Ground Cover Idea Help???

[chiknlady]

I recently lost a 25' Spruce tree and in its wake--opened a big hole and space in my yard. The number one problem is the bird's lost wonderful shade and protection from aerial predators, number two--without the tree--the area has turned into a muddy mess. I am thinking of planting a grove of blueberries and other fruit bushes and need some ideas for the actual run around the coops. The chickens eat the grass and I don't like the baked clay look and would like to know of any ground covers that are hardy in zone 6. If there is a grass seed that is tough enough-- I would be happy to reseed. Thanks

 

[The Poultry Peanut]

That sounds like a good plan to me

I am thinking of planting a grove of blueberries and other fruit bushes and need some ideas for the actual run around the coops.

I hope YOU aren't wanting to eat the blueberries because the chickens

I have grapes and they love to hide under the bush. Hope this helps!!

 

[chiknlady]

Yeah I kinda figured the chickens would eat most and then maybe I'd get enough for a pancake or muffin.

 

[Akane]

Nothing will survive being locked in a run with chickens. If there are free ranging there might be some options or you can just fence that area off until stuff grows and provided they have enough space to not concentrate on that area too much the grass or whatever should survive after that. In a run though you'll have to fence everything off including bushes at least until the bushes grow big. The tougher stems would survive but they'll strip all green away and could kill a smaller bush. The only people that have grass in their run fence it off or move the chickens frequently.

 

[chiknlady]

My chickens have complete 365 day free range of my entire property--however the areas around the coop are still destroyed...I don't know if its foot traffic or something else--but I would like the area to look better naturally. There is a 4-5 foot area around the coop fencing that I am referring to. They are not fenced in --but the fence is there to deter predators at night...