How long?

[stayc615]

How long would it take for 3 chickens to destroy the grass in their run? Would we have to move them daily? They'd be in a tractor coop.
Keep in mind I don't have any chickens yet. They're mom's b-day present in July. Or mine in June .

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

What area, feet by feet, is enclosed?

 

[Mrs. K]

Without a doubt, chickens are very hard on grass, even around the coop, if you let them out.

Everyone on here has a different set up, so I am just guessing...if you live in town, and want to have a grassy area, then it would probably be best to confine your chickens to a single spot, which will become grass less, and only let them out over the grassy parts for a small part of the day.

Chickens do poo a lot, so if you have children playing in the grassy area, you may not want to have the chickens in that area too, and chickens will love to sit on decks and patios, pooping there too.

3 chickens will cause less damage than more chickens, but over time, they will destroy most vegetation, unless you have a VERY large area to rotate the tractor coop, and it will have to be done with a great deal of regularity, so if you are gone for a day or two, could cause some damage.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It's going to depend on how big the tractor run is, what kind of turf they are on, your weather, and what you mean by "destroy".

Several years ago I kept 8 chickens in a 64 square feet tractor, two separate sections that could be moved separately but were hooked together. If it were wet they would need to be moved every couple of days. In dry weather I cold probably go four days. They would wipe the grass out so it looked pretty bare but the main factor was smell. In the wet the poop would build up and start to smell quicker than in dry weather.

The grass would look eaten down but a lot of that was that it was stomped down, again wet being worse. When I moved it the area would look yellow or sort of bare but in a couple of weeks would have recovered. It would be a bit greener than the surrounding grass because of the nice nutrients from the poop. If you keep it mowed it's not that noticeable.

With only three chickens it won't be that bad, you'll have to do a trial and error to see what meets your criteria. Good luck!

 

[Mrs. K]

When I moved it the area would look yellow or sort of bare but in a couple of weeks would have recovered.

If you have enough space that you will not return the tractor to the same spot for a couple of weeks is going to make a big difference.