sand bath/grit?

[sawmane1]

I had never given my chicks these. Is that a prob? If I wanted to what kind of sand should I use?

 

[RioLindoAz]

For young chicks, grit is not necessary. Their narrow diet is easily digested.
As for the sand, any is usable, but they really enjoy pecking around in a shallow pan of fine-grained dirt. You can even go ahead and add a dug-out piece of your lawn to the brooder. They'll have a wonderful time tearing it apart.

 

[Doopy]

Our friend from AZ has offered very good advise. Just go to a out-of-the-way corner of the yard and dig up a hunk of soil with the grass or weeds intact. Plop it down in the brooder and your chicks will have a ball (after they get over their fear of it) eating the vegetation AND the dirt. There should be enough sand and grit in the soil they swallow to provide the necessary grit they need to digest their food. A super bonus would be to have a worm or two in the clump.

"A bird swallows small bits of gravel that act as 'teeth' in the gizzard, breaking down hard food such as seeds and thus helping digestion." (Solomon et al., 2002).