The Value of Grit in Poultry Feeding

Abstract

Introduction:Grit in the bird's gizzard, according to a long accepted theory, performs a function similar to that of teeth in mammalia. Dr. T. P. Shaw (McGill University), who has recently made some close observations on the physiology of digestion in the domestic fowl, states: “The function of the gizzard is to crush the hard grains. This it accomplishes by muscular contractions which rub the grains one against the other. This process is very much facilitated if sharp particles of grit are mixed with the grain. Some writers claim that grit is unnecessary for poultry. We fail to notice the report of any experiments which prove that fowls without grit in the gizzard, when fed on whole grain, did as well as fowls with free access to grit. Some experiments have been reported where the observers have taken for granted that the gizzard did not contain grit because the birds …