Won't eat weeds?

[furbabymum]

My chickens have to be about 8 weeks. I'm bad about keeping track. Anyhow, they aren't eating the run plants. What's up with that?

This is a pic from the mouth of the barn. It's dirt where the horses used to walk to get to the barn and water trough. Otherwise the weeds are growing up from when the horses had them eaten down to nothing. When will they start eating it? I'm wondering if they're going to make me mow....

 

[gamebirdsonly]

They might not like the taste. I think you will be mowing

 

[dainerra]

shoot, that's shorter than parts of my yard. they will wear it down in time though it probably wouldn't hurt to not let it get TOO tall since snakes and predators would have a ready place to hide.

 

[furbabymum]

Mowing. We only have a massive mower that attaches to our tractor so mowing to me really means going out by hand and cutting it.

 

[silkiechicken]

Chickens don't tend to eat down weeds as much as they scratch, stomp, and compact them with their feet. At a high enough density, that ground will be dust in no time.

 

[furbabymum]

Chickens don't tend to eat down weeds as much as they scratch, stomp, and compact them with their feet. At a high enough density, that ground will be dust in no time.

But with only 12 chickens and an extra large run will they get it down?? Will they hate it if it gets too high?

 

[HEChicken]

They'll eat some grasses and some weeds but others just don't taste good and will always be ignored. At my old place, the flock had the run of my backyard and I found I didn't need to mow it as often as I mowed the front, but still, I had to mow it occasionally. In places the grass that they didn't eat would get so long it would be difficult for feather footed birds to wade through.

I understand the problem with the big mower but....does a neighbor have a push mower you can borrow occasionally just to mow the chicken yard? Maybe you can pick up a used one cheap on Craigslist to save for that purpose?

 

[furbabymum]

I'll look for a cheap (but running which is the problem as we aren't mechanically inclined) push mower. Thanks!