6 Best Chicken Grit For Poultry Health That Old Farmers Swear By
Proper grit is vital for chicken digestion. Explore our list of 6 top choices that seasoned farmers rely on to maintain optimal flock health.
You’ve seen a chicken peck at the ground a thousand times, picking up tiny stones you’d never notice. This isn’t just idle behavior; it’s a critical part of their digestive process. Without these little stones, or "grit," a chicken can’t properly break down its food, leading to poor health and nutrient absorption. For any flock that isn’t free-ranging on perfectly pebbly soil 24/7, providing grit is non-negotiable.
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Understanding Grit’s Role in Poultry Digestion
Chickens don’t have teeth. Instead, they have a powerful muscular organ called the gizzard, and grit is what makes it work. Birds swallow small, hard stones that travel to the gizzard, where they act as grinding agents, pulverizing tough grains, seeds, and fibrous greens.
It’s crucial to understand the difference between insoluble and soluble grit. Insoluble grit is what we’re talking about here: tiny pieces of granite or flint that don’t dissolve. They stay in the gizzard for weeks or months, doing their job. Soluble grit, like oyster shell or crushed eggshells, is a calcium source that dissolves and is absorbed by the body for strong eggshells.
Your birds need both, but they serve entirely different purposes. A common mistake is assuming oyster shell can do the job of grit. It can’t. A hen with a gizzard full of oyster shell and no hard granite will still struggle to digest her food properly.
Even free-range birds can need supplemental grit. If your soil is sandy, clay-based, or covered in snow for part of the year, your flock likely isn’t finding enough of the right kind of hard, sharp stones. Providing a dedicated source is cheap insurance for their digestive health.
Manna Pro Grit: The Go-To for All Flock Ages
If there’s one bag of grit you’ll see in almost every feed store, it’s Manna Pro. This isn’t by accident. It’s a reliable, no-frills choice made from crushed granite that gets the job done without breaking the bank.
The biggest advantage of this brand is its accessibility and clear sizing. It comes in three main varieties:
- Chick Grit: For baby chicks from day one until about 8 weeks.
- Grower Grit: For pullets and cockerels in their awkward teenage phase.
- Poultry Grit: The standard size for all adult birds, from laying hens to roosters.
This system makes it easy to provide the right-sized grit for your flock’s developmental stage, which is critical for preventing crop impaction in young birds. Manna Pro is the dependable workhorse of the grit world. It’s a straightforward, effective product that you can count on finding when you need it.
Scratch and Peck Grit for Organic-Minded Flocks
For those running an organic operation or who are simply meticulous about their inputs, Scratch and Peck Feeds offers an excellent grit option. Their grit is sourced from quarried granite in the USA and is OMRI Listed for organic use. This provides peace of mind that you’re not introducing unwanted contaminants into your flock’s diet.
The product itself is high-quality, clean, and consistently sized. You’ll find less dust in the bag compared to some budget brands. It’s a premium product, and it comes with a premium price tag. The decision here is a matter of priorities.
Is it functionally better at grinding food than a standard granite grit? Probably not. But if maintaining an organic certification or ensuring a completely non-GMO feed chain is important to your farming philosophy, Scratch and Peck is the clear choice. It aligns with a holistic approach to flock management.
Manna Pro Chick Grit for Developing Gizzards
We mentioned it before, but it’s worth its own section because it’s so important. Providing the correct size grit for chicks is a fundamental aspect of raising a healthy flock. A chick’s digestive system is tiny and delicate, and offering adult-sized grit is a recipe for disaster.
Manna Pro Chick Grit is specifically formulated with fine granite particles that are easy for a small bird to swallow and use. You should start offering it the moment you give your chicks anything other than their starter crumble. This includes treats like bits of grass, scrambled eggs, or worms.
Without appropriately sized grit, these treats can form a blockage in the chick’s crop, leading to a condition called impacted crop, which is often fatal. Think of chick grit as essential safety equipment for your brooder. A small bag is inexpensive and will last you through the entire brooding period for a backyard-sized flock.
Mount St. Helens Grit: A Hard Granite Choice
For the flock owner who wants the absolute toughest material, Mount St. Helens Grit is a standout. Sourced from the volcanic basalt of its namesake, this grit is incredibly hard and sharp. The theory is that harder, sharper particles are more efficient at grinding and last longer in the gizzard, meaning the birds may consume less over time.
This isn’t your standard crushed granite. Its angular shape and durability make it highly effective for birds on a diet heavy in whole grains and tough forage. It’s a premium product for a high-performance gizzard.
Finding it can be a bit more challenging than walking into a local farm supply store, and you’ll likely pay more for it. But for those who believe in providing the best possible tool for the job, the extra effort and cost can be justified. It’s a choice for the flock keeper who obsesses over every detail of their birds’ health and nutrition.
Small Pet Select Grit for Consistent Sizing
While marketed broadly, Small Pet Select has gained a reputation among poultry keepers for one thing: quality control. Their chicken grit is known for being exceptionally clean, with minimal dust and remarkably consistent particle sizing. This might seem like a small detail, but it has practical benefits.
Less dust means you’re paying for usable grit, not powder that will be ignored at the bottom of the feeder. The consistent sizing ensures that your birds are getting exactly what they need without having to pick through pieces that are too large or too small.
This is the grit for the precise, waste-conscious farmer. If you’re tired of throwing out the bottom third of a bag of cheap grit because it’s just dust, switching to a brand like Small Pet Select can be both satisfying and, in the long run, more economical.
Versele-Laga Grit with Added Redstone Minerals
This option from Versele-Laga, a European brand, takes a different approach. It’s a blended product that combines insoluble flint grit with oyster shells (calcium) and redstone. Redstone is a clay-based brick particle that is believed to aid digestion and provide trace minerals.
The convenience of an "all-in-one" grit and calcium source is appealing. You can put out one feeder instead of two, simplifying your setup. This is a great choice for someone with a small, simple coop who values efficiency.
However, the tradeoff is a lack of control. By offering a pre-mixed blend, you can’t adjust the ratio of grit to calcium. Chickens are generally good at self-regulating, but some flock keepers prefer to offer insoluble grit and oyster shell in separate containers to let the birds choose exactly what they need, when they need it.
How to Properly Offer Grit to Your Flock
How you offer grit is just as important as which kind you choose. The biggest rule is simple: never mix grit into your flock’s feed. Chickens instinctively know when they need grit and will seek it out. Forcing them to eat it with every bite can lead them to consume too much.
The best method is to offer it "free-choice." This means providing it in a separate container where the chickens can access it whenever they want. A small, heavy ceramic dish, a dedicated gravity feeder, or even a simple poultry feeder will work perfectly. The key is to keep it separate from their main feed and water.
Make sure the container is kept clean and dry. Grit that becomes caked with mud and droppings is unappealing and can harbor harmful bacteria. Place the grit station in a sheltered spot, like inside the coop or in a covered part of the run, to protect it from the elements. A constant, clean supply is all they need.
Ultimately, choosing the right grit isn’t about finding a single "best" product, but about finding the one that fits your flock’s needs and your management style. Whether you prioritize organic sourcing, specialized sizing, or all-in-one convenience, the important thing is to provide it consistently. A small dish of grit is one of the simplest and most effective ways to support the long-term health and productivity of your flock.
