Is Grit really nessesary?

[mdbokc]

"Chick" grit can be pretty large for the 1 week olds. I use parakeet grit or rough sand initially. But I also do not do treats until their 4th week...just SOP here. I find that they will take the parakeet type grit over the granite chick grit until they are about 6 weeks old. After 6-7 weeks, the granite chick or starter grit is good for all of them.

I had read somewhere that the granite "chick grit" is initially too large for the real young ones and can damage them whereas the sand/dirt naturally encountered is OK. That said, my hatchery is specific about not feeding them sand as I recall. So who knows?

But the girls will figure it out. They always do.

 

[FlowerFarmer]

Chicken or chick 'grit' is nessisary if you are feeding your chicks anything other than chick feed, like treats. They need it to help with digestion.
I fed my chicks 'treats' from the yard (like spiders and small bugs) when they were a few weeks old and in their brooder. They just love it. I smash some crushed rock we have in the yard and gave that to them after they ate bugs. It helps them digest the food, and if you notice runny poo that sticks to their fuzzy butts that means they need more grit. (I never bought any grit though) At about 3 weeks old I started letting them out in the yard supervised and in the sun... again they love that, and they find grit on their own; small rocks and dirt (along with a ton of bugs...buh bye slugs!) But if they're still confined, and you dont have some grit, make sure they get small pieces of crushed rock/gravel when they are so young. I may even crush the grit down and leave it out for them as they like next to the food. They seem to take care of that need on their own when they go outside