landscaped run

[nanawendy]

Looks good ......NOW..... Let us know if they appreciate your kindness.

 

[3LittleChickadees]

thanks for the inspiration- i have an abundance of tall hardy grasses!
do the rocks heat up the roots of the plants they surround? sometimes i've had plants die in summer because the rocks hold so much heat.

i was thinking of transplanting hardy lavender bushes around the outside perimeter.
anyone try lavender? we have bantams. small diggers.
but they can reach them through the run~ and while they're free ranging.

i've also given up eliminating exposure to toxic plants since we live in a very green area in the pacific Nw.
they seem to be selective so far.

 

[san415]

I have plants in my run. Several Alberta Spruce, one Euonymus Fortunei, a Weeping Cherry tree, and one very big Blue Spruce tree. So far they have left the Euonymus alone, I just put that in the run, I had to move it from a different area of the yard. My run is about 40' by 20' so they have alot of room as I have only 3 standard hens and 4 bantams. They jump up and eat the cherry blossoms but its an established tree so no harm. And the Blue Spruce has been in the yard prior to us or the chickens. I worry about them causing the blue spruce problems, thats where they like to root and dig so I need to keep dumping the extra dirt and such from the other areas of the yard to make sure that the roots stay at the same depth. But I will keep adding plant and bushes to the run, I think they need that. Also my chicks that are 7 weeks old are in the coop now. They have a section in the coop that has small openings that keep the older hens away and they have a small opening to go out in to the run. The five Alberta Spruce are in a row and gives the chicks a place to hide from the hens. I couldn't have the chicks outside with out that protection.

 

[SandyK]

Our run was originally in the woods. We cleared out lots of the larger trees, but left the smaller trees that would fit under the run netting. Big bonus, they have lots of shade to protect them from the lighter rain and the hot sun. They jump up and eat the lower leaves some, but the trees seem to be loving all the rich compost they make in the run. Grasses sound like a good idea too. I have vines running up some of the fencing now and they don't seem to bother it at all. Lots of honeysuckle.

 

[patman75]

I was just wondering this the other day if some of my hardy perannial grasses would survive the chicken run.

I was thinking of putting some chicken wire around them for 1 year to help protect while they get established and add chicken wire just under the ground around the root mass to keep the chickens from digging it up.

I have some tree branches and a big rock in the run already, some grasses would like nice and give them something else to entertain them. The root mass on grasses are very dense and I have to use an axe to spilt them. The grasses might have a fighting chance.

Please keep us updated if the grasses survive.

 

[95yj]

Quote:
you may want to remove the euonymous, i'm not sure about that particular variety but i know that alot of them can be toxic to animals. My chickens have never been attracted to this plant either though, theres one right in front of their run.