Sand eating chikens!

[Feathers n Fur]

Soooo.......in my mind I thought that the best way to end the digging in order to dust bathe was to bring in some sand. Silly me! I purchased a low plastic tub (the kind you mix cement in) and many, many bags of playground sand. I placed it where the chickens typically dig to dust bathe and after they all inspected but gave it no attention I placed a chicken in it. No big deal, she just jumped out. I am noticing that they are not dusting in it like I hoped but rather eating it. I also have one in the smaller pen for the little chicks (5-8wks old) and they tend to use it like a litter box. Has anyone had this happen before?

 

[Greanleef1]

Depends on how much they eat

They have a digestive organ called a gizzard. It uses rocks, grit, and sand to digest their food. It is ok for them to eat sand. They will soon realise that it has almost no nutrients pretty fast and they will eat their regular feed again. By the way... If you ever get a chance to clean a turkey, chicken, or a goose, find their gizzard and cut it open... you will see why it is so important that they need grit!

 

[Feathers n Fur]

They do have access to grit and oyster shell 24/7 along with their food and water so I don't think they are eating it because they have no grit available. They don't eat 24/7 but their food, oyster shell and grit is in the coop so critters aren't enticed to visit at night. Their water is in the run and in the morning I give them scratch, greens and a handful or so of their food pellets.