Regrowing Grass

[Dinosaur Gal]

Wow so many great ideas.

@lazy gardener

I like the idea of sprout growing ill definitely look into it!
So say i have ten chickens 4 bantams and 6 larger breeds how much run space should i shoot for? I would like to go a little bigger so they will be comfortable cause they will be confined for most of the time. And would you recommend a covered run? Or atleast partly covered?

@chicken really

I have four bantams 3 cochins and 1 Mille Fleur d'uccle. I plan on getting more larger breeds in the spring/summer after coop and run renovations are done. but i do like a idea of letting them free range if I can!

 

[GC-Raptor]

I have a 500 square foot run and my five girls ate and scratched up all the grass in one month. I thought for sure a hundred square foot per chicken would've been enough grazing area, 10 times the minimum recommended run size. I will make some grazing frames in the spring. Medium blade grass, my pullets favorite and clover, lazy gardener. I am going to try planting some scratch grains too. GC

 

[lazy gardener]

Wow so many great ideas.

@lazy gardener

I like the idea of sprout growing ill definitely look into it!
So say i have ten chickens 4 bantams and 6 larger breeds how much run space should i shoot for? I would like to go a little bigger so they will be comfortable cause they will be confined for most of the time. And would you recommend a covered run? Or atleast partly covered?

@chicken really

I have four bantams 3 cochins and 1 Mille Fleur d'uccle. I plan on getting more larger breeds in the spring/summer after coop and run renovations are done.

but i do like a idea of letting them free range if I can!

The size of your run, depends on how much money you want to spend. I definitely recommend a minimum of 10 s.f./bird, allowing extra to deal with possible increase of flock size. I suggest that you cover your run. A chicken in an uncovered run is at even more risk of being picked off by a hawk, and perhaps even by other predators that could get into the run than a free range chicken would be. In a run, that poor chicken is like a gold fish in a fish bowl. No where to go for safety. Since putting up my run, I have not lost any birds to hawks. Also a consideration is what you will fence your run with. I use galvanized chicken wire b/c 1/2" hdw cloth would be prohibitive. Do your own risk assessment, and come to your own decision re: building materials. Even with chicken wire, I suggest that you put a skirt around your run. That will help keep out the digging predators.

I have a 500 square foot run and my five girls ate and scratched up all the grass in one month. I thought for sure a hundred square foot per chicken would've been enough grazing area, 10 times the minimum recommended run size. I will make some grazing frames in the spring. Medium blade grass, my pullets favorite and clover, lazy gardener. I am going to try planting some scratch grains too. GC

Your birds will love you for it. You might also consider turning at least part of that run into DL. I've gone the DL route. Considered the option of grazing frames, but I've been able to let my birds out for a bit of free range now and then. They get plenty of greens when I add grass clippings by the bag full, and garden debris. Also considering making some chicken tunnels next season to direct the girls into some of my garden beds. Garden is fenced in during the growing season. Hoping to at least let them have access to a couple of beds here and there. Will require some creative fencing to keep them out of trouble.

 

[akenny]

How do i post

 

[akenny]

Rir roo whiteleghorn hen wat chicks look like and called can u sex at birth

 

[lazy gardener]

No, you can't sex them at birth. No idea what they will look like, but the pullets will be good layers.

 

[Dinosaur Gal]

@lazy gardener

Yeah im ditching the chicken wire when i make my new run it will be all 1/2 inch hardware cloth. And ill make sure to do a skirts to how deep would you recommend puting the fencing in the ground?

 

[lazy gardener]

That's a decision you will need to make based on your soil conditions, and the amount of work you are willing to do. I simply fan my skirt out from the fence line, and bury it under the sod. It would be brutal, if not impossible to hand dig around a fence line to bury a skirt vertically with my bony soil. If you go horizontal, I'd recommend that you fan it out minimum of 18".

 

[Dinosaur Gal]

Okay thank you so much! Ill do that