To feed Grit or Not???

[sillycmoy]

I just started letting my 2 oldest chicks about 6 weeks old outside in the run. Right now they are in an enclosed 8 ft by 8 ft hard packed dirt run while we finish the free range fencing, and they are still on Chick Start. Do I need to add Chick Grit or any type of Grit since they are outside for must of the day.

Thanks

 

[ChickensRDinos]

If they have access to lots of dirt they will pick up their own grit from the dirt so you do not always need to have it. But, it does not hurt to supply grit in a little bowl off to the side. They will eat it if they need it. I keep my hens in an inclosed run and because the space in smaller I do leave grit out. For 6 hens I have had the same 5lb bag for almost a year. They don't need much.

 

[sillycmoy]

Thanks, right now its just the 2 girls outside, the other 9 are 2-3 1/2 weeks old. And its all dirt. Hopefully we will get the fence done then they can free range in our side yard. Just waiting for it to stop snowing. At least it was warm enough for them to go outside today.

 

[Going Quackers]

Mine are in a dirt run bit i still toss some in, i figure cannot hurt!

 

[sillycmoy]

Guess I will pick up some chick grit. Thanks everyone.

 

[beeksnfeet]

Hi! Love your picture! Our chicks are 3 weeks old Monday and I wanted to give them some kind of treat & knew I shouldn't without them having grit. I went to the feed store to get just a small bag of chick grit. That was almost $5 for a gallon zip-lock size bag. The girl at the counter offered us an option .....50lb bags were only $6. Quite a big difference. I didn't think we would go through all of that, but was told that even if we have some left after they hit the 12-16 week age, we can still give it to them then move to a larger size. We were told that their are 3 different sizes of grit; fine--- for chicks & other small birds, medium ---for older chickens and large--- for turkeys, geese etc. I felt like an idiot after finding out there isn't a specific CHICK GRIT, you know like CHICK STARTER. We went to one feed store a while back to just look around. They had a special area just for chicks & they had CHICK GRIT written on small brown bags. They were actually priced higher then any other grit. But then if someone doesn't know ............ what a way to make extra money. Kinda sad. Anyway just wanted to share!

Oh, FYI the treat I gave them was raisins! What a hoot! I never laughed so hard. Thought they were gonna kill each other. They were so tired from chasing each other that they slept for nearly 1/2 an hour afterwards.....and they each were given a raisin, so there was no reason for the insanity, but I loved it!

 

[Mitchell Farm]

Have not tried raisens....sounds like a great treat. I use meal worms but i dont get that kind of reaction! They are a hoot to watch when they all want the same food!

 

[sillycmoy]

Thanks on the photo, have no idea what that chick is, but has to be my favorite, just for the fact that it has so many feathers, and I think its a Bantam, because it hasn't grown. Someone said it might be a frizzle.

 

[beeksnfeet]

Haven't tried the worms yet. I had the raisins at home! Today we took a spoonful of plain yogurt & put it in a little cup. You would have thought the world ended!!!!!! Not only did they love it, they managed to get IN this little cup and pummel each other with yogurt. I had to take the smallest of my Buff Orpingtons and wash her back in the sink because the others walked all over her with goopy feet. It was so funny. Gonna try something different each day and see how many things they do like. They didn't care for the cottage cheese everyone said they would just love, so go figure. Strawberries are a hit too.

 

[beeksnfeet]

I've never seen a frizzle in person, only pics, but some of them look hysterical! Having naturally curly hair my self I can relate!. Do any of your other ones look like this one? I bet with all the pretty colors, she'll turn out just beautiful! Are her legs covered in feathers or is it a shadow on the pic??