Grass Reinforcement Mesh??

[thedoors5to1]

so i live on a hill, my duck pens on a slope and i do everything possible to try and not let things get muddy in the pen, but when it rains, its terrible. i practically fall on my butt because of the slope of my yard... its a catch 22 considering it helps wash all thier crap down the hill.... my question isssssss
has anyone heard of that plastic driveway stuff? like rubber mats with holess?
see here some examples:
http://www.boddingtons.com.au/civil/grass-reinforcement-parking-mesh.htm
http://www.polymax.co.uk/acatalog/Polymax_Grass_Reinforcement_Mesh.html
supposedly grass grows over the product, its like an eco-driveway that you can have grass and drive on it..
im wondering if this product could be used to keep grass alive in the pen?, and also there are some that say they have good drainage so it would be easy to clean and drain away easily..
can car traffic compare to duck traffic? lol
I really really want grass in my duck pen!
any ideas guys!??

and by the way if anyone in the RI, MASS, CONN area is looking for any ducks (practically adult).. i may be looking to sell (or gift) some indian runners, i have 5 and now have ten after my broody layed in the spring I have too many, just cant bear to let em go but they are a handful.. havent decided if i am parting with just the two juvenile males or all 5 of my juveniles, which is two males and three girls...ahhh

i dont really want to... but i should!

thanks for reading!

 

[Senna95]

Seems like a great idea, but I wonder if the ducks wouldn't just pull the grass up anyway... If you try it, or if anyone else has, I'd love to know. I have the same problem with my grass. In a new pen, they have the grass down to mud in a matter of days!

 

[thedoors5to1]

yeah id love to hear some other opinions or if someones tried it!

 

[katharinad]

Farmtek also sells them.
http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/cat1;ft1_building_material;ft1_flooring_mats.html
The grass will grow through them preventing erosion. Not sure if it works with your ducks, because the grass has to establish itself first. It does not promote drainage, for that you would have to put gravel underneath because sand holds on to water.

 

[Dances with Ducks]

That stuff looks great, I bet it would work really well in a duck pen!
I have simply used chicken wire over an area of grass in my duck's pen that had gotten too much wear. I wasn't dealing with a slope. The grass grew back just fine . Only problems were that the edges were hard to keep down and then when I pulled it up a lot of grass came up with it, but it was still in a lot better shape than when I started. I think this product would work even better with no bad edges and its never intended to be pulled up.
Just watch out for it being slippery on your slope until the grass gets thick enough.

 

[kangababy]

I have not used this stuff but I lost several of my babies this year to mesh that was in the sod we had laid years ago.
We used to raise just Mallards (very desctructive ducks) and over the years the sod had just turned to mud. We guess that in time it just got down to the layer that had the mess and that was keeping everything in place but once a little erroided it exposed itself and the abies just hung in it.

I would suggest if you don't have good establised grass to put some stepping stones in your pen so when it rains you will have those to walk on.

 

[Amiga]

Try looking at Geoweb by geopresto. It is three dimensional, and designed to stabilize slopes with infill (something in the 3D matrix). Consider using pea gravel and sand. They have loads of information on their web site. I am blessed to have enough flat area for the ducks' pen, and the downslope is not in constant use, so their little feet don't pose a problem on our hillside.

There is an area in the garden they enjoy that is covered with Vinca minor, a.k.a. myrtle. That seems to hold up very well to their traffic. It is an evergreen, also, and grows in the shade. You might consider getting some of that growing on the hillside.

In their pen I use sawdust pellets everywhere except around their swim pans, where I have pea gravel.

 

[thedoors5to1]

thanks for the information everyone.. my hill isnt really a big problem. its just the mud around the water bowls.. i just really wish grass would live in thier pen. its been a year where this new pen is, and i dont even remember what it looked like when the grass was living in it. lol.. ive considered using this rubber mat stuff, but its also really expensive... ill keep trudgin along hoping to find a way to grow grass hehe thanks guys