What is Grit and why do you need it? Do I need it?

[<3 N.C Chicken Chick <3]

What is grit? Whay do you need it? My chickens have acess to an big ground area with grass dirt ect do I need to go and BUY grit?

 

[Fred's Hens]

May sound anti-establishment, but I've never bought grit. We live on a virtual sand and gravel Disneyland.

Chickens need grit to grind their food, down in their digestive organs. They do not have teeth, so they swallow food, virtually whole.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Chickens do not have teeth so they cannot grind their food the way we do. But they have a muscle called the gizzard that grinds it for them. But they still don't have anything hard enough to grind the food in the gizzard. So they eat small pieces of stone or large pieces of sand and use that to grind the food.

I agree with Fred. If they have access to the ground, you do not need to buy grit.

 

[Illia]

I never and have never in the past bought grit.


You only need it if you cage your chickens or keep them in a small run.

 

[<3 N.C Chicken Chick <3]

thanks

 

[chi-rn]

Commercial feed has grit in it already!

 

[<3 N.C Chicken Chick <3]

Good 2 know

 

[wyododge]

Quote:
Really??? heck I didn't know that! Thanks!!!

We don't buy grit either. lots of rocks for them to choose from.

 

[TigerLilly]

I used to have an above ground pool in the back yard. Sand is the base for the pool to sit on. Got rid of the pool, but not the sand. Chickens get their treats thrown in that area & seem to do very well without me having to buy grit.

 

[VelvettFog]

Quote:
I'm not sure you can make such a blanket statement. In fact, I know you cannot. The commercial food that I use does NOT have grit in it. If it did, I'd switch to one that didn't. There is NO WAY I'm paying 'food' price for rocks. If you feel you need to supply grit, then buy some. It will be way way cheaper than trying to get it in your 'commercial food'.