Grit contains oyster shell

[Ellie]

I bought some bird grit for my chicks but the ingredients say:

Monterey Sand, Oyster Shell, Calcium Carbonate, Charcoal, Dicalcium Phosphate, salt, minneral oil, iron sulfate, and much more.

Will this be ok until I can get to the store and try to find some without oyster shell or is it ok since there is so much other stuff in there?

My chicks are two weeks old and have been outside twice eating grass for an hour each time.

Should I put out some of this grit for them?


Thanks,
Ellie

 

[greyfields]

They are pretty young to be needing grit. The crumbled feed they are getting doesn't require extra grit in their system to digest.

In general, though, grit can't really be a bad thing. Birds have a sense when they need it, and won't eat it if they don't. So if you're worried about them overdosing on it, don't worry. They have a genetic fail-safe system in place that (generally) keeps them from poisoning themselves.

All those ingredient seem find, by the way. The extras in there are just additional sources of minerals for your birds, which can't be a bad thing. The oyster shell is to provide additional calcium and phosphate.

 

[speckledhen]

The best grit for babies is plain granite grit. They do not need calcium at their age, in fact, it's a bad thing for their development to add calcium beyond what may be in their starter. Try buying some playsand even for their age. That will do fine for babies.

 

[Ellie]

Thanks, I was just worried about letting them eat grass outside and having no grit for them.

Thanks very much for the replies,
Ellie

 

[greyfields]

I agree that too much calcium can be a bad thing for pullets until they reach POL; but really how much could they snarf down if it's just an additive to the grit?

To play it ultimately safe, get granite grit like mentioned above. If you have choice in sizes, #2 works well for all ages.

 

[Davaroo]

I suggest you give them no grit if you are feeding them chick rations. It has all they need. If it makes you feel better. sprinkle a little sand. Ive never bothered with anything but prepared feed and Calf Manna.

Thanks, I was just worried about letting them eat grass outside and having no grit for them.
If they are outside where they can get green grass, then you have no worries. Grass is good for them and they'll take care of the grit situation themselves unless theyre on linoleum.