can chicks eat TOO MUCH grit?

[bibliophile birds]

my chicks are a week old and are devouring their grit. the organic feed they are on is finely ground but it has some medium sized bits in it, so i've been giving them grit in a separate container. they have gone through a whole 24 oz box already!

can they eat too much grit? if it isn't unsafe, i don't mind buying them all the grit they want, but i don't want to accidentally hurt them.

 

[juliect]

I'm anxiously awaiting the answer too. I have the same issue with my ten-week olds.

 

[bigoakhunter]

I am not sure of the answer.....but one thing I did when the chicks were little, was to not give them free choice for grit. I put a teaspoon or two sprinkled on their food once a day. This gave them some, then after a week or so I knew they had enough to handle bugs, treats, grass. It also kept the youngsters from gourging themselves on grit.

Hope this helps some, even though I could not answer the original question.

 

[speckledhen]

I never feed chicks grit. They will gorge on it. If they are only eating starter, as they should be, they do not need it. A sprinkle of grit on their feed is fine if they are eating something that needs grinding, other than starter.