Getting grass in the run - solutions?

[TJAnonymous]

Thank you, everyone, for all of your feedback. It is helpful and definitely giving me food for thought.

A new medical building went up next door to my property. They installed a sprinkler system and put down sod. That grass established itself within a month. I walk my dog over there from time to time. They run the sprinklers every night. It feels nice, soft, thick, and green. Granted, they don't have chickens scratching at it every day which probably makes ALL the difference.

That being said, except for the craters where my chickens have decided to make an impromptu dust-bath hole, they don't seem to tear up my pasture grass.... I'm not sure WHY the chicken runs are different? There's more than enough space for the amount of animals. I feel like the lack of regular watering is what makes the difference. If the area was watered daily or every other day, I bet I could get grass to grow there. Also, I do have a garden tiller that I could use to prep the area.

Btw, my chickens DO have a couple of special areas where they 'dust bathe' inside their run. Leaving these areas without grass won't be a problem. The problem is keeping them out of the area beyond a few days or even a week. Since I can't do that, maybe I could figure out how to section off 30' x 10'-ish sections at a time and keep them blocked for a month at a time? At best, I'd only get 2 sections done before everything would go dormant for the winter (unless I used a winter grass).

 

[TJAnonymous]

I erect plastic deer netting around the cultivated area. The fencing is only about four feet high, so I add clothesline a couple of feet above the top of the netting to discourage deer and the chickens from trying to go over the four foot netting. It has worked very well.

Here are a couple of shots of the cover crops today in full bloom. It's a chicken paradise. View attachment 2806071View attachment 2806072

I bought a chicken forage seed mix last fall/spring. I tried to section off just a small 5'x6' plot and plant the forage. Didnt' work. They simply flew over the top and ate the seeds.

 

[Sueby]

When I block off sections of my run I use the 7 foot deer netting. They don't question it at all. Could that work for you?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004RA0N/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[FatChicksDigMe]

After nearly killing myself "skating" across muddy pens on yet another wet fall day a few years ago & several chickens getting bumblefoot due to the mud, I knew I had to do something, even if it was just temporary to get through the winter. I have yet to come up with a permanent solution, but I have tried the sod idea the longest, so far.

I did sod my runs (have a few, too many Roos) but my runs are only 7x10 up to 10x10 each. I only have up to 4 to 7 birds per pen, too. More birds means more feet trampling, digging and scratching.
The sod worked great all winter into spring as we get a lot of rain here but I have very rich farm soil & prepped it well, churning it up 1st...yes, my back ached for 2 months afterwards.
When we get drought in July, the grass all dies, can't save it by watering, we get scorching 90s & 100 degree days Jul & Aug, so it's dry dirt pens the rest of summer. In the Fall Oct, our weather gets cooler. I have to scrape out the old layer of thatch roots from the dead sod, load into 5 gal buckets then haul to my compost area, then deep prong rake the compressed soil & add some lawn lime to prep for new sod. Talk about a workout! Rolling out sod is the easy part, prepping the soil beforehand is backbreaking & takes days. DO NOT BUY your sod Until AFTER the area is prepped & ready...important lesson here, trust me.

This is NOT a good way to do things, I admit that, but I have tried sand runs, mulch runs, straw runs & they were much worse with the vast amounts of precipitation we get here over fall, winter & most springs. Covering my runs to keep dry is not possible the way they're built already, besides a dry run is still just a dirt & poop run, still nasty.

I have too many predators here to free range. The only other solution would be a portable pen on wheels, known as a "chicken tractor". That way the chickens can be moved daily & the area recovers from the scratching & digging. There will be holes dug & unfortunately since the unit is mobile, a fox can dig right under. This won't work for me as I can't be right there 24/7 to watch for digging foxes. It might work IF you have a good farm dog dedicated to protecting your flock.

Anyway...it is a dilemma.
I've made wire panels to sort of lay down & cover the greenery section. I planted chickweed in a small section of pen, it grew up through the wire mesh cover, so chickens can walk around on top & enjoy eating what grows through, but can't turf up the roots. In theory, a movable cover "could" be used all over, but that isn't practical. Who has time & the back muscle to constantly be moving huge wire panels? I don't.

So...this is why I do the yearly "pain in the wazoo" sod. It takes a week of time & costs me about $200. Bumblefooted chickens & me busting my ass slipping in mud all fall, winter & spring is NOT an option, though.

To grow ANYTHING, you need rich soil for roots. Sand & clay are not going to grow anything well. Add hot, fresh manure from chicken fuzz butts on a daily basis...nope, can't grow diddly squat in that.

