How long does grit stay in the chicken?

[SueT]

Is grit constantly being worn out and passed thru? And thus need constant replenishing?

 

[lazy gardener]

Good question. I know that when I give my girls some grit in the middle of the winter, they go nuts over it.

 

[RonP]

Is grit constantly being worn out and passed thru? And thus need constant replenishing?

Absolutely.

If they have access to food items other than processed crumbles or pellets, offering them free choice grit would be wise and beneficial.

They will know when they need to replenish.

 

[Gspsaku]

If you feed pellet based feed, you will notice your birds eat much less grit and it's really not necessary. Now if you let them forage or feed seeds as well, they will likely find their own grit too but it would be better to have some grit available for them.

And yes, grit gets used in the gizzard and then is passed through the digestive system after it is used up

 

[rosemarythyme]

Yes it gets used up and pooped out. If you're ever curious enough to dig through chicken poop you might see used up grit every so often - it'll look like tiny, smooth rocks.