Grit vs Oyster Shell Question

[Pickensandchigs]

You'll find if you try to notice, that a bunch of half cocked chicken commandments float around the internet... One person ingesting an idea that the last one regurgitated, and then regurgitating that same idea again. No room for discussions.. Those ideas have become internet laws, by way of being ingested and regurgitated a certain number of times.

Examples:

Chicken wire isn't good for chickens..
Corn isn't chicken food...
Chickens need 15 square feet of space..
The list goes on.

Rise above the idiocracy.. and save the future of facts and information for your grandchildren!

 

[589205]

Because you're the final authority on all chicken matters? Or because you don't even understand the question I pose?

No, we can’t always save the world all the time regardless, especially when/if nobody listens to what we have to say.

 

[3KillerBs]

If you have a run you could use crush and run on the ground... Or church up a lawn ornament and border with some crush and gravel. I just paid 35 dollars for a half-ton of it but you can buy by the bag at Lowe's or home Depot.

Gravel in a chicken run is a bad idea for several reasons:

First and foremost, the poop washes down in between the stones to form a concrete-like mass that reeks when wet. Because gravel doesn't engage in the composting reaction with the poop the way organic bedding does the only way to solve this problem is to shovel the poop-laden gravel back out.

A number of members have learned this the hard way and shared their experience in order to warn others.

Second, the hard, rough, irregular stones can injure the chickens' feet and open the way for bumblefoot.

Third, it frustrates chickens' natural urge to dig and scratch -- especially crusher-run stone that is intended to pack and lock together to form a firm base for driveways and walkways.

 

[TooCheep]

That's what I was thinking. Getting a truck load of small gravel but someone said it would be too big and wouldn't work.

The size of gravel that adult chickens can readily use is fairly easy to judge. It should be roughly in the range of crumbles to standard pellet feed. Even pea gravel is larger than that.

Chicks who aren't entirely on crumble feed (no grit needed) would need a smaller gravel size- very large sand to smaller crumble size.

Chickens who free range generally have plenty of time and access to find stones that fit their needs. They don't need a large amount, but do need to add more grit to their gizzards on a regular basis.

This is a good reference sheet: https://www.tccmaterials.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/data_Cherry-Stone-Grit-V1.6-19.07.08.pdf

It shows the size of grit recommended for different ages/sizes of birds. Apparently pea gravel (~3/8") is about the right size for adult turkeys, not chickens. Chicks would use about ~1/16" size, etc.

Do they not like Cherry Stone grit?

Cherry Stone is a brand. They make several different sizes of grit, some of which are intended for chickens.

 

[gailbelanger]

The size of gravel that adult chickens can readily use is fairly easy to judge. It should be roughly in the range of crumbles to standard pellet feed. Even pea gravel is larger than that.

Chicks who aren't entirely on crumble feed (no grit needed) would need a smaller gravel size- very large sand to smaller crumble size.

Chickens who free range generally have plenty of time and access to find stones that fit their needs. They don't need a large amount, but do need to add more grit to their gizzards on a regular basis.

This is a good reference sheet: https://www.tccmaterials.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/data_Cherry-Stone-Grit-V1.6-19.07.08.pdf

It shows the size of grit recommended for different ages/sizes of birds. Apparently pea gravel (~3/8") is about the right size for adult turkeys, not chickens. Chicks would use about ~1/16" size, etc.


Cherry Stone is a brand. They make several different sizes of grit, some of which are intended for chickens.

My whole 7 acres has no stones. Amazing, I know, but it's what's called black dirt, like pure clay that gets as hard as cement and cracks in the heat of the summer.
In fact here you have to water your foundation otherwise the cracks can go under your house and uplift your house and that takes thousands of dollars to repair. Crazy right. I never heard of anything like this till I moved to Texas.
But not one single stone unless you bring it in.

 

[TooCheep]

My whole 7 acres has no stones. Amazing, I know, but it's what's called black dirt, like pure clay that gets as hard as cement and cracks in the heat of the summer.
In fact here you have to water your foundation otherwise the cracks can go under your house and uplift your house and that takes thousands of dollars to repair. Crazy right. I never heard of anything like this till I moved to Texas.
But not one single stone unless you bring it in.

Interesting... Though I live in a region that was covered by a massive ice sheet during the ice ages that pushed tons of rocks around that have been breaking down over time.

Until people started driving SUVs and pickups...

 

[Back 30]

That's what I was thinking. Getting a truck load of small gravel but someone said it would be too big and wouldn't work.

Yeah... Just got that too

 

[gailbelanger]

Interesting... Though I live in a region that was covered by a massive ice sheet during the ice ages that pushed tons of rocks around that have been breaking down over time.

Until people started driving SUVs and pickups...

We used to live in NH where they would say your best crop is rocks. New ones would come up all the time. Sometimes you'd start digging to get a rock move only to find its tge biggest boulder underneath, lol.
I actually love rocks? Great backdrops for your garden.