IF you decide to grow sod, or crop cover, you need good base soil 1st, & several inches of it, too. Your area is so large, you'll surely have an aching back, so get some help, prepping will be the most difficult part. You'll need truckloads of good soil.
Once you plant something, or roll out sod, usually have to keep all chickens off for abt 3-4 weeks & you must water well DAILY for roots to get established, if there's no rain. This is why I wait til Oct or early Nov when my weather changes here, cooler & very rainy so chickens would be in the coop mostly anyway then...and I have larger than average coops so they're not crowded or hot & hang cabbage & have pecking blocks, etc. When chickens see the new grass pen, they may want to turf it up, so that's why I have 2 covered dustbath areas...they go to those spots immediately to dustbathe after being cooped up 3-4 weeks. While they were cooped up I sprinkled them & the fresh wood chips in coop with ProZap to prevent any mite issues by the way...so yeah before I even start on the pens I clean the coop completely as they'll be cooped up in there a few weeks. I make sure no one has any mites.
By Oct here the days are much shorter, that means less time chickens are out digging & scratching, too. The sod does great all winter. The days gets longer in spring. They're outside more trampling the greenery. If it's a dry spring, the sod dies & may be all dead by Jun, but it definitely dies by Aug, just too darn hot here then.

I haven't come up with a better solution & this works where I live. When I do relocate, wherever I go, I will have to adjust to the weather. If I moved to AZ for example, sod would never work. Figure out your weather patterns for your area, sod won't work if you don't get enough rain. Know that WHATEVER you plant, will require some kind of maintenance or periodic adjustments due to weather.

One thing for sure.. chickens do need a dustbath area or section, preferably covered so it never turns into a mud hole.
They love scratching & digging, it's what they do. You have to watch for anything sharp that may injur feet or constantly muddy, poopy areas that can cause bumblefoot. Having various "things to do" or perches will keep them interested, like hanging fresh corn cob, cabbage, melons, a chickweed or pecking greens spot, etc.

Sorry I don't have a better solution. I don't know your climate either, so what works here may not work at all elsewhere.

The only other thing to suggest is dividing your huge pen into 4 sections, then you rotate birds & let the ground recover. That was actually my initial intention here but I started out with 4 chickens and had 3 pens to rotate them... Chicken math changed everything here, dramatically! I have had up to 40 chickens, 11 of them were roosters... A few died of old age and I have not gotten any new ones because I have learned my lesson as to the number of chickens I can comfortably accommodate.

Best of luck!

This setup is stunning! I know you put in a TON of work for the sod but it's truly beautiful. First run I've ever seen green by anybody LMAOOOOOOO

 

[Liz Birdlover]

This setup is stunning! I know you put in a TON of work for the sod but it's truly beautiful. First run I've ever seen green by anybody LMAOOOOOOO

The only downside is July heatwave kills it off so I have to re-sod when it gets cooler in Oct. It's a good workout though Lol, well rolling out new sod is the easy part, the raking out the old thatch & prepping is rough but you know how it is, we must like this farmer active lifestyle or we wouldn't be doing it. It's very rewarding when you bust your butt & see a beautiful & functional finished job. I doubt this would work as well in a dryer climate.

 

[aart]

The only downside is July heatwave kills it off so I have to re-sod when it gets cooler in Oct. It's a good workout though Lol, well rolling out new sod is the easy part, the raking out the old thatch & prepping is rough but you know how it is, we must like this farmer active lifestyle or we wouldn't be doing it. It's very rewarding when you bust your butt & see a beautiful & functional finished job. I doubt this would work as well in a dryer climate.

Do you put the new sod on top of the old sod?
How many years have you been doing this.....just once a year?

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Do you put the new sod on top of the old sod?
How many years have you been doing this.....just once a year?

No, have to dig out the old dead sod which becomes a thatch in July heat. Then prep the soil raking with metal rake prior to rolling new sod.

Yes, only 1 year did it keep growing but mostly we get July heatwave that kills everything Lol. It's all good, kinda used to it, keeps me in shape!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Really surprised it isn't cheaper and more effective to heavily overseed.

TY for sharing this experience. More work than I am willing to perform.

 

[FatChicksDigMe]

The only downside is July heatwave kills it off so I have to re-sod when it gets cooler in Oct. It's a good workout though Lol, well rolling out new sod is the easy part, the raking out the old thatch & prepping is rough but you know how it is, we must like this farmer active lifestyle or we wouldn't be doing it. It's very rewarding when you bust your butt & see a beautiful & functional finished job. I doubt this would work as well in a dryer climate.

Is there a way to plant some quick growing trees on either side of the run? Perhaps some shade can offset the intense heat in summer. Maybe you can prolong your hard work or even ensure you don't have to replant. I know that's ANOTHER thing you'd have to do but think about it. They say trees do decrease the sun's intensity

 

[Fieldsfive]

Thought I'd pop in with my experience for reference. I have only 4 hens, and a 4' x 8' raised coop with an attached 4' x 15' enclosed run with mulch. I placed the coop over a portion of our beautiful green grass and within 3 months, the grass had been absolutely decimated. It's now dirt and only dirt. It works out well for dust bathing and such, plus they have the run with mulch, leaves and whatever else I can throw in there. But from my limited experience, unless you rotate areas, I don't think grass could ever survive if it's in their main living area.