grass in run..

[TheCluckFamily]

Due to the hawks that are constantly flying over our yard, I will need to keep the girls in an enclosed run. Can I put sod in there To give them some grass?

 

[WYNot]

Might get a bit pricey.

Do some searches and you'll find some great threads on sprouting fodder for them.

Or you can make some rectangular frames out of 2x4's. Staple some hardware cloth across the top of these frames. Place a few of these frames in the run. They will allow the grass to grow and give bugs a place to hide. The chickens won't be able to kill off the grass completely as they can't get to the roots. They can eat the grass as it grows out through the hardware cloth. They can also hunt for bugs that wander too far from the protection of the frames.

Quick Bing search turned up this great article...
http://www.thegardencoop.com/blog/2012/02/07/grazing-frames-backyard-chickens/

 

[TheCluckFamily]

Thank you! That is a very informative article!

 

[chad-o]

Get one of those plastic soda crates the ones that they ship the bottles in. Turn it upside down over your section of sod. They can pick at the grass through the holes but can't get to the roots.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

There are better things to grow than grass. Chickens prefer more succulent things. I have large pens with a wide variety of forage and grass is always the last thing standing.
Depending on the season I plant radish, turnips, winter peas, beets, buckwheat, chicory, clover, among other things.

 

[jpaynep31]

How do you plant these without the chickens eating the seeds or without them eating them and killing them before they produce?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I usually don't grow those things for production of peas, beets, etc.. They're just for forage. I rotate pastures. When the chickens come out I replant. I try to size the paddocks with stocking density so that by the time they eradicate most of the forage, the next one is at the right height for more good forage. From the end of December till March there's not much here.

 

[yyz0yyz0]

How do you plant these without the chickens eating the seeds or without them eating them and killing them before they produce?

as was mentioned above, you can use grazing frames. think of a compost sifter made out of 2x4's and hardware cloth. Now turn that sifter upside down and place it in the run so the HW cloth is on the top. Throw some seeds through the HW cloth and water, the plants are safe until they poke up through the HW cloth and even then they can only clip the top of the plant, they can't dig up the main part.

I've actually tried a couple of small ones of these but the problem I'm having is that before the seeds can come up the girls have filled the frames with dust/straw/sand/poop and smother the young plants. so I'm going to try something different. I'll still use the small frames I built, I'll just put them somewhere in a garden with a piece of sheetmetal or plexiglass underneath. I plan to sift potting soil through the screening and plant seeds in it. Let the plants grow nice and thick then lift the whole thing using the sheetmetal or pleixglass to hold all the dirt in. When I get to the run I'll set the whole thing down and slide out the sheetmetal to allow the frame to sit directly on the floor of the run. when things are starting to look pretty much done in, I'll just lift the frame and leave behind the piece of sod with the plant stumps in it and replant the frame in a garden and start the process all over again. I figure that if I use several on a rotating basis I can have some growing and ready to go when the ones in the run are needing replaced.

think of them as low planters with no bottom.