Not related so I am so sorry but.... how do you have grass?!?! My girls would have demolished every INCH in a day!
Sharing my "greenery growing in pens" too.
I 1st put sod down yrs ago after slipping, like ice skating on mud, while carrying water jugs once. I did it thinking this will keep me from killing myself over fall & winter, but I know it's temporary, the chickens will turf it up come spring. Well, surprisingly it lasted from Nov til July, & it only died in July due to drought, not really the chickens fault.
1st planting sod the key is keeping off the 1st 2 weeks (graze chickens elsewhere & try to choose a time just before several days of rain is forecast). Need to water daily 2-3 weeks for roots to get anchored. Once established just water if there's no rain for a week. That can be a challenge here in July & August, we get droughts. The chickens do like turfing & eating greens, but if given a choice, they prefer chickweed & clover, so I did plant some & cover with an elevated screen frame, so they can actually jump on & walk on it, as they peck & eat what grows through the hardware cloth, not destroying the roots. They also got free range time with me daily when I got home from work. In their pens are shade gazebos, with perches postioned towards front, as they dustbathe in the soil towards the back. I mix DE & a bit of sand in that bath bowl area. They often bathe all together, it is funny, but I noticed when molting they'd rather dustbathe alone. This summer I offered another spot to dustbathe in privacy, under a step, so far so good, thank goodness no eggs laid there either, I check. My pens are open, so sod gets rain. Also, chickens meander around whole pen & may peck for grubs but they spend most time pecking the chickweed & clover, in their gazebos or under the step. I have alot of predators here so can't free range unless I'm out with them. Lots of foxes here. When I garden they stick by me, helping me turn soil, loving grubs & bugs. There's also a flock block, food, hanging cabbage & xylophone to play, & their food & water inside the coop. I also offer hanging veggies, rotating every other day or so, corn cob, tomato, squash, zucchini, cucumber, etc., rotating keeps it interesting. If they get bored they may start turfing a bit, that does happen with longer days June but then we get very hot July & they just prefer shady gazebo or under step then, so I can fill any divets they made & I replenish their dustbathe "hole" then as well. Once they get their dustbathe filled with fresh soil, sand & DE they are loving it, leave the sod alone again, I can keep it watered July & Aug drought. I know it sounds like lots of work, but when I got home from work I'd be out in the garden watering flowers, veggies & hanging with my flock anyway, so no difference where I'd be, just using the hose more, but it's worth it. Not only am I not slipping in mud anymore, but my chickens feet are staying cleaner. As many of my chickens were rescued from a nasty place, they had bumblefoot. I've learned that once a chicken has had bumblefoot, they can get it chronic ongoing, especially when they've got literal pockets between toes, so another benefit of the sod has been less stuff getting stuck between their toes in those pockets less often. I've had Parrots & Homing Pigeons & Fancy Pigeons for decades, but still fairly new to chickens, since 2015, so I'm still learning. Sod grass may work for me here in Delaware, but we get alot of rain. I don't know how well this would work in other areas, maybe Pennsylvania, Maryland & Virginia but doubt it would work in hot, dry climates. I know the 1st year I tried it, it only lasted 1 year, all died when we had July August drought & I didn't have the grazing greens or other interesting things for the chickens to do. Some breeds are messier than others, too, my Marans are much messier than my Wyandottes, inside the coop & out, Lol. It's been a learning trial & error. I don't have guttering on the 1st little coop, so rain coming down along that spot made made a mini trench, so I put walking pavers on the trench area & that has worked great.
It is raining like a monsoon today, just tool a few pics, that's why these few look wet & my chickens are inside, just got super windy right now, too. My chickens hate wind, rain or not.
I know this sounds like a lot of work, but I'd be outside doing something anyway, it is how I unwind & I love time with my flock or just being outside in general. If you're like me you're always thinking of ideas & improvements. I'm already planning more pecking greens & a large, protected grazing area where I can plant stuff they like. It's fun!
