Grazing Frame Failures - Need Suggestions

[Sefirothe]

Is there any specific reason you have to keep the ground level inside the frame the same as outside the frame?

If not, treat it like a raised bed and fill with some soil/chicken compost to 2-3 inches from the top of your side boards where the hardware cloth is. Then plant your grass seed.

 

[Sally PB]

But yeah, I was surprised that first year how fast the chickens would scratch and kick up debris on the grazing frame. In my chicken yard, I certainly needed more height on the frame.

Could you put an outer rim on the frame to deflect scratchings? Then the hardware cloth level of the frame could be lower to accommodate lower growing fodder.

I have one of my feed bowls sitting inside a rubbermaid container for just this reason, and it keeps about 98% of the debris out of the bowl.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Could you put an outer rim on the frame to deflect scratchings? Then the hardware cloth level of the frame could be lower to accommodate lower growing fodder.

I have one of my feed bowls sitting inside a rubbermaid container for just this reason, and it keeps about 98% of the debris out of the bowl.

Do your chickens jump in to eat, or just lean over the edge?

 

[Sally PB]

Do your chickens jump in to eat, or just lean over the edge?

They just lean over the edge. I have a brick in the rubbermaid container to help keep it from getting tipped, just in case they perch on the edge.

 

[gtaus]

Is there any specific reason you have to keep the ground level inside the frame the same as outside the frame?

If not, treat it like a raised bed and fill with some soil/chicken compost to 2-3 inches from the top of your side boards where the hardware cloth is. Then plant your grass seed.

I do have extra dirt and compost filling up most of the first 2X4 frame. I just need something better than the grass seed I have planted the last two years. Something that will continue to grow all summer long even if it does not rain much.

Well, if I found something that grows good with watering, I could probably run a garden hose out there every once in a while, to spray the down the grass in the grazing frame.

 

[gtaus]

Could you put an outer rim on the frame to deflect scratchings?

I had not considered that. I just raised the frame itself by adding another 2X4 or 2X6 frame underneath it. After I clean off the screen and shovel out the compost around the grazing frame back down to ground level, it should be good for the summer. Chickens can kick up lots of debris, but at 7-8 inches above ground level, not too much will get on the screen.

 

[gtaus]

Do your chickens jump in to eat, or just lean over the edge?

My chickens jump up on top of the screen and eat any grass blades sticking above the wire. The hardware cloth is on top of the wood frame. The idea is let the grass grow and root into the soil good, leaving only the top part of the blade sticking through the wire. The chickens can nibble on the green blades sticking above the wire, but they cannot pull it out, or dig it out.

Of course, that chicken run started out as a beautiful grass lawn. It only took a few months for the chickens to eat all the grass and pull or dig everything up leaving nothing but bare dirt.

I really would like to make the grazing frame idea work, but I'm just not having much success with either my setup or my choice of seeds. There is not much I want to change with my setup, so I am hoping to find some grass or grain seeds that will thrive in the grazing frame.

 

[chicken dinner]

I am amazed by the grazing frame concept, so I am trying it out on my hillside coop. Just started mine about 5 or 6 weeks ago, so not an old pro at it.

I built my grazing frame on a steep hillside, so the wire (2"X4" fence) is at an angle. I throw fresh picked greens on top of it for feed, the chickens worked it off so fast, that I added a board to help keep the green feed up there.

So build a frame that is sloped like a roof, maybe keep a lawn rake, or broom handy for sweeping off the hardware cloth.

Do some digging, gardening, and get some sod, grass or weeds to add to your frame. Bunches of rooted grass grow so much faster than seeds.

My grazing frame has a bit of everything starting to grow in it. Salmon berries were already growing there, then I added some comfrey roots. I have several types of wild grass root balls. I also added the cleanings from my brooder to the greens bed, it had lots of the "Ultimate Scratch" seeds, which are now growing.

Good luck!

 

[JoD2Tall]

I built a nice grazing frame for my chicken run. It is 3X12 feet long. It has 1/2 inch hardware cloth on top of a 2X4 frame. I was all excited that I would be growing some green grass in the chicken run that the chickens could eat but could not dig up or pull out. The first year, two years ago, my grass did not grow well because the chickens scratched so much dirt and other debris on the top screen. That pretty much blocked out the sun and the grass stopped growing. It was a failure. Strike one.

Last year, I added another 2X6 frame underneath the original, raising the top of the grazing frame to about 7 or 8 inches above ground level. I planted some mixed yard grass seeds in it, and the grass grew early in the summer, but stopped around mid-summer. Maybe we did not get enough rain, or the grass was just not hardy enough. In any case, I consider last year a failure as well. Strike two.

I was out in the chicken run this afternoon cleaning up things and taking out some scrap trees that started growing in the run. The grazing frame is mostly covered with dirt and debris right now, but I took a picture of it for this post...

View attachment 4107738

Again, this is a 3X12 foot grazing frame and right now, it's mostly covered with dirt and debris. I plan on cleaning off the screen and removing the soil around the frame so that it sits about 7-8 inches higher than the ground level. That should help keep the chickens from scratching debris on top of the wire.

Assuming I get all that done, I am now asking for some suggestions as to what seeds to plant in the grazing frame this year. I live in northern Minnesota. My chicken run does not get water unless it rains. I have not had much luck planting my regular lawn grass seeds in the grazing frame. Can anyone suggest other grass seed or grains that would grow good in the grazing frame? This is my third year, and if I cannot have some success with my grazing frame, I am going to take it out and move on to something else.

Any suggestions appreciated in advance.

Hi, I surrounded my dust bath with standard cinder blocks, and topped with same size pavers. I then white washed it with DE. They do poop on the blocks. But, I just clean what I can and do another layer of white wash DE. No bedding from the run gets in. It's like a little spa for them that gets sun. If I've overlooked something let know.
I'm going to do the same with a grassed in area, using a framed hardware cloth that I can adjust the height of the cloth. I think it will work great.