Why are my 7 week old ducklings suddenly eating A LOT of grit?

[OneEggToRuleThemAll]

My four ducklings will be 7 weeks old on Monday. They are still indoors day and night while my husband finishes their duck coop. They are as big as cats now, except for my Magpie who is still pretty small and more like the size of a large kitten. Anyway, the last few days, they have been emptying their little grit dish DAILY. I've noticed my Buff Orpington eats large mouthfuls of grit at a time. I buy them the chick grit from Tractor Supply. Why are they eating so much of it? Should I now buy them regular grit instead of the tiny chick grit? They get salad and peas twice per day, along with their feed, so they definitely need the grit, but can they OVEREAT grit? Thanks in advance!

 

[nuthatched]

Yes, they can over eat grit, I'd remove it.

 

[NatJ]

I buy them the chick grit from Tractor Supply. Why are they eating so much of it? Should I now buy them regular grit instead of the tiny chick grit?

I would try the larger grit.

If the grit is too small, it just goes right through them, instead of staying in the gizzard to grind their food. That would make them need more grit to replace it, which might cause them to eat a lot more grit (but if all the grit is small, it goes right through as well, so eating more will not really help.)

 

[OneEggToRuleThemAll]

Yes, they can over eat grit, I'd remove it.

Thank you for your reply! But don't they need some grit in order to digest leafy greens and peas? They get both of those twice per day.

 

[OneEggToRuleThemAll]

I would try the larger grit.

If the grit is too small, it just goes right through them, instead of staying in the gizzard to grind their food. That would make them need more grit to replace it, which might cause them to eat a lot more grit (but if all the grit is small, it goes right through as well, so eating more will not really help.)

Good to know! Thank you for replying!

 

[nuthatched]

Thank you for your reply! But don't they need some grit in order to digest leafy greens and peas? They get both of those twice per day.

Not daily though, maybe once a week.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I just leave it out separate from my feed bowls and mine eat it as needed. Reg. grit once they get around 8 weeks old.