Chick grit!

[AlexEve]

I put this little plate full of somewhat fine sand in the brooder for a dust bath. The moment I put it in, the chicks started eating the mouthfuls of sand. I assume they instinctively eat it for grit? Also, can they eat too much?

 

[NewBoots]

Yes they can, you might want to take it out for now. How old are they?

 

[AlexEve]

3 weeks and two days. Should I periodically put it in and out to prevent them eating too much?

 

[NewBoots]

I would give them chick grit but until they are used to it, just sprinkle some on their food. Once they learn it isn't really food (a few days) then I'd keep a small dish of grit in the brooder. But sand it too fine to be used as grit. Do you have access to chick grit? Some feed stores have it and some don't. I had to get mine mail order. Parakeet grit will work for a while but they'vs nearly outgrown that. And wait on the fine sand for dust bathing till they understand grit. They can pack their crops with it and then they'll have trouble eating.

 

[AlexEve]

I would give them chick grit but until they are used to it, just sprinkle some on their food. Once they learn it isn't really food (a few days) then I'd keep a small dish of grit in the brooder. But sand it too fine to be used as grit. Do you have access to chick grit? Some feed stores have it and some don't. I had to get mine mail order. Parakeet grit will work for a while but they'vs nearly outgrown that. And wait on the fine sand for dust bathing till they understand grit. They can pack their crops with it and then they'll have trouble eating.

I don’t have designated chick grit. Can I grind up eggshells or something for that?

 

[NewBoots]

No, it needs to be ground rock, the commercially available stuff is ground granite. Egg shell breaks down and I'd be wary of how sharp it is. Plus it's too much calcium for non egg layers.

 

[Ruby Rogue]

Watch the parakeet grit as well. I bought it for my chicks but never ended up using it because it has oyster shells added to it. I'm not sure a little would hurt them but I've been told the extra calcium in egg shells wasn't good so I'm cautious.

 

[aart]

http://www.jupefeeds-sa.com/documents/GraniteGrit.pdf.

I bought about a 2 gallon bag of granite grit from the local mill, they put it in their chicken scratch. Ran it thru a colander with 1/16" holes. Bagged the smaller stuff for the chicks and sprinkle some over a chunk of sod in the brooder during the second week.

 

[NewBoots]

Yeah, I'd only use the parakeet grit as a stop gap. And @aart makes a good point as well.

 

[Alyssa-Bee]

Like @R2elk said in a different thread, if you have red ants by you, you could always take some of their little rock pieces from on their hill. It offers a good amount of sizes. That's all I use now instead of taking hours to slowly sift through my sand for good rocks! Some peices may be to big for chicks that age. I have no idea! I hope you find something!