Ever hear the saying, “As rare as hen’s teeth”? The fact that chicken’s are lacking in the dental department means they need an alternative way to break up their food. So how do they do it? This is were grit comes in.
Grit can consist of a range of substances from tiny stones to oyster shell, but they all have the same purpose of helping the bird digest their food. A chicken’s anatomy is such that after the food has been stored in the crop it then passes further down the digestive tract into the gizzard. Here the pieces of grit taken in by the birds act as small stones, grinding the food down into tiny digestable particles, and makes nutrient absorption more efficient. The gizzard is a muscular structure which is lined with a hard layer of the protein, keratin which acts as protection to the muscle layer during the grinding process.
You should provide your poultry a source of grit in a container beside their feeder. If your poultry are free ranging they should pick up enough grit but it’s advisable to put a container of grit in too just to keep a continous supply.
The best grit is a hard flint mix which can be found in various amounts and sizes for birds of all ages, Oyster shell grit is ideal for laying hens due to it’s additional calcium content.“Reference to: Fancy Fowl”
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