Grit question

[Chickeria]

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

Thank you for your advice Skyle, it is good to know such young babies can have it and are doing ok!

 

[Chickeria]

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.

Thank you for answeringK0k0shka, I'm very glad to know now I can give them scrambled eggs!

 

[ladybrasa]

Like others said, egg is fine without grit. You might try to look for parakeet grit when you start feeding other foods. Or in a couple weeks you might off them a pan of dirt to pick around in. They might even figure out about dust bathing, which is really cute!

 

[Chickeria]

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.


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.

Thank you for replying Ridgerunner. I didn't know about the language problem regarding grit, thank you for telling me, because I'm not a native speaker (I'm from Germany). It's too cold here to take them out on the ground yet, but you are right I can take some dirt in to them. They then also will have something nice to explore.

 

[Chickeria]

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

Thank you for your help Ceciliasflock! I checked the other bag I got without sand and it says it is for chicken, quail, bantam quail and finches. You are right, with the sand I will definitely wait, there will be a reason for its lable. I'm glad to know I can give them some egg yolk without concern.

 

[Chickeria]

Like others said, egg is fine without grit. You might try to look for parakeet grit when you start feeding other foods. Or in a couple weeks you might off them a pan of dirt to pick around in. They might even figure out about dust bathing, which is really cute!

Thank you for your answer ladybrasa! I'm glad to know I can give them some egg without concern. I will offer them dirt from the garden. I'm looking so much forward to see them dustbathing

 

[gtaus]

I looked for chick grit but you don't get it in my country.

I live in lake country, so we typically just use beach sand instead of #1 grit. For people living in the city, they can also buy playground sand by the bag from the big box stores, which is about the same thing as #1 grit.

If none of that is available, you could get a shovel full of dirt and put some of that in for the chicks. Just make sure it is not from a place where people spray the lawn/property with chemicals and it should be OK. I started putting in clumps of dirt with grass in the brooder to get my chicks ready to go out into the big coop with the chicken run. Even the little chicks know enough to scratch it apart, look for bugs, and eat some grit.

 

[Chickeria]

I live in lake country, so we typically just use beach sand instead of #1 grit. For people living in the city, they can also buy playground sand by the bag from the big box stores, which is about the same thing as #1 grit.

If none of that is available, you could get a shovel full of dirt and put some of that in for the chicks. Just make sure it is not from a place where people spray the lawn/property with chemicals and it should be OK. I started putting in clumps of dirt with grass in the brooder to get my chicks ready to go out into the big coop with the chicken run. Even the little chicks know enough to scratch it apart, look for bugs, and eat some grit.

Thank you for your answer gtaus, I didn't know one can use playground sand instead - that's good to know!
In the meanwhile they got dirt from my parents' garden (no chemicals and fertilizers used there for some decades) and a bit later a clump of dirt with grass. They really love both! They enjoy to scratch in it and to tear at the grass. Some of them already dust bathed in the dirt like ladybrasa predicted and it was SO cute to watch

 

[gtaus]

Thank you for your answer gtaus, I didn't know one can use playground sand instead - that's good to know!
In the meanwhile they got dirt from my parents' garden (no chemicals and fertilizers used there for some decades) and a bit later a clump of dirt with grass. They really love both! They enjoy to scratch in it and to tear at the grass. Some of them already dust bathed in the dirt like ladybrasa predicted and it was SO cute to watch

Sounds like you have everything covered. You really don't have to overthink the grit issue. The only reason I offer grit to the chicks in the brooder is in the off chance they eat some of their pine shaving bedding. In theory, you don't need grit if you give your chicks starter feed. Clumps of dirt should do just fine and more fun than grit.

Yes, I was surprised to discover my days old chicks get down into the sand and take a bath. How do they know how to do that at such a young age? Nature can be wonderful.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

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, i am in the SAME boat as you! Or shall I shall brooder?! My 6 chicks are about 10 days old and I feel they need somethin' else. Specifically the grit question. So today, i found some dry dirt in my yard and put it on an old window screen to 'sift' it. i have a bowl of fine dirt now I guess. I am so nervous to introduce it to them. i wonder if i should add food to it? Also, could the grit be too fine? I cant wait till I'm not a chick noobie anymore. I'm such a nervous momma!
I'm gonna wait until 2 wks and try some scrambled egg for them