![]() ![]() Unlike insoluble grit, it is a dietary supplement intended to provide calcium to hens so they can produce strong-shelled eggs. Soluble grit may look like hard bits from the outside, but it is quickly dissolved by the bird’s system. Insoluble grit is required by chickens of all ages, including roosters, while calcium-rich supplements like crushed eggshells are only needed by laying hens. Unfortunately, that is not how it works, and all chickens need non-digestible rocks to break down their other food. Many chicken owners erroneously believe that feeding oyster shells or crushed eggshells serves both purposes chickens get the grinding stones they require along with a healthy dose of calcium. There is often confusion about what grit is and what form it should take. It offers no nutritional value but is invaluable inside the bird’s gizzard, where it helps to mash up tough food until it’s fine enough to be digested. ![]() Since they don’t have teeth to break down food as it is taken in, they consume small amounts of fine stone to get the job done further along in their digestive tract.Ĭhicken grit is an insoluble assortment of tiny rocks, which in commercial mixes usually consists of granite and flint. Many bird species use grit as a tool to aid in crushing and grinding hard and fibrous food inside their gizzards. Let’s learn why chickens need to eat tiny rocks and how many they require to process their food effectively. If you are new to keeping poultry, you may wonder if grit is necessary since it has no nutritional value. Grit is not the same as oyster shells or eggshell calcium supplements. The hard stones are stored inside the gizzard and pulverize fibrous food to make it more digestible. Granite is commonly used to make commercial grit. Humans and many other animals have teeth to grind food before swallowing, but what if you only have a beak? Many birds and some reptiles have devised an ingenious system to grind their food inside their stomachs, but for the process to work effectively, they need a plentiful supply of grit.Ĭhicken grit is small non-digestible stones that chickens need to aid digestion. The idiom, as rare as hen’s teeth, means something is extremely rare or nonexistent. ![]()
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