Pointing It Out To You!! True Grit

Grit comes in many forms. There is the grit that comes in many varieties including Oyster Shell Grit, which is good for increasing calcium deficiencies on your yard, and especially beneficial for your hens, as they require more calcium than your roosters because roosters don’t get their calcium depleted on a daily basis every time they lay an egg. There is Red Mineral Grit which is only good if you have trace mineral deficiencies on your yard or in my personal experience, not good for much of anything. Then there is my personal favorite, good ole Granite Grit.

There is one other form of “True Grit”, but more on that later in this article.

Oyster Shell Grit - Oyster Shells contain a natural source of calcium carbonate which is crucial for hens to produce strong eggshell, it is also beneficial as a digestive aid as we all know since gamefowl do not have teeth, it helps to break down the feed to provide the essential nutrients to your birds on a daily basis. Other than these two purposes, Oyster Shell Grit has a medium benefit to your roosters and is better than nothing, but other than keeping a cup handy for your hens, I dont place much stock in it.

Red Mineral Grit - Not a fan, I firmly believe this is often times colored broken down Oyster Shell Grit. Some say it contains trace minerals, but I have my doubts.

Granite Grit - Now this is the real deal when it comes to grit. Poultry as a whole has a unique digestive system. Feed is hard and in order to leech out the vitamins and minerals that you provide to them, that feed needs to be ground down. This process occurs in the gizzard where grit is stored. This vital element is an absolute imperative and essential for proper digestion, nutrient absorption, and gut health.

If you have a tendency to get cropbound birds on a regular basis, 9 times out of 10 it is because you have an inadequate grit source. It is a fact that often times poor access to grit in your birds can cause crop impaction, sour crop or nutrient deficiencies due to inefficient digestion.

Introduction to Grit on your yard is essential for good healthy gamefowl. Here is a small guide on when to introduce grit your birds. There are 2 types of grit - Insoluble Grit - this is composed of small rocks, granite , or even crushed flint and should be provided to your birds from the age of 14 days if they are eating anything beyond Chick Starter Feed. The second is Soluble Grit - this is composed of crushed oyster shells, limestone or even eggshells. This is only for calcium content and meant only for laying/brood hens.

When using grit - always provide the correct size grit for the age of your birds - a good rule of them is fine grit for chicks, medium grit for stags and pullets, and large grit for adults.

Now my favorite type of grit, which is “True Grit”, this is the combination of passion and perseverance towards long term goals. It is the ability to persist in the face of challenges and setbacks, with an almost single-minded resilence and determination. All successful roostermen have this ability as it indicated a strong work ethic and a commitment to one’s objectives.

**Side note: There is a reason that the hill regions of the Southeast United States (area running from Kentucky through Tennessee, North Carolina, Northern Georgia and Northern Alabama) is considered the Rooster Belt - They have a natural grit source that makes them the healthiest and strongest birds in the world.

Quick Story for ya:

I lived in Louisiana where the land is soil rich and grit poor. I had granite grit imported in from North Carolina once a month while at the farm. One particularly good breeding season, I had to make room for more birds on cord, so we went through the process of shortening all the cords from 6’ radius to a 5’ radius on their barrels. This allowed us to put in several new rows of barrels to accommodate the overstock. Now granted we had a scheduled routine to everything on the yard which included a handful of turkey-sized granite grit to each cord once a month.

After we moved the barrels, life went on as normal for a week or two until one morning Jerry came running up hollering about us being poisoned by someone, I went out to door to see what Jerry was hollering about. I had a whole row of birds, that were sick. These birds looked to be on deaths door, and I tried to remain calm as Jerry cussed and stomped about. (If you knew Jerry Jacques, you know exactly how he was acting - God, I miss this man - lol). I told him to calm down while I examined the birds that were showing signs of being low headed and their bottoms were pasted up terrible bad.

I literally have no problem sticking my fingers in a chicken’s butt and figuring problems out, the mess I found was gritty to the touch, I took the first bird to the water hose and rinsed the caked-on mess off him and realized it was sand. I asked Jerry if after we moved the birds over if we had thrown the granite grit to them and he told me no, he didn’t think it was important. Sure, enough the mystery was solved, the birds were accustomed to being provided this grit their whole lives and in the absence of it being provided, they had eaten gobs of the fine river sand that we filled the barrels with. This had stopped them up and made them sick as hell.

We used an epsom salt flush on them over the next few hours and saved every one of them. Jerry never forgot to provide them with grit again and I had a great time replaying his “freak out” to our friends at the pits. It’s the small things in live that give us the most pleasure.

Keep ‘em crowing…