So, I've been doing a big improvement project on my coop and runs this year, including expanding and eventually re-planting the runs. I'm going to till under the original run this fall, and try to have a section of weed-free run. I am at a loss of what to plant though!
I've included a color-coded map of my coop and runs if that helps the visual people - The section I'm going to re-plant is the green square (16x16ft). It is bordered by my vegetable garden (magenta L shape-ish) and is very visible to the "front" of the farm, so I would like to do something that is both practical for the birds, but looks "clean" as well. I was thinking about a corner or two of wildflowers to attract bees to the garden, but other than that all I can think about is maybe the bluegrass/clover pasture mix we have for the horses? Or is there something better? Any fescue is an absolute no - it can spread elsewhere and red fescue can cause pregnant mares to spontaneously abort a pregnancy, so I absolutely can't risk the chance of it being mislabeled - sadly happened to a friend of mine, she lost 6 foals and two mares in less than a week after moving to new pasture.
As for the rest of it, pale green are the mulberry trees and shade. Blue square is the coop (12x16x8ft) with the yellow stripes the doors, and light blue the windows The orange section with the blue circle is a packed dirt run and the duckie-pool. Purple section is this spring's addition, which has a dust-bath patch, but is mostly weeds and scrub and probably going to somewhat stay that way for a while, as long as I keep pulling the really bad stuff since the chickens love hiding in it.
I've included a color-coded map of my coop and runs if that helps the visual people - The section I'm going to re-plant is the green square (16x16ft). It is bordered by my vegetable garden (magenta L shape-ish) and is very visible to the "front" of the farm, so I would like to do something that is both practical for the birds, but looks "clean" as well. I was thinking about a corner or two of wildflowers to attract bees to the garden, but other than that all I can think about is maybe the bluegrass/clover pasture mix we have for the horses? Or is there something better? Any fescue is an absolute no - it can spread elsewhere and red fescue can cause pregnant mares to spontaneously abort a pregnancy, so I absolutely can't risk the chance of it being mislabeled - sadly happened to a friend of mine, she lost 6 foals and two mares in less than a week after moving to new pasture.
As for the rest of it, pale green are the mulberry trees and shade. Blue square is the coop (12x16x8ft) with the yellow stripes the doors, and light blue the windows The orange section with the blue circle is a packed dirt run and the duckie-pool. Purple section is this spring's addition, which has a dust-bath patch, but is mostly weeds and scrub and probably going to somewhat stay that way for a while, as long as I keep pulling the really bad stuff since the chickens love hiding in it.
EDIT: looked at the bag 7 card stud deer fodder! What a silly name.
