Yet another grit question

[Thundrr-Chicken]

i have young chicks and know myself well enough to know that im going to give them something other than starter... i also live very close to the beach... can i simply go to the beach and get a bucket of sand and use that for grit???

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

I don't see why not. I would clean it though by running boiling water through it.

 

[elmo]

Sand is usually too fine and smooth edged to serve as grit. You don't need to worry as long as the treats you're giving are soft, though. I wouldn't give seed or scratch untill my chickens had access to grit.

 

[mamagardener]

If I was using sand, I would probably use a coarse sand that has tiny pebbles in it. I would think beach sand might be too fine, unless it is a rocky sand.

 

[NurseDr]

I got an damaged bag of course sand from Loews for $00.25. It is much courser then most of the beach sand. Check out your local stores for damaged bags.

 

[chicky_mama]

so coarse sand from lowes will work??? i can find poultry grit... but i was under the impression that there is also.. chick grit... i cant find that...

so will poultry grit and/or coarse sand from lowes work?

 

[RocketDad]

You just need to get some little rocks into their little gizzards. The "better" the sand, the more sifted it is for consistent size - which we don't want for chick grit. We want a variety of sizes of rough, angular rocks, from 1/8" to 3/8" in size.

I used some "tube" sand - it's extra chunky!

Don't use aquarium gravel - almost all of it is coated with epoxy, and all the vivid colors are dye.