Chicken Grit: What Is It For & Why Chickens Need It Jenny Graham, October 18, 2023November 7, 2023 Chicken Grit is a material made of small stones or small pebbles, that is eaten by adult chickens, young chickens, baby chicks, and poultry to aide their digestive tract in proper digestion. What is Grit for Chickens? Simply put, chicken grit or poultry grit is insoluble grit that helps break up food in their digestive tract and gizzard to aide in proper digestion. Grit is a great way to aide in nutrient absorption. Soluble grit can also be added for an additional calcium supplement. Why is Chicken Grit a Good Idea? Chickens need a grit supplement for a balanced diet and proper digestion. Since chickens are a prey species, and their digestive system doesn’t include teeth, regular grit is a good idea. It helps the bird’s gizzard function properly by mechanically breaking down food they eat, which gives better nutrient absorption. When Do Chickens Need Grit? Chickens that are fed a commercial chicken feed may have a lack of grit, which causes poor feed conversion. Free-range chickens often consume enough grit particles while foraging for food. As general rule, chickens should be provided supplemental grit at all stages of life. Why Grit is Important? Not only does grit help the chicken’s digestive system break down food particles to absorb nutrients better, it also helps prevent digestive issues like sour crop. Food that is not broken down properly can lead to a health issue causing an impacted crop, which can be a breeding ground for harmful bacteria, like salmonella. Small Stones That Backyard Chickens Need for Proper Digestion. A Chicken’s Digestive System Since chickens are a prey species they can’t spend a whole lot of time chewing. They must swallow layer pellets quickly to be stored in their crop, where very little digestion occurs. Chicken feed is released slowly into the gizzard where the real breaking down occurs and where chicken grit is needed the most. How Does Chicken Grit Help With Digestion? Chicken grit aids gizzards, which are muscular, thick-walled organs in the chickens digestive system to work properly. When chickens eat, chicken feed goes from the crop into their gizzards. The grit they’ve consumed helps grind the food into smaller particles. This grinding action is essential for breaking down grains, seeds, and other hard, fibrous tough foods. Different Types of Chicken Grit Their are many different types of poultry grit. Insoluble grit and Soluble grit. Both serve a specific purpose and help the chicken’s digestive system. Insoluble Grit for Proper Digestion Insoluble natural grit is hard, non-digestible materials like small pieces of rock and pebbles. With this type of grit, it’s main purpose is to help break down food in the gizzard (an essential part of a chicken), the making food easy to digest. Soluble Grit as a Calcium Supplement Soluble grit is a source of not only grit, but a calcium supplement that can be absorbed. The most common is crushed egg shells and oyster shell grit. This is a great way to provide enough calcium and minerals for strong eggshells and high egg production. Chick Grit for Baby Chicks This special type of chicken grit is for baby chicks only. It is ground down into finer particles making it easy for the chicks to eat. Young chicks should be kept on chick grit while they are on chick crumble, until they transition to regular layer feed or grower feed, unless of course they are free range chickens. Grower Grit for Young Birds Grower grit is insoluble grit for your adolescent chickens, at least 8-10 weeks of age. You will find that it is slightly coarser in texture than chick grit but finer in texture than standard poultry grit made for adult chickens. Layer Grit for Adult Birds Layer grit is often a mix of insoluble grit and soluble grit. This provides laying hens with all the essential minerals and extra calcium they need to produce high quality eggs. . Mixed Grit for Backyard Chickens Mixed chicken grit is a good choice if you have different ages of chickens in your flock. It is a mix of insoluble grit and soluble ingredients with different sized particles for multiple aged chickens. Best Grit for Chickens Oyster Shell Supplements Oyster shells are not used for helping digestion but as supplemental calcium. They provide an excellent source of calcium (in the form of oyster shell) to ensure strong egg shells. Oyster shells as grit also prevents the hen from drawing calcium from her own bones as a calcium source. Can You Use