Developing the grass in your yard for increasing free ranging nutrition

[LeslieDJoyce]

Now I'm going to laugh at your typo, LJ.....     It's just too cute to pass up laughing at...."soul testing"....I didn't know the extension office handled that but it should be interesting finding out! 

They do that free in this state, for sure.  They can tell you just what you need to add to your soil and also tell you specifics about the type of pasture you are wanting to build. 

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Stocking rates-- the land tell the rate. So hard for me to accept this-- I like hard core numbers. LOL

How far away will the birds travel to get to loafing areas?? Is the attraction the safe shelter, and the amenitites?? Mine seem to prefer a very sunny spot near a distant fence-- rather surprized me. Seems the sun and warm draws them.

I have a 50 yard long row of bamboo coming up that will reach about 30' high and be about 12' wide. Forage value will be limited but it will be extremely good cover from north wind. It could also provide good cover for brooding hens with chicks.

I have a low bramble about 4 feet high and 7 acroos that the hens favor for laying. Turkey hens kept laying in a hidden nest. THe buggers. THe bramble is actually a rose bush, a wild type that we transplanted when we moved here: tiny white flowers and the mass can become unmanageable but still beautiful with the draping canes.

Ages ago we planted a pine "walk" down below the house ... it is a double row of Pine trees planted close together, and then trimmed up a bit so a person can walk the path between them. This is a big-time favorite area for our chickens. The soil under those trees is rich and yummy, and the birds are nicely protected from weather and hawks.

I would like to increase the number of evergreens we planted in a row as a number of houses have gone in across the road, and 100 feet of woods just doesn't block our view. We were once so isolated-- feels like these people have trespassed. I try to be forgiving, but I do like my privacy and loved the isolation. Would like to try to recover that feeling. Bamboo worries me-- if it would grow in the woods for an instant screen, I would plant it ,even if invasive. Maybe the cold here will keep it in check?

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
Sounds like multiflora rose...it's invasive and considered a huge pest on farms as it will quickly spread and take over pasture land. Extension offices used to give farmers poison pellets to eradicate it but then they all decided better about poisoning the soils....I think most farms have got it under control now but it's still rampant all over our state. What's funny is the state ag dept. were the first to import the darn thing and introduce it as a living fence/hedgerow to farmers.

Quote:
It grows here like thunder and we get about the same temps as you do. Loves moisture so if you can plant it near boggy land it can sure create some habitat for birds real quick and in a hurry. I've always wanted some so I could harvest it and make wattle fencing and other items with it. There's a place down the road from us where it grows so tall that the state has to come along and cut it away from the power lines.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

There are non spreading varieties of bamboo.

 

[Arielle]

Quote:
THe bramble is actually a rose bush, a wild type that we transplanted when we moved here: tiny white flowers and the mass can become unmanageable but still beautiful with the draping canes.

Sounds like multiflora rose...it's invasive and considered a huge pest on farms as it will quickly spread and take over pasture land. Extension offices used to give farmers poison pellets to eradicate it but then they all decided better about poisoning the soils....I think most farms have got it under control now but it's still rampant all over our state. What's funny is the state ag dept. were the first to import the darn thing and introduce it as a living fence/hedgerow to farmers.

There are non spreading varieties of bamboo.

High as the power lines?? Wow !!I'm all for creative materials like bamboo for wattle fencing. 9 months ago, my 2 boys and I used old baling twine and fallen sticks in the woods to make a fence. One section we already had woven wire so added horizonal poles to about 7 feet. For the turkeys. THey hop the fence every day!!

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

High as the power lines?? Wow !!I'm all for creative materials like bamboo for wattle fencing. 9 months ago, my 2 boys and I used old baling twine and fallen sticks in the woods to make a fence. One section we already had woven wire so added horizonal poles to about 7 feet. For the turkeys. THey hop the fence every day!!

I'm not a bamboo expert by any stretch of the imagination (we have exactly one plant in our yard and we cannot control it), but we have local business friends who specialize in bamboo. Here is a page to a website at a local bamboo nursery that shows different types of bamboo. They even have a "timber bamboo" section! I can imagine building all kinds of follies out of that stuff ...

http://www.bamboogarden.com/Bamboo categories.htm

There are some pages at that site that talk about managing bamboo.

For various reasons that made perfect sense at the time

the master suite in our house (the one I now use) has lots of large windows, and no window coverings. Outside the "garden tub" windows of the master bath is now where the poultry area is, so it has become rather ... busy. I have let some butterfly bushes get out of control there so I can have some privacy, but I would vastly prefer bamboo ...

 

[Arielle]

Quote: At least the butterfly bushes are lovely when in flower!!

Thanks for the link-- will have a look!!

My mother used bamboo for flooring in her kitchen as it was a renewable product. SO I"m sure there are MANY varieties of bamboo.

(rubbing hands) Envisioning a screen to block the view of the neighbors. and thinking natural fence to keep the coyote OUT!! THey are beautiful though--

 

[Arielle]

http://www.outsidepride.com/seed/deer-food-plots/sweet-spot-northern-mix.html


MOstly a legume mix, that is listed as having more sugar than other varieties. Perhaps good for chickens too.

 

[Beekissed]

Sounds yummy! Check with your local Southern States or other feedstore to see if you can get this cheaper...they have various pasture mixes and also those for game plots.

 

[Arielle]

Beleive it or not, betting pasture seed has always been difficult to get around here.