Planting grass in the run?

[melissastraka]

thanks everyone! it must be a lost cause. I do use hay, about 2 bales a week with DE and we have gardners that throw all the clippings in the run from all the houses they service so they are happy.

 

[xjonesy]

I have six 9-week old chickens in my coop and run. The run had grass in it when it was built...the run is probably 80 square feet, all grass. The chickens have been in for about 3 weeks and the grass is probably about 2/3 gone. They peck it to death...it's down to bare dirt in a few spots, and should be all dirt soon. I wouldn't try planting seeds or putting sod in your run...it just won't last.

Whenever I let them out to roam our fenced backyard which is mostly all grass, they pick at the longer grass strands like crazy. And they like to hide behind our big lilac bushes up against our home for whatever reason...a nesting feel perhaps? Or maybe more bugs since it's dark and damp behind the bush?

They sure are hilarious to watch as they roam the backyard -- they're still skittish to get too far away from the coop.

 

[lovemychix]

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I saw that too. that was a great idea.

 

[mrsgibber]

Not sure how big your run is but what I'm thinking of doing in mine is just dividing it in half using some leftover chicken wire so they only have access to one half while the other half is seeded and grows in. Then I'll switch off and do the same on the other side. Not sure they'll appreciate the shorter run but they'll be happy when they have all that fresh grass.

 

[Opa]

I don't think it is possible to grow anything that chickens have access to. I would suggest that in the long run the best thing to use is sand. Occasionally I go in the run with a spring toothed rake and in mere minutes the run is leveled and clean. Any plant materials, ie. straw, hay, wood mulch, is going to hold moisture and possibly bugs. The you have to remove that plus the droppings. With it stays dry and all the you have to haul is droppings.

 

[Monk]

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Sounds like a good idea, I'll be trying it too.

 

[antlers]

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HOWEVER, they will eat the grass the second it sprouts. Trying to have grass in a run is a fool's errand. We mow with a bagger & throw it in the run. They gobble it up.

Agreed.

 

[no1hilbily]

what about planting something in trays putting it with them then replant

 

[san415]

I think I am the one who was talking about the wood frames with hardware cloth on top. They work great. But they are only for my hens to have a fresh snack. I pick the frame up and move it and them reseed it. In a day or 2 the other area is torn up. If you leave it to long they manage to pull up a lot of the plants by the root any way. Our soil is very sandy, so maybe they wont pull up the tender plants in a more clay based soil. The only thing I am changing is that I am making more of them. Mine is made with scrap 2x4s and is about 24 inches by 18 inches. I have only 6 hens in a very large fenced area.

I buy what ever seeds I feel like and also use grass seed and bird seed. I lay the frame down, pick it back up, then add some compost to the outline. Put the frame back down and sprinkle some seeds through the top wire area. I add maybe to much seeds? But they grow good, and I want it crowded. Since I have lots and lots of seed as soon as its about 1 or 2 inches tall I move the frame and start over. The hens sit on the frame and must poo into it also, but that doesn't seem to hinder it at all. We have a yard watering system that sprays in the chicken yard too, so I don't bother to water the seeds, except if I dump the water bowls I will dump them in there.