do they need grit?

[iPeanut1990]

My chickens will be in an 8ftx10ft tin roof covered grassy run in my backyard. Will they need grit? I'm pretty sure I am gonna feed them Dumor pellets when they're adults. How will I know if they need oyster shells and scratch? Is scratch just something good for them to pick at throughout the day? Also what size of a watering and feed container is appropriate for 3 chickens? I live in Oklahoma. It gets really hot here during the summer so I want to be sure they have plenty of water without having to refill a few times a day.

Thanks in advance for helping a newbie! Mucho appreciated! Hoping to be able to order my chicks in the next few weeks!

 

[chooks4life]

My chickens will be in an 8ftx10ft tin roof covered grassy run in my backyard. Will they need grit?

Yes, they do need it. Birds need grit because they have no teeth. The grit acts as their teeth in their stomach, which is very muscular and contracts, using the grit to grind and cut their food.

They can live for a while without it but if they're able to get to grass or other fibrous materials and don't have grits, they are more likely to eventually get internally bound up with the fibers and die. It's not a good death either.

If they're babies they need smaller grits but as adults they will need larger and sharper pieces. They're very unlikely to harm themselves with them, so even if you think the oyster shell is too sharp, it's most likely not.

I'm pretty sure I am gonna feed them Dumor pellets when they're adults. How will I know if they need oyster shells and scratch?

I don't know that brand. If you read the label or ask the manufacturer, the label or person you ask should tell you if it's a 'complete' food. Even if it says it is, giving them cracked grains or scratch will still help their health.

'Complete' usually just means it will keep them alive for a while; not their full potential lifespan, just the commercially viable period which often ends before the birds hit their prime. Malnutrition is pretty common with birds kept only on 'complete' commercial diets, but it can take a long time to kill so most people don't realize what's happening, and when it does kill them, people tend to think it's anything but the diet, partly because it acts so slowly and partly because not many recognize the diseases of deficiency.

Pellets are milled and cooked nutrients, often synthetic too, so mostly are not the best foods but it's good enough in general. The mushiness that they turn into with fluid addition, inside the bird, means it's like feeding them a constant diet of sludge, and it can give them weak digestive systems unless they are also able to access things like grains, sufficient fiber i.e. in grass, etc, and if they have the last two feed items they need grits as well to help break them down.

Some pellets include fiber sources but many do not. There are some really great pellets available too but not as cheaply as the worse ones.

Digestive systems also need exercise and constantly eating liquid foods or cooked mush as the staple diet can be detrimental unless it's formulated to contain enough of the right sorts of fiber; not all pellets are, as not all of them are meant to be fed as a staple diet. The less work a digestive system does, the slower it goes, leading to more fermentation and longer retention of waste products within the animal which can make them sick. This sort of info led to fiber sources being added to dog and cat food as well as livestock and human feeds, because the slower the digestive system goes, the more unhealthy the animal is.

Pellets also contain cooked oils/proteins/fats and that's not the best for health so having raw sources of those will help their health too. Grains are one source of some raw oils, proteins, etc.

Is scratch just something good for them to pick at throughout the day?

It has nutritional value. It's also something natural and stimulating to do, which helps control neurotic behavior in some birds, and boredom in others. Chickens are nowhere near as stupid as common public perception states, they also need things to occupy them especially if caged.

Also what size of a watering and feed container is appropriate for 3 chickens? I live in Oklahoma. It gets really hot here during the summer so I want to be sure they have plenty of water without having to refill a few times a day.

One chicken can't drink a liter of water in one day. If you have a container that holds three liters or so it'd be sufficient, but larger can be more efficient, particularly if any of your chooks are the sort to stand or perch on the edge and tip smaller containers, or like to jump into it, dunk their whole head, etc.

The feed container is down to your choice of size, personally I feed mine on the ground. But I also lime the ground and make sure the soil is healthy, I wouldn't throw their feed into mud or muck. You may prefer to use one of those special feeding containers that prevents waste, especially if you don't want to have to feed them daily or if you have a lot of resident wildlife that will assist in the consumption.

If your birds come from a hatchery you should gradually introduce them to very short grass, and feed them in containers, as they will probably need to take a while to learn how to eat safely in a more natural environment. They are more likely than free-range-raised birds to consume excessively long bits of grass or other stuff they shouldn't, because they are used to gulping food down rather than picking out bits carefully.

Thanks in advance for helping a newbie! Mucho appreciated! Hoping to be able to order my chicks in the next few weeks!

If they are babies, you will need to make sure the water container is shallow enough for them to not drown in it.

Best wishes.

 

[iPeanut1990]

I'm sorry I didn't mean to sound like THAT much of a newb! I do know they need it for digestion but I was trying to ask if mine would need it if they're able to dig around in the dirt/grass to find small rocks and stuff. It sounds like they will though. Do I just sprinkle some on the ground for them every day like with scratch or what is the best way to give it to them?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I'm sorry I didn't mean to sound like THAT much of a newb! I do know they need it for digestion but I was trying to ask if mine would need it if they're able to dig around in the dirt/grass to find small rocks and stuff. It sounds like they will though. Do I just sprinkle some on the ground for them every day like with scratch or what is the best way to give it to them?

