Grit?

[andrew3waz]

Hey,
My chicks are 2 weeks old today and I was told that I can start giving grit and veggies. I am wondering if I can use sand as grit and how to introduce it to them? Also what veggies can I use to feed them?

Thanks,
andrew3waz

P.S. The chicks feathers are coming in VERY fast so sad to see my babies growing up.

 

[RonC]

Yes they can get their grit from sand or girt. It's cheap enough at a feed store if you buy about 10 lbs at a time. My local feed store about cuts the price in half for ten pounds over lesser quantities. It really isn't that much, crushed granite is heavy. Don't give then parakeet grit, it has calcium which is bad for them until they start laying.
They can eat most table scraps in moderation. There is a list of do and dont's in the learning center on what they can eat.
Yes they do grow fast. At five to six weeks they will be little chickens.

 

[andrew3waz]

How should I feed/give them the grit?

 

[Sandstorm495]

You can actually by some shell grit from the average grocery shop, and that can be fed to them by mixing it through their feed. Have they got a sand covered run? There is grit in sand too, and if they do have a sand covered run, they wont need to be fed so much. They can get grit out of the dirt that they scratch in as well. If you mix one or two packets through the feed, you can just give it to them like that.

 

[andrew3waz]

They are still in the brooder and I use pine shavings. I would like to use sand as grit. How do I do that?

 

[Sandstorm495]

I would wait till they are older. Six weeks should be a long enough period of time, and then you can assess whether the chicks can leave the brooder.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

For day old chicks (depending on the number hatched) I put anywhere from a teaspoon to a tablespoon or two full of grit on a flat peace of cardboard. Since chicks come out of the egg with a peck response and this is how they learn about their world you don't have to do anything but put the grit were they can find it and they will do the rest.

Older chicks in fact all chickens keep the peck response through out life so your older chicks can be introduced to grit in this manner. To see it for yourself the next time you have day old chicks place a playing card sized piece of newsprint on their brooder floor and watch as they attempt to eat the letters and pronunciation marks right off the paper. Don't worry about feeding too much calcium. Granite poultry grit, sand, marble poultry grit, and oyster shells all contains mega heaps of calcium or calcium carbonate.

It is best to not feed one day old chicks for the first 24-48 hours of life. So the first 24 - 48 hours is the perfect time to give your little balls of fluff their first set of chicken teeth in the form of chick grit. I have seen one week old chicks eat whole grains of hard yellow dent corn with no ill effects. Chickens and their digestive systems are tougher than you ever imagined. In fact the chicken's digestive system is as tough as the granite they use to grind up their food. Besides its hardness the big advantage granite has over other forms of grit is that it is not much affected by digestive acids and granite has a wide array of natural minerals in it.

 

[jdoane]

I went to the bird section of the pet store an got a small mstal cage cup that I could fasten to the side of my brooder and put a small amount of chick grit in the cup. They take it when they want it. The first day or two I monitored it more to make sure they weren't forgetting about their food but they seemed to know whatto do! I imagine you can do the same with sand.

 

[RonC]

I just throw it in the run but in a brooder you could put in a dish for them or sprinkle a little in with the feed.

 

[itgns]

Wait, parakeet grit is bad for chicks? Should they not be consuming the calcium?