You know how humans need something extra to help them digest heavy meals…you gotta meet the chicken’s need and give ’em some chicken grit. Chicken grit is micro gravel or crushed granite that chickens eat to help break their food down for easier digestion. It’s like those little shell pieces in seafood…you find a chunk of shell and spit it out. Your chicken finds something in the food and spits it out. That’s really cool, nature’s teeth for a bird! Now, you’re probably thinking: What’s organic chicken grit? What’s baby chicken grit? What’s granite chicken grit? There’s a little difference between each type of grit: A baby chick needs to start mirco-grinding their food, so its chicken grit is formulated for early stage digestion. The granites provide a hard substance to help grind food up. Make sure you buy granite that’s safe for chicken over 4 weeks old. Organic grain provides digestive enzymes to help the birds process the nuts and seed in their diet. They say digestive enzymes are really good for humans too. OK, so chicken grit needs to be part of your coop care…whichever type you choose, that way your precious chickens aren’t just picking out big pieces and leaving them for you to clean up in coop maintenance. Whether it’s organic chicken grit, baby chicken grit, or granite chicken grit, just throw a some into their chicken grit feeder…or you can use a chicken grit dispenser and attach it in their coop area.
Introduction to Chicken Grit
We belong to the Thousand Death March coterie of chicken- raisers, undaunted by the sure and steady departure of our chickens to Chicken Heaven, as inevitable as their deaths, sadder, though, for us. We’re not advocating for bestiality or abhorrent slaughtering practices, but for something called chicken grit. Think of the chicken. Chickens, it’s said, are plentifully endowed with extraordinary qualities. And yet we forget that they do not have teeth. If they did, and you had a hen eating a corn kernel, you’d see and hear that kernel labour through the grinding teeth. It’s easy to imagine that teeth therefore grind the foods we eat, and then they’re transferred into our stomach where further mashing makes its gurgling sounds. But chickens don’t have teeth. The grist for their mill is chicken grit. It might be gravel, granite or sand, all known as chicken grit since it hits the bottom like grits, or it might be oyster shells – you decide. It’s a mix for the purpose of inducing the tearing and grinding of chicken feeds. There are all sorts of variants – there’s organic chicken grit and baby chicken for your bantams or young chickens, and even granite chicken grit for its durability.
And by adding the right kind of chicken grit to their diet, not only will it help digestion but even prevent situations where your chickens develop digestive blockages from not having access to something that would make their digestive tract work smoothly. This means your chickens will remain healthy and vig orous. It’s best to give them chicken grit in a specific place where they can always access it, whether in their free-ranging area or their pen. A chicken grit feeder, or chicken grit dispenser would be a perfect choice.
The Importance of Chicken Grit in Poultry Digestion
Appreciating the chicken grit purpose and uses is also important for the wellness of your flock: chickens do not have teeth, and the food they eat needs to be broken down in their gizzard, a muscle located in their stomach. In order to be broken down, feed must pass through that organ, and the grinding process needs to be facilitated by grit for maximum effectiveness. If chickens do not have chicken grit to grind their food in their gizzard, it will not be properly broken down and nutrients won’t get absorbed. As a result, productivity will be compromised and problems such as poor digestion, poor nutrient absorption and even blockages can occur, all of which can seriously affect a chicken’s health and physical well-being. Therefore, being a responsible chicken keeper involves giving your backyard or farm chickens access to as much chicken grit – whether chicken grit for chickens or a different type of chicken grit for baby chickens with a finer consistency – as they need.
Further, these can make grit consumption easy, since they have a place where it is easily accessible and this promotes it being consumed on a regular basis. Sifting through a pile of gravel can be a real pain and these products can help make it convenient for the chicken to eat grit easily. Finally, you need to think about the type of grit that your choosing between organic chicken grit if youre using an organic system or granite chicken grit that is known to be long lasting.
Types of Chicken Grit: Comparing Organic, Baby, and Granite
Organic chicken grit is the best choice for those who raise their chickens in an all natural, chemical free, organic way. Using organic chicken grit for your chickens enables your flock to have a diet that is totally natural and has no synthetically made chemicals in it. We believe that chickens developed well over a few thousand years with no intervention from human farming practices. By retaining a natural, holistic way of raising chickens, you will be sure that your chickens receive the ideal balance of minerals to thrive. Baby chicken grit is ground much finer to make it ideal for younger chicks who may struggle with larger grains.
