Feeding my ducks and geese grit??

[Sparrow]

I'm going to start taking my 3 1/2-4 week old ducks and geese outside in the daytime to let them forage and play around in the grass for a bit(just for short excursions with me right there with them!), and I was wondering how I should provide their grit. I bought MannaPro Crushed Granite for "all classes of poultry" tonight.

How should I offer it to them? How much? For how long? Can I offer it and take them out the next day?

 

[PearlD]

I take my baby geese out everyday. They follow me to the pond and along the way they find dirt, sand and small pebbles to eat. When we get to the waters edge, they start clearing out any grass they can reach, and then proceed to 'spit' water and mud through their mouth and nose. I haven't offered them any store-bought grit at all.
Are you supposed to, when they are eating dirt and sand from outside? I wonder if they are getting enough?

 

[greyfields]

You put grit down free choice. They will only 'eat' as much as they need.

 

[kodiakchicken]

Quote:
I have been taking my little ducks outside everyday and the first day I did I put down a bowl of grit free choice. My little cayuga, Zipper, who is a total garbage gut, sat down in front of the bowl of grit and started to shovel it in as if it were food. I got worried and took the bowl away and have been sprinkling it on their food every since. Should I give the bowl back? Can they overfill their crop with grit?

 

[swampducks]

We're supposed to feed ducks grit? Really? Huh. I've had my first ones a year now and never did that. Of course, they get to wander about all over my dirt driveway every day, even in winter so I suppose they get enough.

I swear I never read anything official about feeding them grit though....

 

[DuckyBoys]

I decided not to offer grit. Their barn pens have a dirt floor and they eat the dirt all the time. Outside we have tons of sand just blowing around everywhere, they eat that too.

I don't think they need grit with all that gritty stuff available free! I even went to Big R to buy some when I first got them and the girl didn't even know what I was talking about?

I probably would've offered it, but they didn't have any.

 

[Sparrow]

Thanks for the help guys!

I just thought I'd offer them grit because they live in my antique bathtub, and have had no exposure to anything food-like besides their Goose food(and sometimes their pine shavings

). I want to start taking them outside on strolls and I want them to be prepared to digest the grass and things that I'm sure they w ill try to eat.

The problem I'm having now is that they are terrified by the looks of the grit. I offered itto them on a clear plate earlier today and they screamed and ran. Soo...I'm going to have to show them that it's alright before I can get them to eat it. *sigh*

 

[DuckyBoys]

Quote:
Maybe they want you to try it first and say "Yum Yum?"

 

[chickenannie]

Put the grit in there. They'll get used to it eventually. It's a really important part of their diet and they need to have it since they're not free-ranging and finding it on their own.

 

[MissPrissy]

My geese won't eat the grit from a feeder. They prefer to dig their own grit holes.