Natural soil as grit?

[aart]

That looks pretty good size for chicks, looks fairly 'sharp' too.
http://www.jupefeeds-sa.com/documents/GraniteGrit.pdf

They won't need grit until you feed them something other than chick mash/crumble.

 

[lazy gardener]

I live in the southern Colorado Rockies, the soil here is very sandy & gritty. Can I use this natural soil as grit and/or for dust baths for the chicks?

Yes, that will be fine. If chicks are with a broody hen, she has them out and about in the yard, usually by day 2. They will be eating all of the goodies she finds for them, and they will be getting their fair share of grit. Birds have gizzards, and those gizzards were created to aid with digestion through the use of grit.

 

[snow5164]

I've been wasting money buying " budgie grit",didn't realize there's calcium in it

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We have what's called " highway gravel ", here. It's what our driveway is and it's used to sand the roads .Its 100% sand but different sizes of stones .

How do I know if it's sufficient for grit? I used it in the brooder this batch .. yes they picked at it .

 

[lazy gardener]

If they are using it to sand the roads, it most likely has salt or even calcium chloride added.

 

[snow5164]

Nope , friends with the owner . We are a small town we don't salt!!!

 

[snow5164]

My chicks are brooded on sand. The grade is called masonry sand and it has different size particles mixed in. The chicks, as well as my adult chickens, manage to find the right size grit that they need. It's not as if I'm new at this. They've been on this sand for almost ten years.

You can dig up a plug of grass with your soil still attached and give it to your chicks during their first week. The soil has not only grit but helpful pathogens that will strengthen your chicks' immune system, making them much more resistant to disease.

That's good to know , I got my head bit off for suggesting sand for grit , he sent me that chart for grit requirements

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Thing is my highway sand is very different sizes

 

[lazy gardener]

No one should be biting your head off. I know I am often matter of fact when answering questions, so can be interpreted as being "curt". But that is not my intent. I simply answer many questions in a day, so tend to keep it very short and to the point. The more tired I am, the shorter the reply!

 

[snow5164]

Oh, lazy Gardner I wasn't referring to you!! This happened awhile ago ... no worries

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[3riverschick]

There's a reason why granite grit is historically used for poultry. Let's examine that. The chicken has a very strong . Muscle called the gizzard. This muscle is used to grind up food for digestion further down the h
G. I.Tract
It is a very powerful muscle. It needs excercise to keep it strong and help it f grow big. It has a very high concentration of acid in it. Strong enough to round off the edges of soluable stone like sand , fieldstone, or limestone. Decades ago, poultry men discovered granite was insoluable and stayed sharp in the gizzard. This is why we use it. Grit that is too small passes right on thru the bird, like sand. Grit that rounds off like like limestone and fieldstone doesn't grind food like it should. Granite grit work. It was the clamor of the poultry men, not clever industry which h created the commercial poultry grit industry. The raisers saw the positive difference in production and laying. They clamored for different sizes of insoluable granite grit. Go on the network an keyword search : gran-i-grit PDF : It will explain more and has a feeding schedule for the different sizes of grit. Best, Karen

 

[azygous]

A useful side note: you will know the grit source is adequate if the particles are sharp/angular rather than smooth and round, and they vary in size from 1/8" give or take, smaller for baby chicks, larger for large breed adult chickens. They will select the size their bodies require. They are as zealous about grit as they are about hunting for scratch and bugs.