When to start grit?

[New Chickadee]

My chicks range from 5 to 8 weeks. They're still on chick starter feed but are outside pecking away at the ground and grass. The grit bag says to start giving grit at 8 weeks old once they start a heavier grain food. Should I start giving the grit now? Any harm to the youngest chick? And I was planning on feeding them chick starter until 4 months of age; is this correct? Thanks, trusty BYC folks!

 

[ReikiStar]

We start grit as early as one week and never had any problems.

 

[drifter]

When you give them grit, just put some in a bowl or do you mix it into their food ?

 

[gale65]

I just gave dirt from our yard (I think they were 2 weeks or so) and put it in a square baking dish (that I don't plan to use again

) and they just scratched it all out of the dish anyway.

 

[bloom_ss]

Glad you asked this because I was wondering the same thing!

My chicks are just one week old though and this is my first time raising chickens.

 

[tiny529]

My one book said that if you haven't introduced grit by 6 days, it's a good time to start. (I've got no real knowledge... Just book knowledge!

)

New Chickadee... I see that you have a Basset. We do too! And a Newf. Our house is slobber-city.

 

[New Chickadee]

Quote:
You must have a lot of slobber! We adopted George a year ago and got lucky: he hardly ever drools! He's the biggest love bug I've ever met, and I'm totally in love with him. He's been really good with the chicks so far; I'm hoping they'll be friends.

 

[tiny529]

Quote:
Lucky! We find slobber on the ceiling on the regular basis...

I haven't introduced the pooches to the chicks yet as they are upstairs and the dogs have to stay downstairs (besides not wanting a ton of dog hair upstairs, we worry that they will get hurt going up and down the hardwood steps), but they'll meet once the girls go outside. Both of my guys are getting up there. Gus, my Basset, is almost 8, and Gandalf, my Newf, just turned 7. I don't expect that there will be any issues. They get along with just about every animal they meet. Gandalf sometimes has issues with anything bigger than him, but there isn't much out there that IS bigger than him!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Quote:
A broody hen gives her chicks grit the minute they are on the ground. You can start as young as you want to. It won't hurt them.

If they are on grass, they are getting grit.

The normal progression (as if anything to do with chickens is normal) is to feed them Starter until somewhere between 4 to 8 weeks, then switch to Grower. Feed grower until they are either 20 weeks old or they start to lay, whichever happens first, then switch to Layer.

If you cannot get Starter or Grower but your feed store only carries a combined Starter/Grower, you can feed the combined Starter/Grower until you switch to layer.

Some people feed what is called Flock Raiser from the start until they switch to Layer.

I don't recommend feeding Starter to chicks after about 8 weeks. It has a bit more protein that they really need. But some people do.

The only real rule in all this is to not feed then Layer until they are 20 weeks old or the first one starts to lay. The extra calcium in Layer is not good for growing chicks.

This may sound complicated but it really is not. Practically anything works as long as you don't start them on Layer too soon.

 

[adgcountrygirl]

I started the chick grit when it said to on the back of the bag. All my chicks were hatched within 3 days of eachother.