Chickens Eating Rocks?

[DaisyDaGuicken]

So today when I was going out to collect eggs from the nests of my chickens, I noticed one of my chickens consuming pebbles next to the deck. I chased her away from the pebbles right away. I wonder if the chicken will be ok? I'm just making sure that she will be ok because she ate quite a few. I don't know if the pebbles are too big to poop out if she can't digest it. Do y'all have any ideas? I don't know why she was consuming them, they certainly shouldn't taste good because she continuously ate.

 

[Aapomp831]

So today when I was going out to collect eggs from the nests of my chickens, I noticed one of my chickens consuming pebbles next to the deck. I chased her away from the pebbles right away. I wonder if the chicken will be ok? I'm just making sure that she will be ok because she ate quite a few. I don't know if the pebbles are too big to poop out if she can't digest it. Do y'all have any ideas? I don't know why she was consuming them, they certainly shouldn't taste good because she continuously ate.

Chickens are supposed to eat smal pieces of rock. They don’t have teeth, and the grit will help grind the food up in the crop, making for easier digestion. I suggest going to Tractor Supply and getting poultry grit; sounds like they need it. Don’t worry about the pebbles -‘they will be fine.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

How long have you had chickens? I feel that you should maybe do a little research on basic care of chickens because this is Chicken Keeping 101. I really don’t mean that in any bad way, just trying to push you in the right direction.


Chicken’s don’t have teeth or stomachs like we do. Chickens have a crop which is like their lunchbox. When they eat, the crop stores their food until it’s ready to move into the rest of the digestive system. From there it goes into the gizzard. Chickens must eat small pebbles which end up in the gizzard. The gizzard is a very strong muscle which contracts. This contraction, combined with the pebbles, is what grinds the food into a digestible state. From there it moves into the intestinal tract, and finally is expelled as waste. Please don’t chase your chickens away from pebbles. In theory, if a chicken only ate chicken feed, it is already ground up and processed enough that pebbles ate not necessary, but any chicken that has access to the outside will eat little bugs, grass, and pebbles.

Chickens need a well balanced feed. If they are intended for egg laying, then chicken feed intended for layers, all-flock feed, or grower feed are all suitable. Chickens intended for laying must also have oyster shells available in a separate container at all times to ensure they have adequate calcium.

 

[DaisyDaGuicken]

How long have you had chickens? I feel that you should maybe do a little research on basic care of chickens because this is Chicken Keeping 101. I really don’t mean that in any bad way, just trying to push you in the right direction.


Chicken’s don’t have teeth or stomachs like we do. Chickens have a crop which is like their lunchbox. When they eat, the crop stores their food until it’s ready to move into the rest of the digestive system. From there it goes into the gizzard. Chickens must eat small pebbles which end up in the gizzard. The gizzard is a very strong muscle which contracts. This contraction, combined with the pebbles, is what grinds the food into a digestible state. From there it moves into the intestinal tract, and finally is expelled as waste. Please don’t chase your chickens away from pebbles. In theory, if a chicken only ate chicken feed, it is already ground up and processed enough that pebbles ate not necessary, but any chicken that has access to the outside will eat little bugs, grass, and pebbles.

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Chickens need a well balanced feed. If they are intended for egg laying, then chicken feed intended for layers, all-flock feed, or grower feed are all suitable. Chickens intended for laying must also have oyster shells available in a separate container at all times to ensure they have adequate calcium.

Thank you for your information! I will try to make sure I am not too concerned the next time I see my chickens consuming pebbles, and I really haven't had chickens for long. I've had my first few chickens last summer which seems like a while but I haven't gotten too in dept of chicken behaviors and how they should be doing. I was just a little worried since it was the first for seeing chickens eating pebbles.