Grit question

[NickyPick]

I haven't been able to find grit for 10 day olds at the store. TSC's chicken grit states it's for 8 week and older. I also checked the parakeet grit at the pet store, but it says it's high in calcium and I read here that the chicks shouldn't get a lot of calcium until they're at laying age. So, here's my question. My driveway is stabilized gravel - would it be ok to get a small bowl's worth of the tiny rocks in that and give to the chicks?

 

[paddock36]

I have never used grit at all for my chicks and have never had a problem.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Grit is not necessary if all you're feeding is chick starter.

If you're wanting to feed treats that you yourself would need to chew with your teeth to eat then they'll need grit. Plain old coarse sand sprinkled on their feed like you were salting it will suffice.

 

[NickyPick]

Yeah, treats are the reason I'm asking.

 

[thechickonthehill]

Quote:
Just go to Lowe's or Home Depot and buy a bag of plain old sand. I put a tub of it in the brooder and the chicks not only eat it but dust bathe in it too.

 

[elmo]

I just took some regular poultry grit and ground it up finer with a mortar and pestle. If you don't have one of those, you could just put some grit on top of something hard, like concrete, cover it with a piece of plastic, etc. (to make sure chips don't fly up and hit you in the eye), and smash it with a hammer.

I suspect sand, even coarse sand, is too fine to actually serve the function of grit in the gizzard, even the tiny gizzard of a chick.

 

[debid]

I have a gravel driveway as well. It's mostly granite scrap. I was planning to just push the bigger rocks aside and scoop a little of the part that looks like coarse, gray sand. I can't think of a reason that wouldn't be fine.

OH, and if it's warm out, maybe I'll just take them out to the driveway for a little while and let them choose their own bits! They're the best judges of the correct size for them, right?