Grit & gender

[The Farmers' Daughter]

When putting out fresh grit my girls all flock over to it and act like it's the best food they've ever had. The boys just ignore it. I have a separate rooster flock. They rarely touch it.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is there a reasoning as to why? Physiological make up?

 

[AltonaAcres]

That is odd, but don't be worried. My chickens, hens and roosters alike, don't even seem to notice the grit I put out for them. They will peck at it for a little, but once they realize it's not grains or anything, they just scratch it away. Maybe your hens need the grit more than your roosters? My chickens do live in a huge 1 acre pasture, so they probably find all the natural grit they need. Maybe your roosters forage more, so therefore find more grit- sized rocks? Hope this helps.

 

[The Farmers' Daughter]

That is odd, but don't be worried. My chickens, hens and roosters alike, don't even seem to notice the grit I put out for them. They will peck at it for a little, but once they realize it's not grains or anything, they just scratch it away. Maybe your hens need the grit more than your roosters? My chickens do live in a huge 1 acre pasture, so they probably find all the natural grit they need. Maybe your roosters forage more, so therefore find more grit- sized rocks? Hope this helps.

Oh, I'm not worried. I just found it interesting and wondered if others had noticed similar behavior.

I would concur with the foraging idea except that right now everything is buried in several feet of snow.

 

[centrarchid]

Hens in lay my be pressed for more calcium intake than rooster. When the grit is first presented they may be checking it out for calcium content. They may even want additional grit to speed break up of oyster shell in diet. Need to do a little literature search on that.