Its finer grain helps the chicks make the transition to solid foods a little smoother, as they’re just developing their digestive systems. Finally, granite chicken grit is the most durable and effective at grinding up food in the gizzard. This is because it doesn’t dissolve in a chicken’s crop; it’s a type of grit that will last a long time in an adult chicken. There are different kinds of grit for different stages of the life cycle for the bird Let’s take a closer look at some of the options available.
How Chicken Grit Works in a Chicken’s Digestive System
This can give us some insight into chicken grit – and its importance to chicken health. To begin with, chickens don’t have any teeth, and so pick up bits of girt as they graze. That girt is swallowed and passed to the gizzard for further processing. There is a strong muscular part of the stomach called the gizzard, and it can play an active role in digestion, using the grit to grind the food in much the same way that chewing would. This can substantially help break down tough bits of food, making it easier for the important nutrient to be released and absorbed into the chicken.
No, without chicken grit, chickens wouldn’t get enough nutrition from their feed, leading to possible vitamin and nutrient deficiencies plus all sorts of digestive issues. So, as long as the grit is an appropriate size – chicken grit gravel for adults and a finer baby chicken grit for chicks – it will help aid the digestive process and the fast, efficient digestion of feed. This, in turn, translates into happy, healthy chickens.
Chicken Grit Feeders: Best Practices for Setup and Use
Chicken grit feeders are a great way to improve the availability of grit in your coop or free-range area so your hens receive more of it, more often. Feeders should be at a height that is accessible to all of your birds, not placed directly on the ground where it will develop unhealthy contact with excrement. The grit can be located near a water source or close to a feeding station so that chickens consistently have an opportunity to feed on it in a natural way. This feeder can definitely be filled up at a higher frequecy than the feed cage. The amount that they eat varies by the size and age of your flock so be sure to keep an eye on what’s there.
Consider feeders with grit-dispensing openings that you can close when chickens are not using them. Controlling grit access such as this will limit wasted feed and prevent chickens from overconsuming. In addition to this, if moisture accumulates in the feeders in the form of meal spilling and getting wet, or if the feeders are not cleaned periodically to remove mould, your flock will not use them. You can then transfer the grit to new containers so that your chickens have reliable access to it.
DIY Solutions: Creating Your Own Chicken Grit Dispenser
DIY gurus and backyard chicken-lovers alike love chicken grit dispensers because they’re fun to make, cheap and reusable. With PVC pipes, small buckets or upcycled containers, you can create a great solution. To make sure it works well, just make sure that you have an entrance wide enough for the spinecky bird to peck into the grit without casting most of it out again. For example, if your dispenser is made out of PVC pipe, layer small holes on a larger one so your chickens chow down without loosing grit all over the place. You can also use drilled holes and attach a small tray to the bottom of a small bucket, for example a risotto cup – a shallow tray is just what your birds need.
To prevent contamination from the ground and to allow easy access, it’s best to mount the dispenser at the same height as your chickens’ heads. And, of course, in addition to fun crafting, diyii’s project is a commendable example of sustainable poultry farming, encouraging the use of materials that might otherwise be wasted, while enhancing the health and productivity of a flock. Fantastic eco-homesteading!
The Role of Chicken Grit in Nutrient Absorption and Health
Chicken grit helps chickens absorb more nutrients and remain healthy because small particles (size 3 mm to 4 mm) act as a natural probiotic or digestive aid for chickens to absorb more minerals and other nutrients from their feed. The mechanical grinding action using chicken grit in the gizzard efficiently grinds the feed and increases its bioavailability. If the chicken absorbs nutrients most efficiently, it stays healthy to do what it is bred to do, grow and lay eggs.
Having enough grit in a chicken’s diet directly relates to improved feed conversion ratios, meaning it takes less feed for the chicken to reach her production goal or surpass it. And because the presence of grit physically ‘cleans’ the digestive tract, it can positively affect prevention of issues such as impaction and abnormal digestive conditions – serious health issues for a bird, with lengthy and far-reaching consequences for her life. Providing the type and quantity of grit commensurate with age and dietary needs of the flock ensures that the birds have the full advantages of benefit gleaned from every mouthful of feed. That’s how your flock can have a longer, healthier, happier, more productive and more prosperous life.
Sourcing the Best Chicken Grit: What to Look For
When shopping for chicken grit, the most important things to look for are quality and size. Chicken grit should be composed of hard, insoluble material such as granite or flint; these do not dissolve in the gizzard. Size is important, too. Chickens need grit that befit their age and size, so make sure to get starter grit for chicks, and larger, coarser grit for adult chickens. Make sure the material is as pure as possible, without added chemicals or contaminants.
