grass management and chickens

[messianicmom]

I am wondering how you manage your pasture/lawn area with free roaming chickens? Right now, I have them in a run and will replant after I 've moved them, but what
if I get my entire backyard fenced in and they are out of the run? HOw do I replant without them pecking up the seeds?

I've never had any in the summer before, so I don't know what happens.

Thanks

 

[Jess N Jeff]

Hahahahahahaaaa....lawn management....hahahahahaha....

Just kidding with you. I've tried to re-seed my lawn SEVERAL times and just gave up. I finally built them a good size run( about 1/3 of the size of the backyard) and only let them out into the backyard now every couple of days. I ended up laying down sod in the rest of the backyard during a really good rain spell. Its growning great now.

I will lay down a couple of pieces of sod in their run about once a week. This keeps them very happy.

Good luck!

 

[teach1rusl]

Had to laugh at JessNJeff's reply...

I've been thinking of that myself. I'm thinking I'm gonna' get the 150' roll of wire and literally section off an area for them to "free range" in for about 2 weeks or so when we seed and when we fertilize (cause I don't want them eating the fert. pellets). Other than that, for seeding bare patches I'll just put a section of chicken wire around the small areas we're treating. I'm gonna' have to section off parts of my run to I think, to give the grass in there time to come back...

 

[cobrien]

Unfortunately when they free range they eat what you don't want to, poop where you don't want them to, and throw mulch everywhere you don't want it.

You could experiment with a lightweight movable enclosure (chicken tractor or similar) to allow them some scratch and peck time out of their run, this way you can give them new earth to explore every day without them eating the grass seeds. I have a pretty small city yard, only 7000 s.f., and can say that once grass is established that it's plenty of space for 6 chickens to free range without doing too much lawn damage. But if I had bare dirt there is no way I could get anything to grow without letting it get established first, and as I mentioned the other issue is that they will destroy flowers and vegetables unless you separate the chickens from the tasty plants.

Another tip - chickens tend to not do too much damage to "deer resistant" plants. Just make sure they aren't poisonous.

Good luck!

 

[Tala]

The southern solution is to grow Bermuda grass. Trying to kill it (chickens scratching it, us burning it, me trying to get it out of the garden) seems to only make it grow faster!!! lol

The only way to grow new plants, whatever it may be (grass, garden, whatnot) is to fence the chickens off of it - at least until it's well established.