grass

[chicken guy]

where ever i put my coop my hens destroy the graas all that is left is dirt i want to make a large fenced in area for the henns any ideas

 

[bnjrob]

As long as you have a stationary run, the chickens will destroy all the grass. This is why some people use chicken tractors - so they can move the tractor before all the grass is killed.

 

[chicken guy]

i have that but i want to put a permanet coop

 

[gracejr]

I think on another thread I read that you'd need something along the lines of 90sq ft per chicken to keep them from destroying the lawn in a stationary coop.


We'll have a good sized run, but I'm sure it won't be anywhere near 90/chicken. Would efforts to re-seed the grass each year help at all, or would they just inhale all the seeds? Any things you can do to slow down the destruction if you're not free-ranging?

 

[bnjrob]

The chickens will scratch up seed - I've never heard of anyone being successful at trying to reseed an area with chickens. Most people just choose a spot and know that it is going to be scratched down to dirt at some point and they live with it - the only way to keep chickens from killing the grass is to move them frequently or not allow them on the grass.

 

[gracejr]

The chickens will scratch up seed - I've never heard of anyone being successful at trying to reseed an area with chickens. Most people just choose a spot and know that it is going to be scratched down to dirt at some point and they live with it - the only way to keep chickens from killing the grass is to move them frequently or not allow them on the grass.

I figured as much, but never hurts to ask! Is there any resiliant foliage that can be added inside the run to pretty it up? Bushes or shrubs or such they might enjoy without destroying?

 

[bnjrob]

I've seen some photos where people have actually built little raised beds where they let the chickens run - looked really nice. Then they put fencing/netting around the beds to keep the chickens out. The chickens could eat whatever leaves of the herbs/veggies/other plants that stick out of the fencing, but they can't get into the actual bed to tear it up.

 

[Jaxon4141]

There's a picture of a covered raised bed idea for a chicken run in the "Enclosed Run PICS. It looks like it would work well.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/485295/enclosed-run-pics/10
It was posted by arianna and is a chicken dream come true run.

 

[outdoorpodcast]

Have you considered a paddock system. A paddock system is where you take your pasture and divide it into smaller units of pasture. It could be done with permament fencing but the easiest method would be electric netting that is easily moved. Essentially you place your chickens in paddock #1 for an allotted time, which is the time it takes them to eat the grass down but not kill it completely. Then you move them to Paddock #2, you keep rotating them through the paddocks and by the time you get back to #1 the grass has recovered and is at full height again.

# of paddocks is dependant on the size of your pasture and the # of chickens you have and how long it takes them to eat down your grass. I'm actually trying it this year with my sheep and alpacas because last year I couldn't get grass to grow in the pasture because they always kept it short. This year I've created a few paddocks and I'm seeding the empty paddocks and waiting for the grass to return to full height before I actually start the paddock system, but it seems to be a very doable system for most people.

 

[gracejr]

There's a picture of a covered raised bed idea for a chicken run in the "Enclosed Run PICS. It looks like it would work well.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/485295/enclosed-run-pics/10
It was posted by arianna and is a chicken dream come true run.

That is an AMAZING looking setup! I love the colors she used as well, makes it all pop. I may have to think about some of those raised grass beds, those are neat.

Does anyone know if there are any bushes or greenery that can put put inside the coop for enrichment that won't be destroyed in a few days time? I'll be doing some window boxes on the coop with marigolds, so they'll be able to get those if they can fly up to the box. Sunflowers along the south side of the run (bordering the outside of fence), which they'll be able to grab mouthfuls of through the wire. I'm putting up some highboy blueberries, but I don't know where yet, so they may or may not be able to get at those through the fence. If I grew runner beans using the east wall of the fence, do you think they'd grow, or would they get destroyed by the chickens through the wire? I'm not worried if they ruin the sunflowers or marigolds, but if I'm growing veggies, I'd be growing them for us, not for the chickens. lol