All chickens need grit, grit helps chickens digest food. Because a chicken’s mouth doesn’t have teeth, as human mouths do, chickens use what they can to break food down, grit is one thing that helps chickens digest food.
There are many grit options out there that are appropriate for chickens, so how about sand? Can you use sand as chicken grit? This article looks into it
Sand can be used as chicken grit but the right kind of sand needs to be given for the grit to be effective and healthy for the bird.
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Can you use sand for chicken grit?
Sand can definitely be used as a type of chicken grit, common grit types given to chickens include granite and flint but sand can be used too
Grit is swallowed by birds and these tiny rocks wind up in the bird’s muscular gizzard. The gizzard is an organ that digests food for the chicken. It is thick with muscles that help the bird crush and churn food.
The grit that lands up in the gizzard helps to break food down as well.
As the muscles of the gizzard contract, food is broken down, grit also helps to break food down. This process breaks food down into tiny particles that are small enough for the birds body to absorb
If there is no grit in the bird’s body then the food will not be digested well, this can lead to malnutrition as the bird will have nothing to absorb.
A lack of grit can also lead to the bird developing digestive blockages in its gizzard, the bird will also experience discomfort and even death if they don’t get grit.
Which sand is best?
There are various types of sand but not all can be given to your birds as grit, in fact, some sand types can be detrimental to your bird’s health.
The best sand to give your bird is a medium to coarse-grained sand, these sand particles are similar to the size of granite and flint grit which is commonly given to chickens.
Sand of this size is small enough to be eaten by chickens, and reach its gizzard, yet still large enough to break foods down during digestion.
Also, it would be best to give your bird sand that has been ‘washed’. ‘Washed’ sand has no fine dust particles as the sand has been washed of small particles with water
Yes, coarse grade sand that has been washed may still have a few tiny dust particles but this is not nearly as much as finer sand does.
If the sand particles that you offer as grit are too small then the sand will pass right through the bird’s digestive system and not help with digestion at all.
Where to find grit worthy sand:
Sand that is large enough, and is washed, can usually be found at your local gravel company. The company will likely let you purchase some of their sand, for a good price.
Straining the sand through a kitty litter scooper will usually help you figure out if the sand is course enough. Appropriate sand will be large enough that some of it stays in the scooper, yet small enough that some of it drops through the scooper.
The sand sold at your local big-box store is usually not course enough to be used as grit.
What’s wrong with fine sand?
Sand that is very finely milled creates dust when moved even the slightest bit. Play sand is an example of sand that is too fine.
If fine sand is given to chickens as grit, then the dust of the sand can get into the bird’s lungs as they eat. This will make the birds sick, this is why avoiding fine sand is so necessary.
Play sand is 100% fine-milled quartz and this can quickly get into your bird’s lungs and harm them. It is not dangerous when eaten but is very dangerous when inhaled.
If your bird does inhale the dust from finely milled sand, like play sand, then your bird may develop silicosis or cancer. The former is a lung scarring disease
How to feed sand to chickens:
When giving chickens sand as grit, it’s best to have it available to them as free choice at all times.
Animals only take as much as they need when they need it, they have no concept of conservation, they will not accidentally take too much grit.
Thus, it’s best for these animals to have access to the grit at all times so they take it when they need it and never lack it. This is better than them needing it but not having it.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Chicken Vomiting Water, Egg Peritonitis Natural Treatment, Chicken Grit Option: Sand, Limestone Grit For Chickens