Grazing in Florida

[U_Stormcrow]

Howdy Florida Neighbor!

Don't do it.

Yes, expand the run. Good on you. Nothing but benefits for your birds.

Don't sod. They will destroy it.

Florida has few successful native grasses. In the area typical of something described as a "run", there is nothing which roots deep enough, grows fast enough, and is otherwise hardy enough, to survive chickens for long before exposing bare patches and all the rest.

The ONLY way to change that is to have a very small number of chickens in a very large space. Even then, they will make pits for dustbathing, they will make bare spots scratching, and seasonally, its going to go brown and get destroyed regardless.

Others have acheivd success by planting outside the run, where it is protected from the chickens, and letting it intrude into their area as the plant expands. I've found this a good way to protect new plantings of mint, oregano, clovers, and grasses that expand via runners (i.e. St Augustine). My pasture also has success with clumping prarie grasses, because the clumps are resistent to destruction, and some prarie grasses are deeply rooting (bluestem is a good example), but that's not native.

Mostly, however, you are going to have to find a method that works for you, and satisfies your sense of aesthetics on your property. The soil I have here, with its deep water table and heavy clays is hugely different from the high water table, high salt, low nutrition grey/white sands my parents deal with, or with the shallow loams we had in pine barrens when the family lived farther inland - which was still better than the sugar sand of the Ocala area.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

You might also try moving different sized plant pots, sprouting trays, etc in and out - which allows you to grow grasses, near grains, forbs, herbs, etc in controlled environments protected from chicken predation, move them in when ready, and move out when things are damaged beyond recovery.

and it provides visual interest having varied colors and eights.

Then, if you find things that are attractive and largely ignored by the chickens, you can try selective plantings inside your run.

 

[SourRoses]

My BF and I are new to owning chickens (got our first chicks 9 months ago). We built a coop and a run, but are wanting to expand the run quite a bit. The problem is the area we are wanting to expand to is almost completely bare sand. I'm looking to put down sod and once it's well established we will move the coop entrance to the new run and sod the old run, eventually combining the two once grass is well established. The current run had some grass when we first built it, but it only took a couple weeks of the dry season for the chickens to completely destroy it. We have learned from this, and are going to put in a rain barrel fed sprinkler system to keep their new grass from dying. I just don't know if there are any FL grasses that are especially chicken tolerant.

I'm looking for recommendations on what sod would be best for that spot that would not only do well in sand but also withstand the chickens pretty well. Their current run is about 8x12 with an 8x8 coop and the new section will be about 8x20 running along the side of the current run and coop. It has a nice sized oak nearby to provide shade from the FL sun, but it's not so much that we would have a problem with full sun grasses there.

Any info or recommendations are appreciated!

Hi from another Florida neighbor!
I agree with @U_Stormcrow that you're unlikely to have success with grass inside a chicken yard no matter when or how you plant it.
My neighbors have the most grass I've seen with chickens in the picture... but that's a couple acres of established pasture that their dozen or so hens roam, and the areas they linger near the coop and house are sparse and patchy anyway.

Ours of course only took a few days to become sandy dirt. We try to make large "yards" (instead of runs) for our birds because extra space is very beneficial. With a limited budget for wire, we prefer they have the room rather than absolute security. Although it would be nice to have a secure run for leaving them unattended.

Anyway, what we do is have two fenced sections. There's the immediate yard around their coop where they stay most of the time. And a larger fenced yard with grass where they can come out for a few hours at a time.
I usually let them out in the evenings an hour or two before dark, because the falling dusk will send them back in with little effort on my part. After a full day of eating and scratching they are less damaging when they come out late. This way they get some grass, maybe find some bugs, and have more room to run around. It's also a good backdrop to take pictures
On days when it's been quite rainy, I don't let them out because their feet cause more damage with every dig attempt.
Inside their run, we have old lumber we turn over from time to time. In summer rainy season, it's crazy the bugs that come out!

The heat is one of the biggest hurdles to chicken keeping in FL... with young birds it might seem manageable, but it can be worse when they're a little older and their laying systems aren't in such high gear. Or when they go broody and try to cook themselves / all your eggs
So I really, really recommend you try to make that big oak tree completely available to them, if you can still manage to use its shade for the coop / run. Deep shade is one of the best helps for the heat.

 

[Kimbeeekerr]

Howdy Florida Neighbor!

Don't do it.

Yes, expand the run. Good on you. Nothing but benefits for your birds.

Don't sod. They will destroy it.

Florida has few successful native grasses. In the area typical of something described as a "run", there is nothing which roots deep enough, grows fast enough, and is otherwise hardy enough, to survive chickens for long before exposing bare patches and all the rest.

The ONLY way to change that is to have a very small number of chickens in a very large space. Even then, they will make pits for dustbathing, they will make bare spots scratching, and seasonally, its going to go brown and get destroyed regardless.

