We're getting a Tractor Supply just a few minutes from my house! They sell the big bags of chicken grit for around $9 I think excited!

That's great news Paul! I love the stuff myself!

I love it, too, but ours only sells it in small bags. I was hoping for 50 pounds, and only got maybe 2 pounds. They did say they could order it for me, and I'll do that when I've used up the small bags I bought.

Wahoo!!
I am so happy for you Paul. Don't know what I would do if I didn't have a great source for chicken grit just a few minutes from my house.
Great news.

The closest place to me that had it available at all was an Ace Hardware about 40 minutes away, but they never stocked it and could only order the small Manna Pro 5 lb bags for me from their supplier. Costs almost $20 for two little bags, but soon I'll be able to buy big 25 lb bags of it for much less. Home Depot has giant bags of perlite for $17, so I've been using that a lot but the winds here just blow it away when it drifts to the top. But no more! First day they open I am cleaning out their stock of it!

I get it in 50# bags for a $10 something. just got 4 more bags.

I'm already making plans to replace the gravel mulch in many of my pots and thinking of all the different things I am going to mix up new soil for and repot they already have the four walls up.

Maybe you should camp down at the building site Paul. Occasionally cheer them on? Take them caffeinated drinks?

yes, and talk to the construction company about perhaps having crews work 24/7 in shifts!

I didn't think of that last idea Paul. Looks like you will see that they finish the project under budget and time frame.

Do they have just a regular feed store nearby? Tractor Supply around here has the 25 pound bags of Manna Pro granite for $9 bux, but since I used to raise ducks, I know that a regular feed mill or feed store will probably have grit cheaper, the two closest to me have 50 lb bags of grit for 4 to 5 dollars, its locally sourced and crushed, so theres no added cost for shipping heavy bags. The one feed store sells a crushed granite thats a nice mottled grey, the other has a light colored crushed quartz. If my natural forest souced and free pea gravel and woods compost mix doesnt work in the long run, 5 bux for 50 lbs of nice grit works for me! Just be careful to ask what type of stone they crush, some areas south of here crush limestone as grit (which may not be a bad thing) but it will raise soil ph.

I bought a bag of crushed rock (granite?) again without asking for the washed version.
The "unwashed" type has a dust that you can see when you pour the rock from one bucket to another and when I fill the bucket of rocks with water, the water turns a muddy color. So I have to wash the rocks and drain at least 3 times before water lightens in color. I have experienced this sort of unwashed rock in the beginning when I mixed it with cactus soil and planted my semps only to find that after the initial watering, the soil had compacted with the tell-tale cracks on top of the soil.

Good point webesemps, I dont worry much because mixing with my rotted log compost, a bit of dust wouldn't hurt, but I could see where really dusty stuff mixed with the right soil could be a problem.

BT your price of $5 is great. I pay $10 for the 50lb bag. And yes mine does have the dust. So far it hasn't been a problem.

I think the 5 dollar price is attributed to the fact that there are 3 quarries within a 10 minute drive of the feed mill, with stone most of the price is the hauling because its heavy. Its a big feed mill in a heavily agricultural area, im sure they get a quarry to make them a special grit run in bulk, and the feed mill bags it themselves

Our feed store is not a mill, so everything comes ready bagged. We do have a quarry just outside town, and another between us and Salem. Hmmm, wonder if I can buy it directly from the quarry in bulk? Now that's a thought.

The quarry here will sell you a pickup load of stone for a pittance...4 to 8 bux, problem is, when u go there they dump it out of a big front end loader so if its a good truck u get scratches...i have an old metal sided utility trailer i use for that stuff...i imagine if they have it they would sell it and probably real cheap by the ton!

We have lots of feed stores here and two huge quarries, and a few landscaping companies. The only grit our feed stores carry is pigeon grit, and our quarries have lots of different kinds of rock, but no grit. The landscape companies have lots of decorative rocks and mulches and things but also no grit. No one stocks or sells pumice in these parts, either. So finally having a Tractor Supply so close is something I am glad I'll finally have the closest one besides the one they are building is over an hour away.

Paul, when is the Tractor Supply going to be ready? I don't remember is you said?

BT we don't have a truck anymore, so I would take 5 gal. buckets.