How much grit can a chook eat?

Thomzo · Post: # 51073Post **Thomzo** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 1:27 pm

Hi Guys
Can anyone please tell me how much grit I should give the chooks? I have bought a bag of mixed grit and oyster shell.

I am using a yogurt pot (a muller light 200g size one) as a scoop. I then put one scoop in a separate dish to their food every day and they seem to eat it all. Is that right? Should I be feeding them more than this?

The 6 girls (ex bats so about 18 months old) are producing 3-4 eggs per day between them and the shells are fine so I guess they are getting enough oyster shell.

Cheers
Zoe

baldowrie · Post: # 51083Post **baldowrie** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 3:37 pm

I just filled my hanging bird feeders I had as they used it

Thomzo · Post: # 51088Post **Thomzo** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 5:23 pm

Hi
I tried to do that but the mesh was too small and the grit couldn't get out. It sounds like a good idea though so I might have a look for another one.

The problem with the bowl is that they keep knocking it over so I can tell if they've eaten it or just scratched it in with their bedding.

Cheers
Zoe

flower · Post: # 51090Post **flower** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 6:02 pm

they will enjoy it more by scratching for it anyway

do your chooks get to free range at all? because if they do they'll certainly be getting some grit for themselves.

oystershell is to give them calcium for eggshell production. If your eggs have good shells then the chooks are getting enough. We also grind up our empty eggshells and feed some back to the girls when they have treats.

If you can arrange to put the grit, shell etc where it won't be kicked over for a while you will see how much your birds take.
They know what they need, let them guide you.

Bonniegirl · Wed Mar 14, 2007 7:29 pm

I mix the oyster shell in with their food, they have a nosloc feeder so they help themselves

Millymollymandy · Thu Mar 15, 2007 7:20 am

I buy my grit and oyster shell separately, and put a handful of each in a bowl. They get through the oyster shell really quickly but don't take much of the grit - probably because they are scratching about in soil all day long.

The 10kg bag of grit will probably last about 20 years!

I just give the girls as much oyster shell as they want/need which is about a handful 2-3 times a week for 3 hens.

baldowrie · Post: # 51151Post **baldowrie** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 8:05 am

Thomzo, even the hook on or hanging feeders get the knock it over treatment

They just have no table manners!

ohareward · Post: # 51160Post **ohareward** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 9:15 am

Hi Bonniegirl, How do you find those nosloc feeders? I am looking at various options for feeding. There is also a feeder that has a hinged lid that opens when a chook stands on the platform, so that smaller birds can't get at the feed. Most of the feeders seemed to be made in the North Island. I might have to look at making my own.
Robin

Bonniegirl · Thu Mar 15, 2007 9:24 am

Hi ya, the noslac are pretty good actually, you can order the actual feeder part online, they also sell them on TM sometimes. I'm sure they would post to the SI.....they do have a postal service down there don't they??? ;)....otherwise 2 carrier pigeons would do it!!

http://www.nosloc.com/about.php

The jury's still out for me on the grandpa feeders......my neighbour had one and when I was looking after her chooks whilst she was away, I had to fish out a couple of dead sparrows.....ewww!

Also the smaller birds aren't heavy enough to enable the lid to lift and I've seen some birds get bonked on the head a few times.

I'm sticking with the Nosloc.......need to get myself another actually!

Bonniegirl · Thu Mar 15, 2007 9:25 am

PS Just buy the feeder attachment their buckets are hopeless and the lids dont stay on!

Thomzo · Post: # 52115Post **Thomzo** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 1:44 pm

Well I've now fixed and old plastic meat container to the wall for their grit. Hopefully they shouldn't be able to knock it over now. I expect they will peck their way through the bottom of it in time but I can just replace it then.

The eggs have good hard shells so they can't be going short. I used to feed the shells back but they went through a phase of eating the eggs so I stopped doing that in case it was encouraging them. I might start again now though.

Thanks for the advice guys

Zoe

ohareward · Post: # 52155Post **ohareward** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 8:11 pm

Hi Thomzo, I think you have to crunch the egg shells up fine enough so that the hens don't recognise the grit as egg shells, but not too small that they can't pick it up.

Bonniegirl, Hi, I visited my cousin on the week-end and they have chooks. They have one of those platform feeders. Theirs is homemade. She had that problem with the smaller hens not being heavy enough, so she put a lead weight on the end of the platform arm to make it balance right. She also has caught a few sparrows. I am in construction mode, and when it's finished I will photo it.

Robin

Bonniegirl · Mon Mar 26, 2007 10:18 pm

I look forward to seeing it!

CrazyParrot · Thu Apr 12, 2007 1:42 pm

feed your grit separately from the food - maybe in a margarine tub or just on the floor. they will take what they need, and wont eat to much as they might mistakenly do when you mix it with the food. Ours only take a few pieces now and again, but this seems enough - their egg shells are harder than anyone elses we know!

Thomzo · Post: # 53879Post **Thomzo** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 4:39 pm

Hi
Now that they are free-ranging a lot more they don't seem to eat any grit. I've put it in a separate bowl, fixed to the wall so they can't knock it over. I reckon the bag of grit that I bought will last them till the next millenium at this rate.

Cheers for your help guys.

Zoe