Grass Life Expectancy in Run

[Selfsuffice]

Hello-

I am wondering if anyone can tell me how quickly chickens will go through a plot of grass. I do not have any chickens yet, but I have been reading a lot on the forum and accompanying information.

While I have yet to begin keeping them, I have read that chickens can rapidly turn any pen into a dust bath. My objective is to plan accordingly, and be prepared to rotate the chickens between pens. I've seen the chicken tractors, but I think I may need "more permanent" pens with buried fencing for predator deterrence. I plan to have several sections of pens and control which sections the chickens are allowed to run in each day or week or month. I intend to design the coop with this in mind, more on that later if I have additional questions.

So my questions are these:

1 How long will it take a given number of chickens to turn a certain sq ft of grass into dust? For instance, if I have 5 chickens, how long will it take for them to destroy 50sq ft of grass to the point where it wont grow back.

2 What kinds of grass have the best resistance to this kind of abuse?

3 Does it matter how tall the run is if I have a netting or mesh cover?

I appreciate any information anyone could share


Thanks

 

[fl_deb]

I have 4 hens than turn a sq. ft. thickly dense grass to dust in a single day. I fine in the yard they like the dark green grass that grows in a clump to eat (sorry do not know name) but that my grass that is Kentuckey bluegrass (grasses grown for horses with deep runners) survives their assault the best.


Hope this helps.

 

[Katy]

Won't take long at all.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

I would say a day maybe two.

 

[Selfsuffice]

Well, I guess that is a losing venture then. Thanks all for the prompt responses; It was helpful.

 

[mississippifarmboy]

About........

That long.

Seriously, in a run that size, it won't take long!

If the run is covered, any size will keep them in. I know a couple of people here with small runs only 3' high with covers. The problem is you can't get in one that size, and you will have to get in to it at some point for some reason.

No idea what kind of grass would last the longest.

 

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

Just a thought: instead of having the chickens change coops.. perhaps you could put their coop/house in the middle of 4 pens, and alternate by days or weeks which pen you let them out into.

Once a hen starts to lay, it's easier for her to remember where to lay her egg (nest box) if it's not constantly changed.

As to life expectancy of grass: depends on the size of the plot and how many chickens you have, and also what kind. I have a couple of girls who hate to forage so they don't eat the grass. My others, tho, can strip a small plot bare in just a day or two. Also, think about planting something besides grass: alfalfa, clover, millet, amaranth ... etc.

 

[Selfsuffice]

My intentions were to do as you describe - with one central coop with 3 larger areas that can be sectioned into 2 smaller areas each, depending on the number of chickens. Three different doors would control which larger area the chickens can go in, and smaller dividers in each differentiate the smaller areas.

I have plenty of room - as much as an acre for this project. I was thinking of doing 15sq ft per chicken and rotate between these six pens every week or every other. If necessary I could go 30sq ft/chicken, maybe more if I'm not going to be fighting a losing battle.

Would I still be better off accepting that chickens are going to destroy their pen and just make one large area?

 

[gryeyes]

Quote:
Probably.

This propensity for destroying grass is one reason why I allow my chickens to range freely. They've been able to range over an entire acre and there's still grass left everywhere except in two places: by their coops and in the area where they dug their dust-bathing fox-holes.

 

[Tala]

2 days, tops.

A good hardy yard (like Bermuda grass) holds up a lot better if they are able to range the whole thing. Confining them seems to make them scratch it up so much more than they do when they can free range