Backyard is disgusting

[FellowChickenPerson]

I have backyard chickens and they free range and it’s gotten so dirty I can’t physically mow my lawn so is there any tips for clean green grass with some small animals for my chickens to eat because I really need to clean it (2 RIR 1 Barred Rock/Easter Egger Mix 1 Austrolorp and 1 Silkie

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Keep them contained if you don't want them tearing up the whole yard

 

[wrathsfarm]

Wait til you get ducks... Then it'll look like a swamp.

 

[KyCoop]

A couple of weeks ago I fenced off another 100 Sq ft of chicken yard 200 total. I was tired of dodging chicken poop and being worried my dogs would track it in. Sooooo much better now.

 

[K0k0shka]

This is why I don't let my chickens loose in my backyard. I don't understand this new movement of chickens roaming and pooping on people's porches and lawn chairs. Maybe it's because more and more urban/suburban people are getting pet chickens for their backyards, and don't have enough room to section them off into their own space? Chickens aren't really pets in the practical, hygienic sense - the kind of pet you can house break or at least train to poop in a specific place and time (like, on a walk, but not on the porch). In that sense they are livestock, and need a livestock type manure management plan. Most of my current chickens are pets, in that I got them mostly for companionship and entertainment, but I'm realistic about what can be expected of them and what the consequences are, so I have them fenced into their own little yard, and they stay there. Walking through chicken in my own space and clogging my mower with it is completely unacceptable to me and there's no way to avoid that except keeping your chickens within their own enclosure.

P.S. I'm in an urban/suburban area myself and don't have a whole lot of room in my backyard, but I also don't believe that chickens are entitled to "free ranging", nor do I believe that a good size run with plenty of enrichment in it counts as "confinement", or "jail", or however the free range nazis like to put it in order to shame people. My chickens don't walk on grass, and that's fine. Would they prefer grass if they had the chance? Probably. Would I prefer to live in a wood cabin and lounge in a porch swing all day instead of going to work and doing chores? Absolutely. But we don't always get what we want, such is life. My chickens have adequate space and entertainment within their run, their life is good enough. I have a home, a job and a family, my life is good enough too. Don't underestimate what's "enough" as you keep pining over what's "ideal".

 

[Justagalwithchicks]

I am one of the people who live in a suburban neighborhood so can not free range my chickens. What I do is have a 6ft long by 22" wide mobile run. It opens from the top and has a handle on one end. My husband built it out of wood and chicken wire. I can move it where I want it in my back yard. It has worked well for me. My chicken get on grass and sunshine but are contained. I only have 3 hens and their regular coop is a nice size, but I like to get them out when weather permits since I'm in my backyard a lot.

 

[theoldchick]

You'll have to keep them up. Chickens are not clean animals. They poop everywhere, put holes in the ground, and root up your favorite plants. I can't let my flock free range because they go straight to our automotive shop on the hill. And let me tell you a customer does not want chicken dookie on grandpa's 57 Belair or that 63 split window corvette.

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

I suggest making a contained run, and then let them out only when supervised. That's what I have been doing and it's working well. They get about 1-2hrs of full backyard time, which is lots of time for scratching and bug eating but it's not enough time to get too destructive. The run has lots of bio material on the floor so they still find critters and love scratching around.

 

[David61]

Chicken Tractor, run or crock pot.