Gizzard stones

[mkearsley]

My chickens free-range in my backyard. They've got unlimited access to crumbles, dog food (which they steal from the dog) as well as anything they can scrounge up. I also feed them veggie waste (skins, spinach, etc.) There's a lot of dirt available for baths. I was checking out a thread on this group about killing, cleaning & preparing chickens for dinner. One of the photos showed some marble-sized rocks that were taken out of the gizzard. Do I need to make sure they have access to larger rocks, or is eating sandy-soils sufficient?

 

[BookWorm243]

I don't worry about mine they find plenty of little pebbles along the way in the yard ( Very sandy yard ) as they free range.

 

[elmo]

They'll be picking out all the little stones in the sandy soil that you probably don't even notice. If you want, you could buy some poultry grit (crushed granite) and offer it to them in a separate cup.

 

[Ridgerunner]

They will be fine. They can use anything the size of a pea on down to coarse sand. Play sand is not good since it is too fine and smooth, but if your ground is rocky, they'll find plenty they can use.

While I did find a fresh plum pit in one's gizzard once, I have never found any pebbles nearly as large as a marble. Most are not nearly as large as a pea.

 

[mkearsley]

Thanks guys. I was wondering if they weren't getting their nutrients absorbed because things weren't getting ground up enough. I guess the husband was right when he said they're just a little skinnier cuz of the cold weather & lack of bugs.