And it’s also beneficial to buy grit with a mixture of minerals such as calcium to enhance the chickens’ diet, especially laying hens. When buying grit, look for suppliers who specialise in poultry supplies rather than a general farm supplies outlet as they will be more likely to sell products that are most suited to your needs and will ensure your chickens receive the best digestive aid possible for their health and wellbeing.
Chicken Grit for Different Stages of Life: From Chicks to Hens
Even tiny bits of grit have a positive impact on digestion Certain stages of the chicken’s life require different types of grit. Young chicks require a finer and more digestible form, which helps them process their starter feed more efficiency when their digestive system is still maturing. As chickens grow from pullets into mature hens, the size and type of grit they require should change. Adult chickens need a coarser grit to handle the more varied and substantial diet they consume, which is comprised of whole grains and larger bits of food.
It’s wise for your laying hens, whose eggshells take lots of calcium to form, to be fed oyster shell grit especially. As you monitor your flock and keep the grit bowl clean and stocked, watching for the types of grit they enjoy and adjusting it over the lifetime of your birds, you’re keeping your flock digestively healthy, and happy, and with you right from first hatch through to adulthood.
Integrating Chicken Grit into Your Poultry’s Diet
It’s such an easy thing to add to your flock, and it’s important to use the right kind of grit the right way. Begin by giving a small amount of starter grit to your baby chicks right away, after they’ve begun eating solid food – as soon as they walk away from their eggs, those babies’ stomachs need a little roughage. Continue offering increased-sized grit with increasing age and dietary needs, and make grit available at all times with its own designated feeders, separate from the grain mix.
This helps to prevent them from over-eating their primary feed while finding grit. Regular monitoring of your flock will alert you to increases or decreases in grit intake based on changes in your flock’s health or egg-laying production. With patience and consistency, adding a measured amount of chicken grit to your backyard chickens’ diet can help significantly improve the way your flock absorbs nutrients, impacts the quality of their health and laying, and protects your investment with a rich, quality environment to keep you and your flock happy for years to come.
Common Mistakes to Avoid with Chicken Grit
A key component of chicken husbandry, however, lies in making proper use of chicken grit (especially since many managers inadvertently do it wrong). One of the most common mistakes is to fail to offer grit early enough. Young chicks also will benefit enormously from the presence of grit that allows them to process starter feeds effectively. Other common mistakes are offering grit that is too large or too small for the age and size of the bird, which can result in ineffective digestion and even choking hazards.
Because birdholders sometimes neglect to provide a steady, convenient source of grit for their birds, their chickens will at times seek to remove their grit-less indigestion by ingesting inappropriate materials, like wood grindings that often infiltrate poultry Dominion feed. Inappropriate consumption can also occur when the need to separate grit from the main feed is overseen, allowing hungry chickens to randomly pick through feed in search of grit, potentially leading to overconsumption of feed. To avoid pitfalls common to providing free-choice grit for your chickens keeps them healthy and productive, taking care that they do not ingest material unsuitable for grit or that may contaminate their grain.
Chicken Grit and Pest Control: The Surprising Benefits
While chicken grit is generally known for its digestive advantages, an incidental and potentially essential aspect of grit’s functionality for a backyard chicken person is its ability to help a poultry environment become more pest-free by promoting a healthier, cleaner coop. Because the function of grit is to aid in digestion, it has a tough, coarse, abrasive nature about it – a result of typically being made out of something other than just dirt. A chicken who can’t find comfortable grit to eat will have a hard time digesting anything she eats. Generally, grit is made out of some type of stone, usually granite or flint, perhaps pieces of both. This can cause sharp, pointy edges to form. And the sharpness of grit, which ordinarily helps chickens to process food and move it through their body more easily, can incidentally cut into and puncture small pests that a chicken encounters in her coop or nest box, such as mites, ticks and even some larvae forms.
Feeding chickens grit assists in their ability to grind up their food for digestion, but it might also have a secondary health benefit – mechanically reducing the parasitic load of internal parasites. Healthier birds have happier, healthier lives. And a more direct benefit is that the presence of grit on the coop floor and/or in dust-bathing areas helps in mechanically removing pests from their feathered and skinned surfaces, interrupting the life cycle of these parasites. It’s an elegant case of two birds with one stone as it pertains to supporting the health of poultry flocks.
