Grit???

[Cpb1974]

is pea gravel a form of grit? I have my girls in a very large chicken yard with a sand/dirt floor . They have access to grass and weeds as well. I was wondering if pea gravel is a form of grit (I’ve just made a gravel pit and filled it with pea gravel) or is their dirt floor enough????

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Neither would qualify as grit. Pea gravel is too large and not angular enough. Dirt is too fine to lodge in the gizzard.
Angular grit lodged in the gizzard will grind feedstuffs. If it is smooth like pea gravel, it won't.
Here's a rundown of grit sizes for specific ages of poultry.
http://www.tccmaterials.com/pdf/CSgritfaq.pdf

 

[Farmerwife1]

I called the chicken expert at our feed store today, to ask if I need to keep buying grit for my chickens. They are 10 weeks old and eat a lot of grit. I have them in a coop and a large pen. She told me they will only eat grit if they need it, so I am guessing the answer was yes. What I did change though is, they have been eating chick grit and we decided they should be on "grower grit" for chickens that are 8 to 20 weeks old. It is quit a bit bigger, so maybe they won't go through it so quickly now.

 

[Noreaster Egger]

My 1-2 year olds prefer the chick grit over the large grit in their run. However, they get a lot of natural grit from our driveway when they free range. Definitely no to the pea gravel as others have said.

 

[Farmerwife1]

I am not allowing my chickens to have a choice. LOL I changed them from crumble type food to pellets yesterday. They were turning the crumble to dust and acted like they were starving when I came and fed them and it was so wasteful. They behaved better this evening. If they only eat grit when they need it, I am guessing this larger size will last longer in their system.