sand or limestone grit?

[RobbinsBobbin]

Hi. I am going to use sand in the coop for a base for deep litter and around the coop to keep the mud down. My local excavator told me that the chicken farmers in the area use limestone grit in their chicken yards. This is the fine, ground dust from limestones. Has anyone heard of this?

 

[redsoxs]

I've not heard of using it but I suppose it would work. Without researching it I'd be a little concerned about there being a dust issue if the birds scratched it up - it could lead to respiratory issues. But who knows - maybe it's a great option.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I would think that if they ate the limestone, it would be too high in calcium, too small and soluble to use as grit.
For effective grit, it needs to be insoluble and of appropriate size to lodge in the gizzard. That would be granite, flint or some other rough shaped stone that won't dissolve in the acidic environment of the digestive tract.

 

[RobbinsBobbin]

Thanks, guys.

 

[Essentiallyokanaganmom]

Local store only Carrie's limestone for grit, read that sand is too small... are there any other options?

 

[Ra_]

The roads in my development are "paved" with this "Lime Base".
When it rains, I sink 3" into it when walking across the street to my mailbox.
You can imagine what the school buses and garbage trucks do to the roads.
So a day later, they come around with graders and steamrollers.
I don't know who pays for all that constant work? It's not me.

I would use something like a pulverized granite for your application.
A little coarser than the lime or sand.

Weird that they stopped using steam 100 years ago but we still call them steamrollers.