Excessive grit consumption

[ChickenAl]

Lately our girls are eating a lot of the grit that is put out for them. I just put a bowl of grit out this morning after filling it yesterday and it is 3/4 gone in15 minutes. I use both sizes in the mix, chick and adult grit. We have 6 chickens and they have been going through a couple of hand fulls a day recently. I am concerned this is not a good thing, and wonder what am I doing wrong?

 

[Judy]

Mine will eat a lot more some days than others. Could it be a problem with the feed? In this heat it will go stale or worse pretty quickly, and you can always get a bad bag from the store.

 

[bullyforme]

I usually mix 1 part grit to 5 parts feed (vs. offering it separately) and it works for my birds.

 

[wayneh]

our chicks sometimes will just stand and gobble up their sand. mostly they just scratch it out of their bowl and it looks like they have eaten a lot. I would say, if they are eating it, don't worry too much, but my guess is they are scratching it from the bowl.

 

[Rainbow Dash]

Just don't give them as much. If they range around a run or yard, they need little to no grit from you, as they'll find their own.

 

[Kaeta44]

I mix a handful of grit (I use broken oyster shells) in with their food for my little flock. They also forage round in the dirt, so no doubt swallow some too. They're all fit and healthy, so I agree with the previous answer - put it in with their food and don't worry.

 

[Medicine Man]

Quote:
This is not the opinion of leading poultry experts. Everything the chicken needs should be supplied, nothing assumed.

 

[Opa]

grit and oyster shell are two different things and they supply different requirements for the birds. The oyster shell is a supplement that is ground in the gizzard and absorbed during the digestion process. Grit is hard, does not breakdown and it's purpose it to supply "teeth" for the chickens to chew their food with. Muscle action in the gizzard rubs the grit against the food to pulverize it before it enters the stomach.

 

[ChickenAl]

Quote:
This is not the opinion of leading poultry experts. Everything the chicken needs should be supplied, nothing assumed.

Medicine man, I tend to agree with what you say about supplying them with what they need. They are definitely eating it and not scratching much out. I will continue to provide it and see how it goes. Might be they feel they need it more now than at other times. I was concerned they would fill up on grit and have little room left for feed and greens. Being new at this requires some careful consideration when thinking we know better than what the chicken knows for itself. In some cases we do know more, but chickens have been around a lot longer than we've been domesticating them.

Thank you all for responding.