Who is giving out mis info on grit and feed?

[monkeyspinner]

Hi,
I have chickens. Had them my whole life, and just this year got Golden Cuckoos in a different climate ( on the coast). I got a summer job at a feed store and some people that are new to chickens have been saying some weird stuff. Most of this weird stuff seems to be stemming from the internet.

First one- That you have to feed 1 pound of grit for every 9 pounds of Feed. (this was for free range chickens and it didn't say it was free choice).

Second one- People seem to think that chicken food is like stage of life food....

That you start out with Chick start, then go to lay crumbles, then you "have " to go to mini pellets and then to layer pellets.... Now this has been at least four different people. And since most people assume people at feed store don't know anything, no one will listen to me when I say no... you don't have to feed it like stage of life.

Does anyone know where these rumors are coming from so I can write the person who posted this info????

 

[NancyDz]

i've never seen anything like that posted here. Why don't you ask them where they got that info? Also there are a lot of opinions on what is the best feed, so that may be someone's opinion.. it's really the person reading it that took it as correct. Just keep informing them and sending them to good info on the net...

 

[sephiroth]

Okay, so my 10-13 week olds are on a commercial feed (Blue Seal) and I am trying to determine whether I need to add or offer grit.

Why or why not?? I've heard many differing answers on this.

 

[hinkjc]

Does anyone know where these rumors are coming from so I can write the person who posted this info????

I'm not sure where you saw it or what you mean by rumors, but I know the back of the bags of Purina tell you what to feed your chickens at each growth period of their life.​

 

[WriterofWords]

Does anyone know where these rumors are coming from so I can write the person who posted this info????

First off, why are you assuming it came from here? Did they say "I went on BYC.com and was told this?" They could get info anywhere on the Internet they want. I'm sure there are thousands of people on different boards, who like you, think they know everything about feeding chickens. You can't fix the world, or what anyone else wants to say or do. Just smile nicely, give them your own advice and opinion, and go on.​

 

[bethandjoeync]

Quote:
they only need grit if they are eating anything other than the feed. if you are giving them treats then they will need some sort of grit. BUT if they free range and have access to rocks, dirt, and such then they will get their own grit naturally.

I haven't bought grit in months (and mine are 16 weeks), but we have a gravel driveway. so once a week I will shovel some of the smaller pellets of rock and throw it in the run for them to freely eat when they need it. grit is used to breakdown the food in the gizzard (I believe that is it) hope that answers your question

 

[Chicken Ninja]

Second one- People seem to think that chicken food is like stage of life food....

Seems like many major feed companies believe in selling chicken food in different stages of life...

I'm sure you could feed chickens one kind of feed for their whole life and they'd be fine. However, like dog and cat foods, they specially formulate the feeds for the different nutritional requirements at different stages of life.

I really don't see how this is so unusual. Most people on this website do change feeds from chicks on up to layers, in some form or fashion. Maybe it's a more recent thing in chicken feed, but it's definately not the "wierd" thing now, it's more like the norm.​

 

[elmo]

Protein and calcium requirement actually do differ based on the age of the bird. Additionally, pellets are probably too large for a chick, particularly bantam chick, to eat.

I agree with you about the grit to food ratio, though. That's silly.

 

[speckledhen]

Well, as a matter of fact, they do need proper feed for their age. Chick starter/grower then layer for the extra calcium and slightly lower protein content than starter has. Usually, only penned up birds may need grit offered on the side. Free range birds who have access to small pebbles get it on their own. Doesn't matter if the layer feed is crumble or pellets, but the starter must be small enough for babies to eat.

Never, ever heard anyone say you feed a certain amt of grit to a certain amt of feed, not here or anywhere else. I've heard lots of misinformation given out by feedstores, like oyster shell is the same as grit, etc.

 

[gritsar]

I have large fowl and no experience with bantams, which has always left me with an unanswered question. If the tiny little finches that get in my coop (no matter what I do to keep them out) and eat up all my layer pellets, then why would a bantam have trouble with the same feed? These finches are teensy tiny!

As to the OP question, I'm with Writer and Speckled on that one.