Scratch/Grit

[aclee]

The guy at the grain store gave me some cracked corn and I give an handful or so a day to the nuggets to keep them busy while I change out food and water, and to hopefully encourage them to scratch up the bedding a little. Should I be giving them anything to help them digest that? Sand or anything? They are in a large brooder still, although some have been out to play in the grass when we had a nice day so their brooder could air out (I am a Mom of two, with three dogs...use to do daycare. I thought I KNEW poop. I didn't know poop till I got these birds)...so they might have gotten some dirt and stuff, but should I put anything in their brooder on a more regular basis?

Thanks

 

[88Haywood88]

Commercial feeds are formulated to allow for easy digestion without the need for grit. If your chicks are in the brooder box, I would stick with just the commercial feed. If you really wanted to offer cracked corn, get some grit from the feed store (this ccan be costly). alternatively, you could gather some tiny pebles and throw them into the brooder. Make sure that the pebles are small enough for the chicks to swallow. But if it were me, I'd stick to commercial feed. If they are going to be caged up all their life, they will need to be fed only lay pellets (because of lack of grit to help with digestion) , if they will have acess to the ground, you can give them other sorts of feeds. Hope this helped.

 

[bja105]

I'm no expert...

I have a batch of layers in the brooder, now. Meat chicks in a week. I shoveled some sand and gravel from the creek, rinsed it, and put it in a trough with feed occasionally sprinkled on top.

My layers don't get grit, because the sometimes free range, and can get their own grit.

I'll continue the grit in the brooder with my meat birds, but I can't say if it is needed.

I'm sure that when they get out on pasture, they will find their own grit.

 

[NonnasBabies]

If your giving them cracked corn they need grit! You can go to Wal-Mart and get parakeet grit for less that $2 a box!!

Missi