What age do chickens need grit

[thegoodwinshens]

I have four 4 week old chicks and three 2 week old chicks I went to buy them grit today and the man at the feed store said they don't need it until they start laying, I am using purina chick starter non medicated (plan to switch to something more natural once this bag is gone)

 

[junebuggena]

Chicks on started feed don't need grit unless you are giving them treats.

 

[Den in Penn]

The man at the feed store was confusing oyster shell, a calcium supplement, with stone grit, what they need for grinding their food in the gizzard. Chickens of any age do not need grit if the food they are eating has been ground in a mill. Chickens of any age need grit if the food the are eating hasn't been ground. So as the previous poster has said, once they are given anything else then milled starter they will need grit. If they are out and about they usually can find enough grit in the ground on their own.