Why do chickens need grit in their diet??

When chickens are foraging they will also pick up little stones and grit, this is to aid their digestion. Chickens do not ahve teeth, so all their food goes firstly, into their crop, this is a sac on their chest where food sits in initially being broken down by enzymes. Over night this food then digestst down into their gizzard which is like a big grinding machine. Little bits of grit and stones help this process, they are used to aid the breaking up of food in the hen’s gizzard.

When should I give grit to my chickens?

If you have chickens who spend the majority of their time in a run environment offering grit daily is very helpful, because they are not out free foraging they will be picking up less grit naturally.

How do I feed grit to my chickens?

We recommend scatter feeding grit, you can leave it in a dish for them, however, foraging the grit is natural to them and taking it forma dish isn’t. Get a good handful of your hens’ afternoon treat and add a TBS of grit, then scatter so they can scratch and chicken about picking up the corn and the grit too.

What is the difference between grit and oyster shell?

Grit is consumed to aid in digestion, it doesn’t have any nutritional value. Oyster shell is easier for the hen to break down in their system and provides them with natural calcium, which they need to produce eggs.