Sand for Chicken Grit? Sand can be a component of chicken grit. It does help with digestion but doesn’t work quite as well as small stones and small pebbles. Sand is beneficial to have in a chicken coop and chicken run as chickens love to dust bathe in it. Chicken Grit for Strong Eggshells Crushed eggshells are an excellent form of extra calcium to feed back to your chickens, especially your laying hens. Utilize those cracked eggshells by crushing them up and using as a soluble grit and a form of calcium carbonate. Crushed Limestone Adding crushed limestone to the list of chicken grit provides another form of calcium. Proper calcium intake will ensure your laying hens are laying strong, well formed eggs. Why Do Chickens Eat Rocks? Rocky soil or granite grit can be a great form of insoluble grit, in the right size, when your chicken needs help with the digestive process. Tiny pebbles can act as teeth to grind up their food making it easy to absorb and digest. Grit Vs Chicken Feed Vs Oyster Shells Grit, chicken feed, and oyster shells all serve their different purposes. If your backyard flock is provided with these three essential ingredients, you are sure to have happy, healthy chickens with great shell quality and high egg production. How to Feed Chickens Grit You can feed chickens grit by simply placing it into a separate feeder or container, making it available free choice. Poultry grit can also be fed to chickens by sprinkling it onto the ground. Do You Mix Grit With Chicken Feed? Chickens will regulate how much grit they consume over a period of time. It should be available free choice in a separate container. If it is mixed with feed, chickens cannot consume grit in the specific amounts they may need. Can Chickens Eat Too Much Chicken Grit? Chickens will usually only consume the amount of grit that they need to help with proper digestion. Keep an eye on the grit feeder to make sure that they always have sufficient grit. How Often Do You Feed Grit to Chickens? Chicken grit should be out free choice for your chickens if they do not free range. Having a steady supply available lets them consume as needed. Do All Chickens Need Grit? All chickens need grit in some way, shape, or form. Whether it’s gotten from the chickens free ranging and finding their own grit, or if it’s provided for birds that are cooped up all the time. Grit helps ensure proper digestion for your backyard flock. Do Baby Chicks Need Grit? Baby chicks do need grit in order to break down commercial feed properly. Along with chick starter crumbles, its a good idea to provide chick grit to your baby chicks, giving free access. Does Chick Starter Feed Have Grit? No, chick starter does not have chick grit as an ingredient. Chick grit should be provided with free access, separate from chick crumble, if your chicks are cooped 100% of the time. Do Chickens Need Grit if They Are Outside? In my experience with keeping chickens, chicken grit is not required at all times in free-range flocks. Some backyard chicken keepers find that it is beneficial for your egg layers, for chickens that are molting, or chickens that need additional calcium support. Grit for the Homestead Flock How to Make Your Own Chicken Grit If commercial grit isn’t available at your local feed store you can easily make your own. Collect and clean different sized pebbles, such as crushed limestone, and crush them up as best as you can. To that you can add crushed oyster shells, sand, and crushed egg shells. To Give Chicken Grit or Not The choice to give chicken grit is ulimately up to the backyard chicken keeper. In my experience of owning chickens over the last 18 years, there have been very few times that I have had to supplement my chickens with poultry grit. My chickens have always been free-range and supplemented with a locally milled layer feed. I have felt confident over the years that they get an ample amount of grit from foraging around the farm. If my chickens were strictly in a chicken coop I would supplement them with an insoluble chicken grit. If you are in the process of building your backyard flock you may want to consider these chicken breeds and check out my chicken playlist! Happy Homesteading, Jenny Sources: Purinamills.com (2023) Learn how healthy chickens digest food: Purina Animal Nutrition: Purina Animal Nutrition, purinamills.com. Available at: https://www.purinamills.com/chicken-feed/education/detail/do-chickens-need-grit-learn-how-happy-healthy-chickens-digest-food (Accessed: 17 October 2023). Chickens Homesteading Livestock