Sand/gravel for grit?

[docdubz]

My land is pretty much devoid of any sort of rocks so I was thinking of tilling some sand and/or gravel into my chicken run so that they always have a source of grit. Is there a type that would be better for this purpose than others? I know the grit I've been buying is crushed granite but I haven't seen that available at quantity prices that would make it seem like a good idea to use.

 

[R2elk]

My land is pretty much devoid of any sort of rocks so I was thinking of tilling some sand and/or gravel into my chicken run so that they always have a source of grit. Is there a type that would be better for this purpose than others? I know the grit I've been buying is crushed granite but I haven't seen that available at quantity prices that would make it seem like a good idea to use.

I f you have any big ant hills around, you can shovel the grit off of there. The ants tend to bring up the bigger particles and add them to the hill.

 

[jolenesdad]

Rather than till it in, I would maybe make a boxed area that’s just sand. Make it so it can drain and you won’t lose your sand to normal soil erosion.

at a landscape place, torpedo sand is the mix you want with various particle sizes up to gravel 3/8 in thick or so.

 

[aart]

Do you have a feed mill near you?
My local mill adds granite grit to their chicken scratch mixes and sells it to me in bulk by the pound.

 

[docdubz]

I'll have to ask around about a mill, I haven't seen any. As for the anthills... That's not a bad idea. I'll see if I can find any out in the pasture that would work, pretty much all the big ones I've seen were just dusty red clay.