- Thread starter
- #11
I really appreciate all the input! That picture is only half of my backyard. The other half is landscaped with lots of bushes, including some big thorny rosebushes, that they would probably love to hide in. And we have a ginormous deck that they can hide under as well. I only have 8 chickens. I am going to put some netting over the top of my vegetable garden, it's completely enclosed in welded wire and hardware cloth to keep deer out, so they can take turns playing in there and be safe. They are pretty addicted to "chicken crack" so if I do start to let them out I could probably get them to follow that little metal bucket anywhere.
I'm going to wait until they start laying, and then only let them out a few times a week, with supervision, in the evening for just a couple hours before they'll want to go back in to roost. I'm thinking some plantings of tall ornamental grasses around the deck on the coop would give them more hiding places too. Also, their food and water are in the run, so if they want to drink they'll HAVE to go back in for that! I don't really care about them messing up the lawn, if they clear more space in the yard it's just one more place I can plant something! We never had grass in the run, I knew that wouldn't last and we excavated a full 2 feet down and completely encased the base in 1/4" hardware cloth. Their run is just packed topsoil and triple shredded mulch, and I empty a couple buckets of leaves in there about once a week. When I do that it's like watching kids go nuts in those bounce houses full of little balls, they love it!