How Much Grit to Provide: Measuring the Right Amount
It’s important to give the right amount of chicken grit, especially if you want your livestock to digest food easily and efficiently. The amount will depend on a number of factors: age of chicken, diet (whether on starter, grower or layer rations), health/condition of chicken (this is more applicable to older laying hens when experiencing poor appetite or general ‘off-colour-condition’), body size, as well as ad libitum availability. Ad libitum means ‘as much as they want’ and how much they need will vary day by day; for practical purposes, the grit feeder should be refilled every other day or so, and kept a quarter full.
It doesn’t waste food because everyone always excretes the grit they take in, and also keeps the grit available to chickens all the time, whenever they decide they need it for optimal digestion. If you have mixed age or size groups of chickens, then it is worth providing multiple feeding stations with appropriately sized grit for the ages and sizes of birds they are providing feed for. Keeping an eye on how much each flock you have consumes will guide you. You can scale up or down as needed to keep your birds healthy and well-producing.
Testimonials: Real-life Success Stories with Chicken Grit
Chicken keepers from all walks of life, from backyard to large-scale, have shared testimonials about the life-changing qualities imparted to their flocks by the inclusion of chicken grit. ‘My hens had weaker egg shells within days after I took them out of the yard. Within weeks, after adding [oyster shell grit], their egg shells were strong again, and they looked better — like they had more energy,’ explained Sarah, a backyard chicken keeper from Oregon. ‘I found it critical that my laying hens have access to the proper grit.’
Just as I did with Andy’s metaphor, he and Jeff explain the chicken grit redux with a metaphor: ‘There’s a bunch of small poultry farms in Vermont. One is particularly small, but they’re really into it and they’re totally organic. Mark and Jenny – not married – they sell the chicken meat at farmers’ markets, and they have this poultry operation where chickens are everywhere. There’s a barn and – coop. They’re not eggs, there’s chickens running around. And Mark and Jenny were saying that they were never aware of how much their pest problems decreased since they started using the coarse grit. Almost as an afterthought, they said that the grit seemed to be helping the chickens break down their food better. When I pressed, they said that as a result, the chicken shit was easier to pick up, and the coop stayed cleaner, and their pest problems really decreased. So it’s almost like, here we’ve got these benefits from chicken grit that we never anticipated.’
These real-world examples demonstrate the diverse benefits associated with chicken grit – namely, it improves nutrient uptake and egg production; coupled with its contribution to natural pest-management strategies, chicken grit can improve the overall health and productivity of a poultry flock.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Chicken Grit
What is chicken grit made of?
But mainly, chicken grit is gritty, hard, insoluble solids of flint or granite. Sometimes, though, to introduce some water-dissolvable grit to help digestion, and to add some calcium for eggshell strength, soluble grit like oyster shell is also fed.
Why do chickens need grit?
It goes to the gut and grinds up the food before it goes through so that they can absorb more nutrients. So, without the grit, if you don’t give it to the chickens, they will have trouble digesting their grains and even the matters [sic] that are not really hard.
When should I start giving grit to my chickens?
Grit should take a small yet important place in the chick’s diet from about 2-3 weeks old using mild- or medium-sized grits. This not only helps digest the feed they’re getting, but most importantly, prepares the gizzard to accept the harder feed they’ll soon be getting as they start to transition to grower feed.
How often should I replenish the grit supply?
But grit needs to be accessible at all times. Your chickens should be able to reach it and consume it as needed. Replenish your flock’s grit levels regularly. Keep the grit container about one-quarter full so the chickens don’t waste it.
Can I just use sand as chicken grit?
Sand makes a poor substitute for chicken grit. Chickens do consume some sand, but it’s not perfectly abrasive enough to be a good substitute for chicken grit or for finely grinding food and making it excessively acidic. It also lacks the nutrient benefits (especially oyster shell grit’s calcium) necessary for optimum digestion and good chicken health.
What are the consequences of not providing grit to chickens?
If the chickens aren’t given access to proper grit, they might be stuck without it or with the wrong blend, and they can consequently experience health problems linked with digestive diseases or impaired nutrient uptake. In laying hens, lack of access to grit can also impact egg production and eggshell quality.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this guide has given you a good summary of why providing your poultry flock with chicken grit is such a critical part of their health and productivity. From ensuring smooth digestion all the way to helping to snuff out pests as an added bonus, the benefits of a grit-rich diet are many. Whether you’re a big-time poultry producer or just a beginner with a backyard full of chickens, there are many reasons why it’s imperative that you have the knowledge to recognise and meet your birds’ grit needs. By staying on top of the best ways to meet those needs by providing the proper type and usable quantities of grit, you can maximise your flock’s digestive tract, increase the quality of their eggs, and keep your coop and surrounding grounds significantly cleaner. A little grit definitely goes a long way.
