Landscaping and Plantings for a Free Range Flock

[lazy gardener]

We're buried under heaps of snow all winter. So, no forage here. Sometimes I let my flock into the green house if I'm not using it for my own purpose. When they get the GH, it's got about a foot of leaves and grass clippings in it, and they rumage through that all winter, enjoying the unseasonable heat, and dust bath opportunities. I usually put down some scratch for their digging pleasure. This season, they don't get the green house. So, I'm thinking about making them a sun room in the front part of their run. Hoping that will provide the same opportunities as the green house did.

I also sprout grains for them. I pay a pretty penny for a bag of wheat or barley ($26) but consider it worth it in the nutritional advantage they get by having fresh greens all winter. Do a mix of wheat or barley and BOSS. Have also sprouted millet from a bag of bird seed. Also have a surplus of squash this year. Pumpkins can be picked up for free after Oct 31. Leave them out to freeze until they turn into a pumpkin slurry, and the birds eat them seeds and all.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Excellent winter ideas Lazy. (I'm out of ovations today--I hate it when that happens) Anyways you'd get a thumbs up from me on that good info.

I would love a green house!
My run roof is covered with corrugated steel and I doubt I'd get the go ahead to peel that off and put on the clear currogated plastic. I do wrap my run in plastic on the sides though...and some light comes in. Very little though. The chicks are like sundials in there though...following the sunshine where it does come in. It's getting about that time to get my run all situated the way I want it...those free range days are starting to get fewer and fewer I'm sure.

 

[Teila]

Good morning

It is interesting to read your winter preparations while we prepare for summer. While you are looking at adding light, we have just put an additional layer of shade cloth under the clear corrugated to reduce light.

The girls have switched from up at 06:30am and bed at 05:00pm to up at 05:30am and bed at 06:00pm, which will blow out until 7pm soon enough.

Being sub tropical, we have torrential rain and thunderstorms which usually roll through after a hot and very humid day. While your plants are risking freezing to death, ours risk drowning.

This was February last year with our old coop and run:



This year we are ready

 

[Bogtown Chick]

I guess you are ready with your coop on stilts. Looks like an excellent idea, too!

I just heard on the radio that we are going to get some snow 1-2 inches. Crazy. I'm not ready. Freeze warnings are in place 1 hour north and west of us. But perhaps if I want a little more time with my flowers I should get out some of the old bed sheets....I think I will.

I'm not ready at all...

 

[memphis]

Snow & freezing weather...uggg! Ive been dividing hosta today. Turkeys are supervising, chickens are locked out! Will be sowing rye this weekend. Will also sow wheat & some barley. The chickens love the wheat as it sprouts. Ive never tried barley before.

 

[lazy gardener]

Nice looking set up Teila.

Excellent winter ideas Lazy. (I'm out of ovations today--I hate it when that happens) Anyways you'd get a thumbs up from me on that good info.

I would love a green house!
My run roof is covered with corrugated steel and I doubt I'd get the go ahead to peel that off and put on the clear currogated plastic. I do wrap my run in plastic on the sides though...and some light comes in. Very little though. The chicks are like sundials in there though...following the sunshine where it does come in. It's getting about that time to get my run all situated the way I want it...those free range days are starting to get fewer and fewer I'm sure.

If you have the most basic of tools, and a can do attitude, a green house is not at all difficult to build. A handful of 2 x 4's, 2 cattle panels, miscellaneous nuts, bolts, zip ties, screws, some windows or other clear material for doors in end panels, and a green house tarp. Easy peasy! Personally, I'd not bother with the clear corrugated plastic. I put green corr. pl. on my CP hoop coop loft area and was disgusted at how quickly it warped and sagged.

Snow & freezing weather...uggg! Ive been dividing hosta today. Turkeys are supervising, chickens are locked out! Will be sowing rye this weekend. Will also sow wheat & some barley. The chickens love the wheat as it sprouts. Ive never tried barley before.

If you try barley, be sure it's whole barley, not pearled! (get the barley meant for animal feed, not the stuff meant to be part of tomorrow night's dinner!)

 

[Bogtown Chick]

I should look into building my own. I'd almost want to do it for the chickens though instead of myself! Lol. Just a chicken nut altogether. I have plans to move my current vegetable garden from a spot away from my house and water source to a spot near the house. It's a retaining wall built of boulders and has Russian sage in it with a ton of weeds and a deadish honey crisp tree ( the suckers are growing up) anyways the idea is that I'm getting older, busier to walk way down and weed and haul water. And this retaining wall needs to be dealt with. I'm thinking a mini apple orchard where the current veggie garden is.

 

[lazy gardener]

Age is creeping up on all of us! I'm rushing against time to get all of my gardens buried under BTE mulch, get an orchard established, finish HK mound, which entails taking down a lot of dead trees, and stacking them. Unfortunately, those trees choose to fall in very inconvenient locations. Why couldn't they fall in perfect alignment on the HK site, and shed all of their branches on the way down? A hoop style green house could so very easily be multi purposed into a tractor for summer months and a green house/ chicken play house for the winter. Simply cover it with plastic mesh when you build it, then cover with green house tarp for the winter. Would also make a nice grow out pen.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Two Cattle Panels in size: that green house wouldn't be too hard to move about either. And the extra Winter space for chickens to stretch their legs during our long white winters is VERY appealing. Not to mention getting a start on plantings. We generally cannot plant here until mid May to Memorial weekend due to frost still happening. So a short season would be a very good reason to have a green house! LOL.

Teila...I always forget that about Australians, South Africans and such...You guys are having spring and summer is coming! **Jealous**
I like all our seasons around here to be honest. You have to. But ever since getting chickens 4 years ago...I have a sympathetic heart towards them...and winter just is long around here for them. Although as I've said...last year wasnt too bad. They spent about 2 months in the run. Years before it's been as long as 6!

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Lazy: Tell me about BTE mulch and HK.... I don't know what they are 'short' for.