Chicks eating sand

[pharmchickrnmom]

My chicks are now 18 days old and have been outside in a wired dog kennel supervised. My husband introduced a small tray of play sand as they were trying to dust themselves in the dirt. They didnt dust themselves in it, just ate it! Is this normal? Can it hurt them? Will they dust themselves naturally in it at some point? I gave them the tray again today and they ate it again. It was taken away both times after a few minutes because all they wanted to do is eat it. Any suggestions?

 

[colby318]

That's what I use for chick grit. Make sure they have plenty of water so the rest will pass when their gizzards are full.

 

[Backyard Hencam]

They are just eating sand because it is new to them. In the wild, they would eat sand as grit but in moderation. I'm not sure the chicks that young will dustbathe. Try it again in a month.

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

Thanks for your input! I guess I am just a little anxious that they are doing all the chicken things they need to do! It's not easy being a new chicken mommy!

 

[azygous]

If you want to give the chicks something to dust bathe in, try peat moss. It's dusty, but they'll know exactly what to do with it.

I used it as bedding in my chicks' "nursery". They were dusting bathing up a storm at just two weeks.