Does Limstone gravels help chickens?

[Jake]

Alright, I have been asking around about chickens and my Papa told me something interesting. He told me to put chad, which is crushed limestone, in the chicken coop. He told me it makes their gizzards work harder trying to digest the chad and then crushes the food up more than it normally would- which also makes it easier for them to...um....doo-dee. I've been doing this for 4 months now and I really believe it has helped.
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Has anyone else ever heard of or done this?- because I have never read anything like that before.

Added by Jake( a happy 4H-er

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[Mac in Wisco]

Hadn't heard that before, but it does help to balance the soil pH and gives the chickens the extra calcium and magnesium they need.

Chicken manure is high in potassium and its buildup in the soil blocks plants' natural uptake of magnesium which the chickens need. The limestone will neutralize acidic soils and will be a mineral supplement to the birds.

 

[justusnak]

We used AG lime in our coops, and have a large pile outside the coop for the larger ones to dust in. They love it. It does help with the smell. I have had mine on AG lime for over a year now. All seem healthy, and happy.

 

[Jake]

Well I just wanted to know has anybody seen a chicken eat a gravel (Well chad I mean)?

 

[justusnak]

Hmm, mine dust bath in it..and peck around in it. Im sure they are eating some...just havent watched that closely.

 

[Southern28Chick]

Quote:
Do you mean like grit? Chickens need grit to digest their food. I use granite grit.

 

[dlhunicorn]

if you could give more detailed information re the actual composition of this substance you are referring to (chad) as I am unable to locate any reference to it... some types of limestone can cause toxicosis ...

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
Chad is just a regional term for gravel, usually crushed limestone. Limestone can be used for chicken grit and is added to feed as a calcium supplement. It's basic composition is calcium carbonate, the same as an eggshell. Fed free choice it is not a problem, no need to keep the chickens off your gravel driveway, they will not eat the driveway and poison themselves... It can lead to toxicosis if mixed improperly with feed rations. The chickens will eat their feed regardless of what is in it.

 

[Jake]

Thank yo for that

^