grass seed chickens won't eat

[angelat]

Hi All

I am patiently waiting for my grass to have a spurt of growth as it is often flat and patchy at this time of year until the warmer weather gets constant then it comes to life. However looking at all the patches that have faint covering of grass on (due to chickens I am thinking, dont know why it is worse this year?) I have had them for three years and the grass has been fine up to now, am not sure if it is going to come back.

Does anyone know of any grass seed i can put down that the chickens WONT eat? before i have covered seed with a mesh cover so they cant get on but it will take me ages to do each patch that way. Any ideas anyone?

thanks

angela x

[womble]

No, chickens will eat all seeds. Keep the chickens off it.

[Feather]

Because of the severe winter, grass has been slow to get started this year, and much also depends on the condition of the grass at the end of last summer. Was it raked free of leaves and rubbish, and fed with Autumn Lawn Food then? Were the birds on it all winter?
To get the grass growing strongly enough to sustain the chickens, you'll have to keep them off it for at least a month, during which time you'll need to rake the grass (use an electric rake if possible) to remove moss and thatch, feed it with Spring Lawn Food (the sort without weedkiller in) sprinkle grass seed over the thin patches, and water frequently if it doesn't rain. The seed will take two weeks to germinate and then it needs several more weeks to become really thick and strongly growing. Alternatively you could try digging out the thinner patches of grass and laying turf in these areas. Again, you need to keep the hens off whilst it grows roots, but after a week or two you could cover the turf with netting to stop them scratching it up. Maybe you could divide the area and do half at a time, on a continous basis?

[angelat]

grass seeds chicken won't eat

thanks feather for your advice,

the grass was in great condition at the end of last summer and i had fed it regularly even though the hens were on it, it was in great condition. I can only think it was the bad winter.

like you say the grass is taking more time to have growth spurt this year so it might just take a bit more time. I am thinking that it i really have lost parts of it i will measure area go and get chicken wire off a roll and peg it down to large area to keep birds off after sowing a good quality seed.

thanks for advice

angela

[francesbean]

You could try Astroturf!

[Two_Sheds]

My lawn hasn't started growing yet, so my guinea pigs are still having their gh grown grass (oats & wheat, grown in mpc)

[Snadger]

You could try Astroturf!

Great minds frances!

[petal]

I find bits of unsightly chicken mesh over the reseeded areas helps.

[Glutton4...]

Who needs a lawn to mow, when there's Chooks and their antics to watch!!!?

[chris]

Whenever my lawn is taken a battering, I keep the chickens off it, give it a really hard rake, make fork holes everywhere all over it and then water it. Comes back very fast.