How long until I see green?

[Alleyoops25]

Wensday we put up fence for our chicken run. DH and I decided to plant grass in it. That way we didnt have chickens wadding in mudd when it rains and snows. We also thought it would attract bugs for them to eat. We finished planting the grass,Which by the way is the kind you would find on a pasture Thrusday. And I have been out watering the area like crazy, How long do you think it will be before I see green, instead of mud?I am hoping that we didnt wait to late to get this done, but we had way to many other things to worry about. We bought the grass seed from our local feed store and it was in a big bin it had a sign on it that stated it was hardy, and held up good to heavy livestock. But it didnt say how fast it grew or anything. Anyone with any ideas?

 

[wendy]

i don't know how big your chicken run is but ours is 18 ft x 25 ft and 9 chickens and 1 rooster had all the grass gone in three weeks!

 

[Poison Ivy]

I would think in about a week you should start to see something. I gave up trying to keep grass in my run they eat it down to the sand. Nothing has a chance to grows in their run. Good Luck

 

[silkiechicken]

Well, probably green in a week or two depending on weather but chickens will really tear up grass... Maybe if it is really really well established before they get access to it, it might stick around longer, or you can try to rotate it. You aren't letting the birds on it now right? Good luck with the keeping green stuff in a run.

 

[GoodEgg]

Depends a LOT on the species of grass you plant. I'm no expert, but we planted a blue fescue (I think that's what it was) that took close to 2 months to germinate once. Rye on the other hand used to germinate in less than a week.

I would think anything at a feed store for a livestock pasture would be a quicker-germinating type though.

trish

 

[countrygirl4513]

covering with straw will help keep the moisture in till it starts to germinate

 

[Alleyoops25]

Our chickens arent on it. I knew that there would be no hope of anything growing with them eating it as it comes up, or decide to dust bath right in the middle of it. We live on 2 and a 1/2 acres. And the run itself is aleast 3/4 of acre. We had been allowing them to free range, but we had lost to many this summer from stray dogs, skunks, foxes etc. We like having them out free ranging, but fences need to be put up to protect them from being eaten. So the back part of our property has gone under a lot of construction. Looks more like we are trying to build a prison yard than anything. we burried livestock panels down into the ground, and backed it with chicken wire. We then poured concrete around the bottom and several inches out to keep anything from digging under. We then ran two strands of barb wire around the top. And for good measure I am planting rose bushes, and lilac bushes around the outside to. Mostly agian to provide some shade, and draw in bugs. But also to make it harder for a predator to get close to the fence. I have never gone all out on a chicken coop or run before. And you all are thinking I am nutts, but I have invested a lot of money into these birds, and I am tired of feeding them to stray wandering animals. I want them to have as much room as possible:cd and Next year we will probably be adding on to this, to accomodate chicks that I order, and hatch out. As of right now I have all 27 of them running around my front and backyard. They definetly keep the grass cut short, but they havent killed it out

of coarse now that I say this My lawn has probably srivled up and died.I wish I could remeber what kind of gras it was that we bought. And I hope it doesnt take to long to mature. It would be great to have the grass all in, and the Coop built by fall.

 

[CtlisencedArborist]

Grass!lol.....what is grass!

 

[jessied1227]

Sometimes it takes a while, 7-10 days. When we were done with our construction, our contractor went through and seeded us and spread shredded straw. I swear, I would go everyday and look for little green sprigs. It seems like one morning I went out, I think it was like, 8 days, and there was green everywhere.

My MIL would see me go look every day and every day she would tell me, "A watched pot never boils."

Good luck with your grass.
Jess

 

[rooster-red]

Quote:
Thats the way it is in my run.
Took them 10 days to completely strip it.