Grit question

[Chickeria]

2 of my bantam Silkie babys are one week old today, the other 10 will be one week old tomorrow, it is my first hatch. I only gave them chick starter food until now. I would like to give them a bit minced boiled egg, but I don't know if it would be ok for them?
I looked for chick grit but you don't get it in my country. I purchased a special poultry bathing sand with grit in it, but the package says chicks may have EARLIEST access to the sand when over 14 days old. My bantams are so tiny - I suppose it is better to wait then even longer with that sand.
I bought normal grit but it is very gritty - I assume it is for adults.
I have a grinder and could grind some but I'm afraid to miss the right size and grind it not enough or too much.

Can they have some chopped (in tiny pieces) boiled egg along with their chick starter food or should I wait with this until they can have grit?

 

[0die]

I think your fine. what do they do in nature? eat whatever they find...they probably eating bugs and dirt on day one.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Egg yolk should be okay it’s recommended for treating pasty butt sometimes. I would think the whites are okay to but I’m not certain. You can buy specially made chick grit that is the right size for them I don’t think it was that expensive and I still haven’t used up a small bag even with 18 chicks.

 

[Skyle]

I don't know about the grit, sorry, here i sn't even sold alone (you can only find calcium pebbles for hens or oyster shells for birds).
The minced hard boiled egg is fine for chicks. I give some to mine sometimes, I gave it to less than a week old chicks and I gave it to the quails when they still were chicks, never had a problem and they go crazy for it

 

[K0k0shka]

I think your fine. what do they do in nature? eat whatever they find...they probably eating bugs and dirt on day one.

They find grit in nature. They can't find it in a brooder box unless it's provided.

 

[K0k0shka]

Boiled yolk is fine, it's so mushy that it doesn't need any extra grinding. Egg white gets rubbery and may need grinding even if chopped small. Give them scrambled eggs instead - that way you get both the yolk and the white in there, and they're both in a soft consistency easy for small chicks with no access to grit.

 

[Chickeria]

I think your fine. what do they do in nature? eat whatever they find...they probably eating bugs and dirt on day one.

Thank you for your answer Odie. Yes I am apparently overly cautious
They are my first hatch and I'm kind of afraid to do things wrongly; reading about crop issues in the emergency section comes on top of that.

 

[Chickeria]

Egg yolk should be okay it’s recommended for treating pasty butt sometimes. I would think the whites are okay to but I’m not certain. You can buy specially made chick grit that is the right size for them I don’t think it was that expensive and I still haven’t used up a small bag even with 18 chicks.

Thank you for answering Artichoke Lover. I tried to buy/order chick grit but unfortunately couldn't find it here (I'm in Germany).

 

[Ridgerunner]

We have a language problem between the US and the UK. I'm not sure which country you are in. In the US we call the small stones they eat to keep in their gizzard to help grind up their food "grit". I'm pretty sure this is what you are talking about but I like to be clear because of the potential language problems. In the UK they call this type of grit "insoluble grit". The UK calls a calcium supplement like oyster shell "soluble grit". That's used to provide calcium for the egg shells for laying hens. Tow totally different grits.

There should be an easy solution for your problem. Take the chicks outside and let them peck at bare ground. They will find their own grit. One of the first things my broody hens does is take her chicks to a spot of dirt where they can find grit. Or you can put dirt into the brooder where they can eat it. They should get grit from that. You don't have to buy grit, it's under your feet every time you take a step outside.

Can they have some chopped (in tiny pieces) boiled egg along with their chick starter food or should I wait with this until they can have grit?

I typically give my brooder-raised chicks dirt the second or third day they are in the brooder so I don't have to worry about stuff like this. The gizzard muscle is really strong, I'd think the egg white and for sure the egg yolk would be fine without grit. Just give them access to dirt and you do not have to worry.

 

[Cecisflock]

EARLIEST access to the sand when over 14 days old. My bantams are so tiny - I suppose it is better to wait then even longer with that sand.
I bought normal grit but it is very gritty - I assume it is for adults.
I have a grinder and could grind some but I'm afraid to miss the right size and grind it not enough or too much.

wait until 2 weeks on the grit like the bag says, always follow the bag in my opinion. egg yolk is good for them w/out grit