What can be done for the grass

[Adolfus Nile]

Not sure if this is the right forum for this post but we're currently renting and the back yard is huge. Landlords gave us the ok to have poultry we got some birds in July. The grass in the chicken run has taken a real beating, missing a lot of grass but what grass is there is very green. To try and keep the birds from destroying the ground too much i let them run the whole back yard. The rest of the yard since the end of summer has taken on a brown look, unsure if its dead or dormant. Still long and its held up since summer looking pretty similar. Looking for ideas to make it so that when the lease ends in May the grass looks alright. I have a couple of ideas for it.

 

[Vicky Ann Painting]

What state are you in? I have read chickens don't enjoy eating bermuda grass, but also it is supposed to be the fastest growing green grass for warm climates. In colder climates it is ryegrass. Maybe you would need to quarantine off areas to let it germinate and grow though without those little fluffy butts scratching and a pecking all day. Maybe you could do sections at a time? Not sure you have enough time to get it all grown by May. Curious what your ideas are? https://www.hobbyfarms.com/3-ways-to-save-your-grass-when-raising-chickens/

 

[Adolfus Nile]

What state are you in? I have read chickens don't enjoy eating bermuda grass, but also it is supposed to be the fastest growing green grass for warm climates. In colder climates it is ryegrass. Maybe you would need to quarantine off areas to let it germinate and grow though without those little fluffy butts scratching and a pecking all day. Maybe you could do sections at a time? Not sure you have enough time to get it all grown by May. Curious what your ideas are? https://www.hobbyfarms.com/3-ways-to-save-your-grass-when-raising-chickens/

Thats very interesting. I'm in indiana. It's unclear to me if it's bad enough that I will need to grow any new grass, I suspect and hope that when spring hits and the grass really starts growing again I may be in the clear. I was thinking about making a chicken tractor and putting the chickens out in the alley(which has grass) some days. My other idea was just to get some temporary fencing to keep the chickens off of parts of the yard at a time, A bit pricey for me though. My last idea was to just lower the number of birds I have.

 

[Vicky Ann Painting]

I suppose it depends on the type of grass you have. Maybe it is just dormant. You can get a moveable electric fence from Amazon for about $150ish. Friends use them on their farms. I have not. They did give you permission for poultry though, so I assume they know the risks to the yard. Chicken wire and some creativity might do the trick.

 

[Granny23]

Not sure if this is the right forum for this post but we're currently renting and the back yard is huge. Landlords gave us the ok to have poultry we got some birds in July. The grass in the chicken run has taken a real beating, missing a lot of grass but what grass is there is very green. To try and keep the birds from destroying the ground too much i let them run the whole back yard. The rest of the yard since the end of summer has taken on a brown look, unsure if its dead or dormant. Still long and its held up since summer looking pretty similar. Looking for ideas to make it so that when the lease ends in May the grass looks alright. I have a couple of ideas for it.

I live in the city. I have 6 hens. I re-did my yard to confine the girls after having problems with one of my dogs. The hens were free to go anywhere in my yard. The new arrangement is ok. They have lots of room. I put new sod in my yard this year after our weeks long heatwave last summer did a number on it. I have enclosed a pic of what it looks like now.
Now I do have to say that the guy that did the yard seems to have dug the dirt a bit too low because when it rained it flooded the coop at one end.
There IS small blades of grass that Im hoping will come back after the rains we have. It rained bad right after we had the sod done.

 

[Adolfus Nile]

I'm going to see how much wood I have in the garage. I might build a chicken tractor that I can put them in during the day for a while to let grass grow.

 

[Granny23]

What state are you in? I have read chickens don't enjoy eating bermuda grass, but also it is supposed to be the fastest growing green grass for warm climates. In colder climates it is ryegrass. Maybe you would need to quarantine off areas to let it germinate and grow though without those little fluffy butts scratching and a pecking all day. Maybe you could do sections at a time? Not sure you have enough time to get it all grown by May. Curious what your ideas are? https://www.hobbyfarms.com/3-ways-to-save-your-grass-when-raising-chickens/

I put Marathon 1 grass in my yard. Supposed to be the best for heavy traffic with kids and pets...it failed me miserably and the chickens demolished it. We also had heavy rains shortly after installation and now it just looks horrible.