Is Irish Moss safe to have around chicken coops?

[Sweetbliss]

And what other ground covers, other than grass, would be safe around a chicken coop? I'm allergic to just about every grass under the sun, but would like some green..... I'm also considering clover..... Thanks for your help!

 

[Lesa]

You are about to be allergy free! Nothing green will survive around the coop, without an awful lot of effort on you part! Some have made clever "salad bars"- but just planting stuff, pretty much does not work!

 

[Sweetbliss]

Salad bars... like planting stuff that the chickens like to peck at? That sounds pretty nifty! What kind of plants would I use to make a "salad bar"?

 

[wbruder17]

Anything. They eat ANYTHING. If they don't want to eat it, they will scratch it up to eat whatever is under it.

My chickens are allowed to roam in our large yard a lot, and we also have a lot of landscaping and flower beds. We cover all or our newly planted areas with bird mesh and surround them with hogwire. It works pretty well, but they still find ways in. They're mainly only allowed to free range completely while I am home to moniter. It takes a lot of effort and creativity, but it IS possible to have landscaping and chickens.

If you don't want to spend the time chicken-proofing your landscaping, I would suggest little playthings in the coop. My girls have a wild birdfeeder that acts like a time released capsule that they have to rotate and peck while its swinging in order to get the treats out. I also hang cabbage (lettuce, broccoli, etc) on a chain attached to a screw. I call it cabbage tetherball. They love it and it keeps them entertained, as well as saving your plants.

 

[wbruder17]

Quote:
Also, the salad bar would probably only last for a day and then the plants would be destroyed and no more salad bar.

 

[Sweetbliss]

That tetherball idea sounds hilarious!

When I get the coop built, it will be placed next to a large range and I'll be able to move the coop to various large spaces to free range.... That was why I was considering clover - or irish moss - instead of grass. Or SOMETHING that could recover from chicken scratching between rotations (the ranges would be separate from each other, so the range they were on before will have time to recover). Any ideas?

 

[jettgirl24]

I have seen several people on BYC who build a little raised bed, then plant their salad bar and cover the bed with hardware cloth. That way the chickens can eat what grows through the hardware cloth (and a beak's length below it) but they can't dig up and kill the plants/grass. I'm planning on doing this in my new run so the kids have greenery to peck at during the week when I'm not around to free range them

 

[BWKatz]

Clover is an excellent groundcover and recovers quickly. I have grass clover and all kinds of weeds/dandelions in my pasture where I let my chickens range in their PVC pen. I move it every 2-3 days according to how the grass looks. I also throw sunflower seeds in there and they germinate quickly giving them an added treat. With the pen I don't have to worry about hawks or my landscaping.