend, DH promised....again....) - so no opportunity to pick anything up outside and find grit on their own. I prefer to offer it separate from the feed (I do the same with oyster shell once they are of age). I am currently using a simple 6 inch round feeder with the closed center as opposed to the open style where you can screw in a gravity feeding jar. I like the fully covered aspect with just the feeding holes open as it minimizes waste and also minimizes bedding, etc getting kicked in.