Grit?

[kriswrite]

I have poulets; when they were chicks, I gave them sand. Now they are outside in a run. I give them weeds and table scraps frequently, but I've never bought grit for them. Should I be concerned? Or will they get what they need from the soil in their run, even though I don't detect pebbles there?

Thanks!
Kristina

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

http://www.shagbarkbantams.com/faqgrt.htm

Here is a nice summary for you!

I personally love to give my chickens grit. They have access to a large garden (all dirt now that they have eaten all the greenery), but I feed lots of treats, grass clippings (2-3 inches long to prevent balling up of long grass in the crop), and whole grains. I don't want to take a chance that they won't be able to digest their food well.

I would recommend inspecting your soil in your run carefully. Pick up some of the dirt and squish it with your hands. If you cannot find pebbles or small bits of rock, you will have to make a judgement call on it. Free range chickens supposedly don't need grit supplied...but they can wander all over.

If it were me, I would either go somewhere and collect some gravel for them that was the right size, or buy a bag of grit. Down the road from me, I often see a girl out in her gravel driveway picking up gravel for her ducks/geese. She lives across from a feed store, but likes to just get a few rocks for her fowl the manual way. Nothing wrong with that!!!

I would personally be concerned if I couldn't find any rocks in the soil and they are eating other things besides commercial ration.

 

[kriswrite]

Thanks! How often should grit be given? And what size pebbles are appropriate?

 

[1776]

also, do you just throw the grits out on the floor, or do you place it in a feeder of some sort?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
http://cherrystonegrit.com/grit_sizes.html
This is the brand my feed store sells. On the bag it says #1 is chick grit, #2 is for up to I think 7 weeks (I keep some around for my bantams), and #3 is for adults.

The website has the measurements. It is nice that the grit is sharp. That is what you want, not rounded.

I throw my grit on the ground, mix it in the feed sometimes, and always have some in bowls in the run.

 

[tarragon]

Thank you for the great answers. I'm not the original poster, but I came on tonight looking for grit info and this was very helpful.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
You are welcome!

 

[kriswrite]

Thanks! I picked up some grit yesterday.

Now I wonder: Does the grit stay in their bodies, or do I need to give them more periodically?

Kristina

 

[Imp]

They need access to it regularly. It will get ground down and the chicken will pass it.

Imp

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

What Imp said. ^^^^

Also they can regurgitate it after it is worn smooth.