Sod

[llandry]

Hey everyone. Feeling pretty sad and stupid and that I let my flock down so i thought I'd post something incase anyone else thought using a piece of sod in the run was a good idea.

Garden store had strips of sod on sale and I thought my girls would like the fresh grass as a treat. Apparently there's a plastic mesh, like really thin plastic chicken fencing, in the soil part to help hold it together. One of my favorite bantams must have gotten tangled in the mesh and it got wrapped around her neck.

Just awful that what I thought was a nice treat turned out to be a terrible idea.

Even us seasoned chicken keepers make mistakes. Hope someone can learn from my mistake.

 

[rosemarythyme]

So sorry to hear about that. I didn't even consider that as a possibility. Just another reason not to use sod around chickens.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Thanks for the heads up. I don't recall seeing any plastic mesh or anything else like that the last time I helped someone put sod down but that was decades ago. No telling how they have "improved" things these days.

I can see cutting a piece of turf to put in a brooder or a run as having benefits, people are posting about boredom busters on other threads. I can understand why you thought a piece of sod would be good. I'd have never thought of that as a risk.

 

[Xouie]

Thank you for this post. I had no idea and might have otherwise given sod as a plaything.

 

[llandry]

I had no idea the plastic mesh was in there. It was literally within the dirt layer so you couldn't see it from the top side or bottom side. I never would have used it. So sad.

 

[aart]

Just another reason not to use sod around chickens.

Yes, along with the chemicals(fertilizer/fungicide/insecticide).

I don't recall seeing any plastic mesh or anything else like that the last time I helped someone put sod down but that was decades ago. No telling how they have "improved" things these days.

I'd bet it's for ease of handling/installation, keeps it from breaking.