Do chickens and grass mix ?

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

There's also the concept of "intensive grazing", where you give the chickens access to an area of grass for a day or so, then move them to a new area. That's kind of hard to do with a stationary coop, but very doable with a "chicken tractor".

 

[obi wan henobi]

Thanks everyone, some great ideas here ! I will give it a shot and be sure to provide other 'zones' for them to scratch in

 

[Ridgerunner]

My main run is about 4 m x 10 m but I also have an area about 12 m x 20 m inside electric netting. My main laying/breeding flock is about the size of yours but during the raising season I may have a total of 50 chickens on there, most of them relatively small as they grow to butcher size. The main run is kept bare, they eat anything green that sprouts in there. But the area outside in that netting stays green all summer. I also have a few nut and fruit trees in there.

In the spring I keep them locked in the main run for a week or so when the grass starts to sprout so it gets a chance to get established. Once it gets going it stays green. The chickens will eat certain types of grass and weeds but don't touch others. I have to mow it a few times each season to keep the bad stuff from taking over. I do water in the heat of summer when it quits raining.

I'm not sure what your climate is like in Sydney, mainly how much rain you get. It sounds like you are talking about laying sod which sounds expensive. If it already has a decent patch of native grass and weeds on it I'd consider leaving that, native grasses and weeds typically suit your climate. You can certainly sod it if you wish but I'd consider sowing seeds and sprouting them if you need to establish a turf. Just keep the chickens off of it until the roots get established.

You might do a search on "grazing frame", the idea was mentioned above. You build a frame and cover it with wire with openings too small for the chickens' heads to fit in. The chicks can eat the green stuff that grows through the wire without pulling it out by the roots or scratching it up.

Another variation is to build a coop with a small run around it then build separate runs off that. Think of a round or rectangular pie cut into slices with the coop and run in the middle. You have pop doors or even human gates off that central run so you can let them in one or more sections at a time. I saw where a lady did that with eight different segments. She'd use four of them as her garden each year, rotating them from year to year. The others she'd rotate her chickens through that year so they always had fresh grazing.

You are limited in what you can do here but most of those limits are in your imagination if you have room. Good luck with it.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Just make sure that rolled turf or sod does not have that netting, some places use a green plastic netting and that can be very dangerous, if it is still there when planted, because the chickens can choke or get tangled up.

Also make sure it's not treated with fertilizers or other chemicals... very common for sod to be doused in stuff in order to make it grow.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Thank you ... this is the answer I was expecting but dreading.

What would you recommend as an alternative ?

Search soil compaction geo grid. Its a plastic/rubber grid that you lay in the soil, back fill with topsoil and seed. Its intended use is for auxiliary parking areas in grasses spaces and to protect walking paths from developing that "cow path" look. Its very effective also at protecting roots and the growing point of grass (base of the stem) and because its not metal wire, it won't injure the birds feet when they scratch around.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

If I’m reading correctly and the measurements are in meters I would think it’s safe to plant grass. If it is in meters we’re talking more than 300 square feet per chicken. They shouldn’t tear that up too badly.

 

[Nero70002]

They would slowly destroy and eat the grass.

"Slowly"

 

[CHlCKEN]

Thank you ... this is the answer I was expecting but dreading.

What would you recommend as an alternative ?

Split the run in half. One half grow grass, but cut off all acess to it. The other half allow the chickens to roam in. Go back and forth between the sides as they eat the grass and it grows.