What is Grit? Is it Organic?

[eggdd]

so, i should be using grit. what is it? is it organic? it's natural, and not treated? where do you get it?

 

[10 point]

grit is just stone

I think it's organic and not treated

and you can get it at feed mills and places like tractor supply

 

[Ridgerunner]

If they have access to the ground, they will get their own grit. If you buy it, it is the leftovers of quarrying granite. They screen the residue from quarrying to get pieces the right size. It is not treated with anything and is about as "organic" as you can get. It is just pieces of rock.

Chickens do not have teeth, so they cannot grind things up the way we do. So they ingest small pieces of rock and store those in their gizzard, where they are used to gring up their food. If all they eat is prepared commedcial feed, you do not need grit. Even the pellets have already been ground enough. But if they eat anything else, they should have grit.

 

[florida lee]

Grit is simply small stones etc. Generally store bought is crushed granite.
I get mine from TSC or our local feed store. In Florida we have very few small stones in the ground so I offer grit. they make grit for chicks and larger grit for chicks over 8wks. Depending on where you live and your ground make up, if you free range,they may pick up enough grit from the ground.
Generally you should be using it if you are feeding anything other chick feed, eggs or very soft things. Its needed by the chicks to grind up their food. Especially greens or bugs.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

Quote:
Actually Grit is Inorganic since it does not contain any Carbon atoms.

 

[eggdd]

i'm feeding my chicks an organic seed-based diet. however, i'm grinding it up for them (they two and a half weeks old) - - do they need grit?

 

[pjknust]

I got a small bag (5lb) of grit for about $6 , The pieces looked awfully big.
So I got the bright idea of getting a bag of play sand from the garden center. It was 40 lb for $5 and it has all sizes of tiny rocks in it. I just piled it on the ground and works perfectly. Mine free range all day, but I was trying to encourage the young pullets in a pen to try it.

pam in TX

 

[anaiyuk]

Will fine grin sand work okay?

 

[eggdd]

i'd still like to know if you're grinding their feed, do they still need grit?