How large does run need to be to keep the hens from destroying the grass?

[DobieLover]

300 x 300 = 90000. ~ 2 acres

IKR? Talk about a brain fart!
I think it's because of lack of sunlight. That alone will cause grass to die without the help of chickens.

 

[Outta Here]

My 14 chickens have spent 8-9 hours daily on my 3,825 sq ft (75'x 51') lawn for the past 4 months and haven't hurt anything. They love eating the grass, but most of their scratching around is under the desert vegetation for bugs. They also have full hoppers of feed in their coop so maybe they are not foraging as earnestly as they could. We have to mow once a week.

 

[NatJ]

It might help if you provide an attractive area for them to scratch-- maybe a compost pile or just a pile of mulch. I've found that chickens prefer to scratch in loose, moist material that has bugs and worms. And when they are scratching there, they are not scratching the grass.

Other than that, I think regular watering could make a difference, and maybe also more sun.

At one point in the past, I had a dozen hens on 1/4 acre and they did not kill the grass-- but even though most of the area was in grass, they did not spend much time actually on the grass. There was a shady patch under some trees where they liked to hang out, and several large areas of mulch/compost that they liked to scratch in, and a favorite spot to dust bathe. So they certainly ate some of the grass, but did not tear it up. The grass was well established before I added the chickens, it got lots of sunshine, and there was generally enough rain for the grass to keep growing happily.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

agree. not a lot of shade loving grasses, fewer shade loving grains, and they are all slower growers. Can you get more light in there?

 

[crazydane]

Really appreciate the feedback! Lots of great suggestions!

So I have a lot of options with that area. About 50% is what I would call a "forest". I can cut trees in that area, but the grade is very steep, so it would be a hassle to say the least. But still doable for sure. (I like challenges )

There are a few tall and large trees to the South that I could also fell. However, these provide shade during the hot summer months here in Virginia, so I don't know that I would want to fell any of them...

As for feeding, I keep their feeders full at all times (layer blend + cracked corn). And of course they have fresh water every day. They may go 12 hours where one of the feeders has run empty, but not any longer than that.

They have lots of areas with mulch, dead leaves, etc, down in the wooded areas, so they should have plenty to snack on I would think.

Ok, well, I think I feel a good positive vibe that I should be able to get the run looking greener than it is given my ratio of chicken per acre!

 

[3KillerBs]

Chickens are creatures of the forest floor by nature so I'd be reluctant to cut too many trees.

Where, in general, are you located? That's going to make a huge difference in what you can grow and how long it will last.

Also, chickens actually prefer just about every other kind of vegetation except grass -- what's weeds to us is a buffet to them. So instead of planting grass you probably want to plant a diversified pasture mix.

Can you use temporary fence to create sections that you can rotate?

 

[DobieLover]

However, these provide share during the hot summer months here in Virginia, so I don't know that I would want to fell any of them...

Don't drop trees. Either expand the run in the sunnier area or start adding wood chips to the dirt area.

feeders full at all times (layer blend + cracked corn)

Lose the corn. You are diluting the protein content of the layer feed which is already on the low side. I would personally switch them over to a complete feed like chick starter, Flock Raiser or All Flock or something similar with 18-20% protein content and put out oyster shell in separate containers for the active layers.

 

[magicdave]

My original run was 60' x 30' and my 10 hens destroyed all the grass in short order. It was nice and thick too.

I expanded the run to about 300' x 300' and to my surprise, they ate all that new grass too in short order.

So how large does the run need to be in order for the hens not to be able to keep up with eating all the grass?

1/4 acre per hen? 1 acre!!!?

Thanks

I live in farming country. I just let my chickens forage where they choose. The hay farmer that surrounds my tiny plot doesn't care so they have several hundred acres to forage. The area where I spread their scratch grain is pretty much grass free but that brown spot grows in very fast as I keep moving where I concentrate the scratch.
I raise chickens and ducks. They are all layers. They all get "Duck Feed" because my ducks need extra Niacin and my chickens are thriving on it. All of my "girls" lay almost one egg a day year round being fed Duck pellets. My ducks (25 ducks/5drakes) have an enclosed pasture that is 25,000 sq. ft. Ducks can make a mud hole 10ft. in diameter eith only 1 tablespoon of water. They are master mud makers.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

https://www.familyfoodgarden.com/permaculture-rotational-chicken-runs-around-your-garden/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-6-bay-chicken-garden-rotation-system.1273600/

What about rotating their run area?
I don't currently do this as I have my hens in a permanent run, but then let them free range when I'm in the yard. My ducks free range all day. We live on 1.5 acres, they utilize about 1/2 of it everyday. They could go quite the distance though as our cropped acres surround us and we have no fences except the run. The only area that has no grass is the permanent run.
If I had to confine my ducks as well, I would consider the rotational run system. There are many sites with info, I just linked the one blog and a BYC thread above.

 

[kodster]

I live in farming country. I just let my chickens forage where they choose. The hay farmer that surrounds my tiny plot doesn't care so they have several hundred acres to forage. The area where I spread their scratch grain is pretty much grass free but that brown spot grows in very fast as I keep moving where I concentrate the scratch.
I raise chickens and ducks. They are all layers. They all get "Duck Feed" because my ducks need extra Niacin and my chickens are thriving on it. All of my "girls" lay almost one egg a day year round being fed Duck pellets. My ducks (25 ducks/5drakes) have an enclosed pasture that is 25,000 sq. ft. Ducks can make a mud hole 10ft. in diameter eith only 1 tablespoon of water. They are master mud makers.

That's good to know about feeding the duck feed to the chickens, too! I was wondering, but afraid, because I wasn't sure if the chickens could handle the extra niacin. I've been feeding the chickens the Free Range formula, and they love that, but it's more expensive than the duck feed... not by much, but over a short period, it adds up to an extra bag of feed between the two. Would also be space saving, because I wouldn't have to keep separate areas for the two types of feed.