Others have acheivd success by planting outside the run, where it is protected from the chickens, and letting it intrude into their area as the plant expands. I've found this a good way to protect new plantings of mint, oregano, clovers, and grasses that expand via runners (i.e. St Augustine). My pasture also has success with clumping prarie grasses, because the clumps are resistent to destruction, and some prarie grasses are deeply rooting (bluestem is a good example), but that's not native.

Mostly, however, you are going to have to find a method that works for you, and satisfies your sense of aesthetics on your property. The soil I have here, with its deep water table and heavy clays is hugely different from the high water table, high salt, low nutrition grey/white sands my parents deal with, or with the shallow loams we had in pine barrens when the family lived farther inland - which was still better than the sugar sand of the Ocala area.

I don't really care about aesthetics, I just want my girls to have something other than only sand to run around in. We are planning to line the outside of the run with chicken friendly plants and bushes and let them grow through the fence to help draw in bugs for them to snack on and such, but for inside the run, if you have a suggestion that is non-native (like the prairie grass) I am open to that as well. I wouldn't be concerned about it expanding outside the coop since the area around it is also all sand so it wouldn't be hard to keep it contained.

 

[Kimbeeekerr]

Hi from another Florida neighbor!
I agree with @U_Stormcrow that you're unlikely to have success with grass inside a chicken yard no matter when or how you plant it.
My neighbors have the most grass I've seen with chickens in the picture... but that's a couple acres of established pasture that their dozen or so hens roam, and the areas they linger near the coop and house are sparse and patchy anyway.

Ours of course only took a few days to become sandy dirt. We try to make large "yards" (instead of runs) for our birds because extra space is very beneficial. With a limited budget for wire, we prefer they have the room rather than absolute security. Although it would be nice to have a secure run for leaving them unattended.

Anyway, what we do is have two fenced sections. There's the immediate yard around their coop where they stay most of the time. And a larger fenced yard with grass where they can come out for a few hours at a time.
I usually let them out in the evenings an hour or two before dark, because the falling dusk will send them back in with little effort on my part. After a full day of eating and scratching they are less damaging when they come out late. This way they get some grass, maybe find some bugs, and have more room to run around. It's also a good backdrop to take pictures
On days when it's been quite rainy, I don't let them out because their feet cause more damage with every dig attempt.
Inside their run, we have old lumber we turn over from time to time. In summer rainy season, it's crazy the bugs that come out!

The heat is one of the biggest hurdles to chicken keeping in FL... with young birds it might seem manageable, but it can be worse when they're a little older and their laying systems aren't in such high gear. Or when they go broody and try to cook themselves / all your eggs
So I really, really recommend you try to make that big oak tree completely available to them, if you can still manage to use its shade for the coop / run. Deep shade is one of the best helps for the heat.

My boyfriend brought home a "broken" window a/c unit from work that was gonna get thrown out, fixed the loose wire in it, and stuck it inside the coop to keep the girls cool during this brutal heat we've had this summer. Between that and the oak shade they seem to be doing well and laying regularly.

If there aren't good grass options we'll probably leave the expanded run separated from the original one and only let them in there in the evening like you suggested. I just want my girls to have something other than sand to run around on, you know?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I don't really care about aesthetics, I just want my girls to have something other than only sand to run around in. We are planning to line the outside of the run with chicken friendly plants and bushes and let them grow through the fence to help draw in bugs for them to snack on and such, but for inside the run, if you have a suggestion that is non-native (like the prairie grass) I am open to that as well. I wouldn't be concerned about it expanding outside the coop since the area around it is also all sand so it wouldn't be hard to keep it contained.

In that case, I've had poor luck with sod over the decades, for whatever reason.

I had better luck putting down seed. As stupid as that sounds.
Look for a mix, then see what establishes best on your property, in your conditions. Build from there.

I've experimented with Bahia, Bermuda, forage rye, big and little bluestem (prarie grasses, the little did better for me), panic grass (this has done very well for me too), several clovers (I have four varieties currently), [field peas, chickory, "driller radish" all failed for me], millets, sunflower, sorrell, sorghum and sorghum - sudangrass hybrid.

and when the season ends, I snap up the discounted bags of "deer plot" seed in Walmart, TSC, etc, and overseed with that. I've also thrown cheap birdseed and let it sprout.

See "my acres of weeds" (which I recently mowed WAY too short with the new flail mower. Still learning)

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I'll see if I can find some order records from past years to see what mixes I've bought.

/Edit

Nature's Seed Subtropical Upland Game
Nature's Seed Southern Subtropics Pasture Blend
Groundworks All Purpose Forage

and individual seed bags, from 2# to 25# for clovers, methi, various grains and near grains (i.e. amaranth) and the prairie grasses. Oh, and I find I thru a 50# bag of "Kentucky 31" fescue at some point.

Have used Nature's Seed, Outside Pride, TSC, Lowes, and a semi-local vendor, Hancock Seed (can be a bit pricy, shop around). None of them have been exceptional, all performed just adequately.

Hope that helps!