Yarding has traditionally been a two edged sword: desirable but difficult to manage. It has always been a somewhat unsatisfactory practice.
"Yards small enough to be fenced economically are soon stripped of palatable green forage and became barren moonscapes. Sustainability is hard to achieve, however, since bare ground over which the chickens have run for some time has mud puddles, stagnant water, a build-up of manure, parasites/pathogens and other undesirable sources of disease, most of which are filth (feces) borne.
In early days, most farms had only a small free-range, barnyard flock. If larger flocks were kept, they were done so in small houses built on skids, which were dragged periodically to a fresh piece of ground. This method is the progenitor of our modern practice of pastured poultry.
Before the discovery of vitamins A and D in the 1920s, green feed and sunshine were essential to the health of poultry. Experts of the day estimated the sustainable level to be about fifty hens per acre, with one hundred hens per acre as an absolute upper limit if special care was taken.
These levels are sustainable in the sense that the turf itself can make use of the nutrients in the manure left behind by the chickens, and the chickens will not completely destroy the turf through their incessant scratching. This is a very important element to consider if chickens are to be kept in permament yards.
For a permanent set up, under average conditions of soil and climate, the following points are suggested for consideration.
- Maximum number of fowls per acre: 100 laying hens [435.6 sq ft/hen]
- Disposing of the night droppings [from roosts] elsewhere.
- Dividing the ground into at least two divisions or yards, and growing a crop on each yard at least every other year.
- In sections where crops may be grown every years the number of fowls may be increased.
- Growing crops that will use up the maximum amount of manure.
- Keeping the ground vacant [of chickens] at least six months in the year.
- Thorough underdrainage, where necessary, to carry off surplus water.
All of this requires the yard be HUGE compared to the chicken house. This should actually be provided as two yards, one on either side of the chicken house. This makes it easy to rotate from yard to yard.
In reality, permanent yards are expensive to fence, and the chickens spend most of their time on the portion closest to the house, anyway.
This fact led to a new way of looking at yarding:
"... There was a great revolution in the chicken business when Geoffrey Sykes, in England, developed a new yarding system in the Fifties.
This used a small yard (pen) covered with a thick layer of straw, with more straw added frequently. This was the equivalent of the "deep litter" scheme, only reproduced outdoors.
Mr. Sykes also recommended that shade and a windbreak be provided by a solid fence around the yard, or by other means, such as rows of haybales. Once a year, the old straw was removed. This method eliminated barren dirt, and thus the resulting poo-mud and pathogens. It was quite soon forgotten, though, because the industry was moving to high-density confinement methods before te Sykes method became widely established. - - source: wikipedia
The above information should illustrate why a permanent chicken yard becomes a barren landscape, mucky with poo, devoid of green growing things and stinking to the heavens in a short time. The solution is to move the house(s) to fresh ground periodically, alternate the yards, cultivate the ground with grass while without poultry, use mulch liberally while the birds are in their yard, if needed - and have fewer birds in the space allotted. Here's how I adapted this information for my own backyard-chicken yard:
- Alternate yards. I have movable coop that goes where I drag it, to anchor a new yard each time.
- Cultivate between alternations. This happens automatically when I move the coop elsewhere.
- Mulch deeply in the yard. No need, in my case.
- Reduce flock numbers. Little need. I have 900 sq ft. of well drained soil, pine straw beneath and only 10-12 birds.
Keep in mind, I planned for this. Achieving these same things in an already established pen/yard/run will take new planning. Use of lime, DE, sand and other additives only means that you haven't, yet.
"Yards small enough to be fenced economically are soon stripped of palatable green forage and became barren moonscapes. Sustainability is hard to achieve, however, since bare ground over which the chickens have run for some time has mud puddles, stagnant water, a build-up of manure, parasites/pathogens and other undesirable sources of disease, most of which are filth (feces) borne.
In early days, most farms had only a small free-range, barnyard flock. If larger flocks were kept, they were done so in small houses built on skids, which were dragged periodically to a fresh piece of ground. This method is the progenitor of our modern practice of pastured poultry.
Before the discovery of vitamins A and D in the 1920s, green feed and sunshine were essential to the health of poultry. Experts of the day estimated the sustainable level to be about fifty hens per acre, with one hundred hens per acre as an absolute upper limit if special care was taken.
These levels are sustainable in the sense that the turf itself can make use of the nutrients in the manure left behind by the chickens, and the chickens will not completely destroy the turf through their incessant scratching. This is a very important element to consider if chickens are to be kept in permament yards.
For a permanent set up, under average conditions of soil and climate, the following points are suggested for consideration.
- Maximum number of fowls per acre: 100 laying hens [435.6 sq ft/hen]
- Disposing of the night droppings [from roosts] elsewhere.
- Dividing the ground into at least two divisions or yards, and growing a crop on each yard at least every other year.
- In sections where crops may be grown every years the number of fowls may be increased.
- Growing crops that will use up the maximum amount of manure.
- Keeping the ground vacant [of chickens] at least six months in the year.
- Thorough underdrainage, where necessary, to carry off surplus water.
All of this requires the yard be HUGE compared to the chicken house. This should actually be provided as two yards, one on either side of the chicken house. This makes it easy to rotate from yard to yard.
In reality, permanent yards are expensive to fence, and the chickens spend most of their time on the portion closest to the house, anyway.
This fact led to a new way of looking at yarding:
"... There was a great revolution in the chicken business when Geoffrey Sykes, in England, developed a new yarding system in the Fifties.
This used a small yard (pen) covered with a thick layer of straw, with more straw added frequently. This was the equivalent of the "deep litter" scheme, only reproduced outdoors.
Mr. Sykes also recommended that shade and a windbreak be provided by a solid fence around the yard, or by other means, such as rows of haybales. Once a year, the old straw was removed. This method eliminated barren dirt, and thus the resulting poo-mud and pathogens. It was quite soon forgotten, though, because the industry was moving to high-density confinement methods before te Sykes method became widely established. - - source: wikipedia
The above information should illustrate why a permanent chicken yard becomes a barren landscape, mucky with poo, devoid of green growing things and stinking to the heavens in a short time. The solution is to move the house(s) to fresh ground periodically, alternate the yards, cultivate the ground with grass while without poultry, use mulch liberally while the birds are in their yard, if needed - and have fewer birds in the space allotted. Here's how I adapted this information for my own backyard-chicken yard:
- Alternate yards. I have movable coop that goes where I drag it, to anchor a new yard each time.
- Cultivate between alternations. This happens automatically when I move the coop elsewhere.
- Mulch deeply in the yard. No need, in my case.
- Reduce flock numbers. Little need. I have 900 sq ft. of well drained soil, pine straw beneath and only 10-12 birds.
Keep in mind, I planned for this. Achieving these same things in an already established pen/yard/run will take new planning. Use of lime, DE, sand and other additives only means that you haven't, yet.
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