Grit/soil for chicks

[517heather]

So, I brought in some sandy soil from the area where my new coop is. I thought I would dry it out (it's been raining so I actually dried it in the oven). Put some in a shallow tray thinking it would occupy the chicks (3 wks old? Not sure) and they would scratch and peck and do their dust bath thing. Omg they love it. My question is that they seem to have eaten the majority of the thin layer I gave them and I wasn't sure if this was too fine a grain for them to eat right now. It's basically the only soil I have here. It's very sandy here by lake michigan and this soil is very fine in consistency. Thanks

 

[Kiki]

They ate all of the dirt that is shown in this pink container?

That would not be good. Can you recreate the amount of dirt in the thin layer you are talking about above and take a picture of it?

 

[517heather]

They ate all of the dirt that is shown in this pink container?

That would not be good. Can you recreate the amount of dirt in the thin layer you are talking about above and take a picture of it?

Sorry! No I put maybe 1/4 cup in the tray and there's about 1/2 tablespoon left. Also forgot to mention 6 chicks

 

[Smokerbill]

Are you sure they didn't fling it out into the bedding when they were dust bathing?

I put quite a bit of dirt (containing little rocks and grit of various sizes) in with my chicks when they were about 3 weeks old, and a couple of them ate quite a bit of it. Their poop looked like little mud balls a couple of times. But they never missed a beat, and all acted energetic and healthy. The dirt seemed to give them more energy, but maybe they were just excited about it.

 

[517heather]

Are you sure they didn't fling it out into the bedding when they were dust bathing?

I put quite a bit of dirt (containing little rocks and grit of various sizes) in with my chicks when they were about 3 weeks old, and a couple of them ate quite a bit of it. Their poop looked like little mud balls a couple of times. But they never missed a beat, and all acted energetic and healthy. The dirt seemed to give them more energy, but maybe they were just excited about it.

There is definitely more pecking than scratching going on. They're eating and drinking normally though.

 

[Kiki]

There is definitely more pecking than scratching going on. They're eating and drinking normally though.

They probably think you're sprinkling food on the ground for them.
They'll figure out it's not food hopefully, but I wouldn't sprinkle just a tiny bit of dirt around. If I were you, I would put that whole dish pictured above in there for them.