If your birds have access to the ground they will find grit unless you live in a silt, sand, clay area they will find small stones. In winter when everything is frozen they can't, what happens is they will consume more feed as they can't break it down efficiently. When providing grit you can do it the same as if supplying oyster shell; have a side dish with it in it at all times so they take what they need or toss a handful or two on the ground once a week.

 

[chooks4life]

I'm sorry I didn't mean to sound like THAT much of a newb! I do know they need it for digestion but I was trying to ask if mine would need it if they're able to dig around in the dirt/grass to find small rocks and stuff. It sounds like they will though. Do I just sprinkle some on the ground for them every day like with scratch or what is the best way to give it to them?

Ah, lol, sorry then.

Small rocks are ok but most are too rounded to be reliable at cutting tough grass. It's one of those things that's a non-issue until it's an issue. I use sharper grits as insurance, because you will always have that one silly bird who decides to eat string or very long and coarse fibrous materials, which may not be able to be divided by rounded stones.

While living in areas with a lot of rocks, I noticed that if I let my birds go too long without sharp oystershell, they would start seeking out things like broken glass, plastic, metals, etc. It was never for shortage of suitably sized rocks, that's for sure!

You can offer it free choice or just throw some down every few weeks. Thick oyster shell will stay intact within them for a good while but as added insurance free choice is better. But, of course, it will remain in the soil awaiting them finding it, so that works too.

Best wishes.

 

[iPeanut1990]

Ah, lol, sorry then.

Small rocks are ok but most are too rounded to be reliable at cutting tough grass. It's one of those things that's a non-issue until it's an issue. I use sharper grits as insurance, because you will always have that one silly bird who decides to eat string or very long and coarse fibrous materials, which may not be able to be divided by rounded stones.

While living in areas with a lot of rocks, I noticed that if I let my birds go too long without sharp oystershell, they would start seeking out things like broken glass, plastic, metals, etc. It was never for shortage of suitably sized rocks, that's for sure!

You can offer it free choice or just throw some down every few weeks. Thick oyster shell will stay intact within them for a good while but as added insurance free choice is better. But, of course, it will remain in the soil awaiting them finding it, so that works too.

Best wishes.

Great! Thanks! I think I'll try offering it free choice first unless they decide to chow down on it. I'm worried I'll forget to throw some down often enough. :/ Do chicks need grit? When can they start eating meal worms and table scraps and stuff?

 

[chooks4life]

Great! Thanks! I think I'll try offering it free choice first unless they decide to chow down on it. I'm worried I'll forget to throw some down often enough.

Do chicks need grit? When can they start eating meal worms and table scraps and stuff?

You would benefit from making an animal journal, just a book or some sort of recording that tells you relevant things so you can retrieve the info at a later date if you need it. I've found it invaluable. It can also help with establishing due dates and patterns for dietary additives that aren't regular, and tracing changes in health to alterations made in the past.

Chicks also need grit. But most people keep them on crumble so they're less needy than chicks eating more grown-up diets of grains etc. I raise mine on much the same diet as the adults so they need grits.

When they're hatching, most chicks actually eat little parts of their shells, getting their first grits from that. Eggshell is more of a calcium pill to an older or adult bird as it will simply be crushed and digested, not cut anything much.

About table scraps and mealworms, well, mine get normal diets from the get-go, but if yours have been raised on crumble or something like that then a gradual change is best. They're good to go onto mealworms and table scraps at any age, as long as you have some rules about table scraps. Stuff like luncheon meat can be too high in salt and other bad additives to be regularly acceptable, for example. I wouldn't feed them junk like cake scraps or excessive amounts of fiber like onion peel, since chooks generally love onion and if the only bits they can get are the ends, with all that fibrous peel, they might eat that anyway and get blocked up.

Best wishes.

 

[iPeanut1990]

You would benefit from making an animal journal, just a book or some sort of recording that tells you relevant things so you can retrieve the info at a later date if you need it. I've found it invaluable. It can also help with establishing due dates and patterns for dietary additives that aren't regular, and tracing changes in health to alterations made in the past.

Chicks also need grit. But most people keep them on crumble so they're less needy than chicks eating more grown-up diets of grains etc. I raise mine on much the same diet as the adults so they need grits.

When they're hatching, most chicks actually eat little parts of their shells, getting their first grits from that. Eggshell is more of a calcium pill to an older or adult bird as it will simply be crushed and digested, not cut anything much.

About table scraps and mealworms, well, mine get normal diets from the get-go, but if yours have been raised on crumble or something like that then a gradual change is best. They're good to go onto mealworms and table scraps at any age, as long as you have some rules about table scraps. Stuff like luncheon meat can be too high in salt and other bad additives to be regularly acceptable, for example. I wouldn't feed them junk like cake scraps or excessive amounts of fiber like onion peel, since chooks generally love onion and if the only bits they can get are the ends, with all that fibrous peel, they might eat that anyway and get blocked up.

Best wishes.

That's a great idea about the journal! I guess I'll go ahead and offer them a dollop of yogurt when I get them then. They should be arriving around May 23rd

 

[chooks4life]

That's a great idea about the journal! I guess I'll go ahead and offer them a dollop of yogurt when I get them then. They should be arriving around May 23rd

The journal can end up saving lives, highly recommend it. If you plan to seriously breed it will be vital but it's also great for managing health.

Best wishes with your new flock, when you get them.