how to get grass to grow in the run?

[TouchO'Lass]

You really have to check out the BYCer that I believe is the 'salad bar' master, Arianna in NC. What an inspiration!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=67374

I put in a salad bar of scrap 2"X8"'s with heavy duty plastic netting stapled on top, threw some loose leaf lettuce seeds and sifted a little soil over the top of the seeds. I plan to just add a little more seed once it gets going to keep it green. The weeds are already going great, lol, but the ladies walk all over the green netting with almost no sag at all.

Eventually I'd like to make a frame for the top that can be lifted to plant more effectively, but for now, the lettuce is starting to come thru with just the little bit of soil I threw over the seeds.

Good luck!

 

[Mommy 2 Wee Ones]

I went & bought 4 plastic dish pans, drilled holes in the bottom for drainage. Got a bag of planting mix & grass seed, planted it a week & a half ago & gave the first pan to the girls tonight to munch on. They were perched all around the pan or standing in it, and scratching at the dirt. When they were done, I took it out and reseeded the pan. On Monday I will give them the 2nd pan, I want to get some kitty litter pans, I think they are a bit bigger and there will be less pushing & shoving to get to the grass. I want to have enough grass pans growing, so that ever 3 - 4 days, they can have their treat, and it will give the other grass in the pans time enough to grow.

 

[Stoney22]

i tried sod. i work for the DOT department of transportation. we were ditching and i used some left over "sod" we pulled up with our grader instead of wasting it. it was over grazed and the parts that werent were pooped on and died. its very hard unless you block it off like the salad bar method. i did not try and stop mine from eating my sod.

 

[stcroixusvi]

TouchO'Lass :

You really have to check out the BYCer that I believe is the 'salad bar' master, Arianna in NC. What an inspiration!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=67374

I put in a salad bar of scrap 2"X8"'s with heavy duty plastic netting stapled on top, threw some loose leaf lettuce seeds and sifted a little soil over the top of the seeds. I plan to just add a little more seed once it gets going to keep it green. The weeds are already going great, lol, but the ladies walk all over the green netting with almost no sag at all.

Eventually I'd like to make a frame for the top that can be lifted to plant more effectively, but for now, the lettuce is starting to come thru with just the little bit of soil I threw over the seeds.

Good luck!

Inspiration is right! What a chicken paradise!​

 

[Tenmore]

Take the chickens out!

 

[Rusty's Ranch]

Reply to his4ever ...

sorry about not answering right away, was out of town. Our girls free range during the day, so the pots don't get abused too badly. They like to pick at them periodically throughout the day. I've only reseeded them once so far this year. If my girls were locked up in the run all day, I'm sure it would be a different story.

Another BYC member rotates their pots. One batch of pots will be in the run while another batch is growing outside the run away from the chickens. Sounded like they had been doing this for some time very successfully.

 

[Aussie Bill]

Chickens like grass ... and because of this fact I am now raising chickens. Didn't mean to get started but ...
I moved into this rural property, enjoying the quiet, room to roam and the sound of a rooster crowing off there somewhere. Roosters aren't legal in the city but out here they are a wonder. But there's that patch of thick, deep, overly-hearty grasses filling a nice little area behind the garden shed, at the end of the wood shed. A perfect place for a small veggie garden! Have to get rid of the grass first though.
I broke my shovel handle trying to dig out the grass so needed a different solution. It's a fenced little corner, about 8 meters by 3 ... how about letting the neighbor's sheep in. Or their goat ... the grass wouldn't last long then, by golly!
Wait a minute. There's space between the end of the garage and the shed, about two meters ... big enough to fit a chicken pen. I could fence in the 'garden' area and the chickens would make short work of the thick, deep grass.
Here it is a few weeks later. (it took me some time to figure out the chicken coop, enclose the 'garden' with chicken wire, etc) and I'm raising chickens! The three hens made short work of the grass ... well, they're working on it. Now, where will I put the garden?
Also found this forum ... I guess the garden can wait until closer to spring.

 

[KDK1]

Quote:
Where did you buy these pans and what did they cost?

I have been looking all over for something similar so I can turn over a paint bucket and make an auto waterer.

You can buy those pans at an auto parts store. They are for draining oil from your car. You can also buy flower pot bottoms at your neighborhood home center. They come in a wide variety of sizes.

 

[typnslow]

Check out these cool wheat grass feeders

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=437115&p=1

 

[lowry075]

Quote:
I have had sod pieces before. The issue is they poo all over it and it becomes a soggy mess if you try to power hose it off like I did. You could buy a piece of sod every week if you live close to a Home Depot, but that's a pain, and I don't know if you want to spend the money.

I think the idea about the seed and hardware cloth is really good. They also like cabbage alot. I cut up cabbage and throw it in their pen and they like that.