Grit question

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

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

Oh! Chickeria, you did it? How old are they again?

 

[Chickeria]

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

Oh! Chickeria, you did it? How old are they again?

Hi My Very First 6 Chickens, yes, I did it, I took dirt and then a piece of a grass sode (a piece of dirt with grass growing on it, from my parents non fertilized and not chemically treated garden) and put it in a flat bowl and put it in the brooder after I cut the grass short (I was afraid if they eat too long blades of grass they could get impacted crops, so I gave the grass a 'haircut'). They loved and enjoyed it, pecked, tore everything apart, scratched, 'dust'bathed in it. My chicks were about 14 days old when I gave them a sode for the first time, here are pictures:

About the same time I started to give them from the grit I had purchased (I took the biggest parts out and sprinkled a little bit from the smaller parts on their empty food plate). But I'm sure giving the sodes would have been sufficient (from then on I gave sodes regularly, about every two days, till today, they still love the sodes, the weather here doesn't allow me to take them outside in the garden every day, so this is a great diversion on the 'inside-days').
My little ones are 5 weeks old in the meantime and all are doing very well.
I fully understand you're nervous and cautious - I was totally the same (and kind of still am, just the 'themes' shifted)
It is the first time I hatched chicks and I'm often afraid to do something wrongly.
Thankfully I got help, all the advices and reassurement from the BYC members here

I think you can give the dirt you collected and sifted for your babies how you planned. They will take the parts they need (they need the very small stones in the dirt). I would recommend a 'heavy part' of dirt, too (like a piece of sode), along with the sifted dirt. They will have a lot of fun exploring it.
Best wishes for your dear little ones

 

[Ridgerunner]

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

That fine dirt will pass right through them and out of the back end. It's too fine to be of any use to grind their food. It needs to be big enough to stay in the gizzard a bit. A full sized adult chicken can use a bit of gravel about the size of a green pea, and they can certainly use bits that are smaller. I don't have a good handle on how big chick grit needs to be or what is too big, that will depend on their size. By giving them dirt they manage that. They will not eat anything that's too big. Everything else is fair game. That's one reason that sod is so good, it should have several different sized rocks in it.

My broody hens take the chicks out and let them peck at the ground so they get their own grit. For my brooder-raised chicks I start feeding them dirt from the run (where the adults are) on their second or third day in the brooder, then repeat every three or four days. I figure this gives me three benefits. They get grit in their system so they are ready to eat anything. They get any probiotics the older ones have. And they can start working on any flock immunities they may need to work on. To me that really strengthens their immune system.

You probably don't have any adults so yours won't get the benefits of probiotics but there might be something in the soil that kickstarting their immune system is a good thing.

I don't try to raise my chicks in a sterile environment. I want them ready for their environment because they are going to meet it some day. I do try to keep my brooder very dry, a wet brooder is dangerous. But broody hens tend to raise very healthy chicks by exposing them to their environment from Day 1.

 

[Bananer86]

I don't try to raise my chicks in a sterile environment. I want them ready for their environment because they are going to meet it some day. I do try to keep my brooder very dry, a wet brooder is dangerous. But broody hens tend to raise very healthy chicks by exposing them to their environment from Day 1.

Thank you for for this. I am still a noob, my oldest chicks are 12 weeks & my youngest are 4 weeks (chicken math is dangerous ) You have given me the confirmation that I’ve been doing this right I started giving my youngest a bowl of dirt from the bigger chicks dust bath around 2 weeks to help them build immunity & to dust bathe. They were trying to take dust baths in their shavings
Now I’m letting them stay outside more during the day, temp pen attached to run. I figured that will help with integration & gives them some outdoor time. They hate coming back inside now.