When to start grit?

[TheRambler]

Ok thanks!  I'm using pine shavings currently in my brooder.  I think I'll pick up some chick grit from Tractor Supply and introduce them to it once they hit two weeks old.

Just to reiterate, make sure it is "chick grit" which is smaller than normal chicken grit

 

[azygous]

My chicks are 10 days old and have been on a sand run from day one. They began getting meal worms on day two. They instinctively eat the appropriate sized pebbles under their feet, and they are a lively, healthy little gang of four.

Naturally, they are now just as corrupted by treats as the big girls, crowding the gate when they see the human coming.

 

[ktornadoes]

Do any of you use unfiltered raw organic apple cider vinegar in your chicks water? Figured while I was getting all this good info I'd throw this question out too...thanks again for all the good advice!

 

[newmarch2014]

I sprinkle the grit on the food like salt as well as a small pile in a corner. I do use the Braggs vinegar. A tblsp per gallon but not really sure how much of an impact it makes since I am pretty "all natural organic" so I don't know what is the most effective. My hens are happy, healthy, lice/mite free, fat and shiny. I feed them a big scoop of yogurts a few times a week for gut health and calcium. I feed a mixture of ground up pumpkin seeds a couple times a year for natural worm maintenance. Etc.

 

[thegreatwhite]

i started giving the chick grit at about a week, free choice in a separate container. i started giving them hard boiled egg yolks smashed up pretty good like crumbles at about 2 weeks also, i use the unfiltered raw organic apple cider vinegar with the mother at a rate of 1 TBSP per gallon for the first month. now they're 7 weeks and they get a 1/2 TBSP per gallon

 

[TheRambler]

I too am using Braggs organic ACV with mother at the rate of 1 tbsp/gallon. first time using ACV in the water, so far so good. Chicks are drinking it and have been since i put them in the brooder at 2 days old.

 

[lazy gardener]

IMO, just b/c "they say" grit is not needed if the chicks are only on chick starter... that doesn't mean that grit is not a healthy part of the diet for a chick. I give my chicks a clump of sod as soon as they are eating and drinking well, and demonstrating that their crops are filling. At that time, I'm comfortable putting them on shavings. I've found that the minute they get on shavings, they are scratching through the shavings and eating little bits of it. Therefore, I want them to have some grit before or around that time. The sod accomplishes multiple purposes: It contains bacteria that help them to populate their guts with a healthy flora. It contains grit. It satisfies their urge to scratch and dust bathe. There may be some little bugs lurking in there! And it contains green growing things that they can eat. I used to put it in a container in the brooder. I now toss it right into the shavings. A bit of soil in the shavings is a good thing IMO.

 

[FlyWheel]

GREAT thread! Answered all my questions on chicks, grit and treats in just two pages.

Grass clods, huh? I'll have to give them some. The local TSC doesn't have any chick grit at the moment (one grumpy salesman told me I'm not supposed to give my babies ANYTHING other than starter mash/crumbles until they're fully grown!).

 

[ShanandGem]

GREAT thread! Answered all my questions on chicks, grit and treats in just two pages.

Grass clods, huh? I'll have to give them some. The local TSC doesn't have any chick grit at the moment (one grumpy salesman told me I'm not supposed to give my babies ANYTHING other than starter mash/crumbles until they're fully grown!).

I crush regular grit with a hammer and mix it with a little sand. Seems to work fine.

 

[mobius]

At four weeks my new chicks went into coop and run. They had been getting dirt/grass clumps and a little chick grit sprinkled on their food. Once outside, I put a plastic cup, the kind that comes in pet carriers, hooked over thehardware cloth so they could reach it, and filled it with grit. They eat it daily and at 6 weeks or so I am having to fill it daily....will come up with wine bottle and tuna fish can combo for grit as soon as I drink a bottle of wine and have tuna fish casserole

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