Thinking of re-turfing my chicken enclosure

[Gorsty]

Hi folks - I have had chickens for about 8 yrs now and usually keep 4-5 girls and they have access to a area about 40 ft long by 12 ft wide. It was rough pasture but is now basically mud and we have been thinking about having it returfed. I did try to re-seed it last year but that didn't work - the area does have competition not only from the girls but from trees.

Have been considering having it returfed and then splitting it into two paddocks which I can then put the girls on alternate weeks so the turf can recover - well that's the theory. Don't know yet how much this is going to cost but am wondering whether you think I will be wasting my money - will it just end up the same as it is now even with resting?

What other systems do you guys use - have read that putting down woodchip is not good for poultry and it becomes very smelly.

They do so love coming out on to my lawn to eat the grass though.

Many thanks in advance

Jan

[fishpond]

Leave it as mud.
My area is mud with a good layer of dried leaves which gives them something to scratch around in to find tasty morsels (worms/slugs etc).
I really wouldn't bother wasting your money on grass for that size area, as there will not be an area you can leave for 12 months, then rest another area for 12 months to enable the grass to recover.

[veggiechicken]

I wouldn't turf it either. Wouldn't last very long!
Splitting it in 2 is a good idea though. Give them a couple of months in one and sow some leftover veg seed on the other half. Once its up and established let the chooks in to destroy it while you throw seed at the other side.
I did this last year -



Had a good crop of radish from there too before the chooks got to them!

[Gorsty]

Thank you for your thoughts; somehow what I expected you to say but still disappointed

So are you saying that in just one week, they are going to do so much damage to one paddock that it wouldnt be able to recover in the week they are on the second paddock?

I do have a bit more land available perhaps 20 ft x 20 ft - part of my lawn which obviously isn't fox proofed presently. Do you think that bringing this into the equation would work or do you just think I'll be just wasting my money.

[veggiechicken]

Chooks don't just nibble the tips of grass, they dig holes and pull up plants.
Have you priced the turf you would need to cover the runs?

[lottie dolly]

Good advice there,think am going to see about 2 areas,i also like the idea off using up the seeds,waste not want not,the question is,is there any NONO'S in general veg seeds,that is harmefull to the birds.

[Gorsty]

Chooks don't just nibble the tips of grass, they dig holes and pull up plants.
Have you priced the turf you would need to cover the runs?

Yep, I know where you are coming from - I know exactly what they are capable of but having said that it has taken many years for their compound to look like it does now ie bare earth/mud, and they have an undercover dust bathing area so there aren't any craters in their paddock.

Just looks such a mess - did try the dry leaves scenario but we live 600 ft above sealevel and the wind just blew all the leaves away.

and no, haven't dared to price the turf up yet -


Thanks for your thoughts x

[veggiechicken]

I bought a pallet of turf last year from cheapturf | eBay
It was excellent quality and by far the cheapest I found. Its actually rolawn turf but sold under another name!

[veggiechicken]

Good advice there,think am going to see about 2 areas,i also like the idea off using up the seeds,waste not want not,the question is,is there any NONO'S in general veg seeds,that is harmefull to the birds.

Don't let them eat the actual seeds as some may be treated with summat. Once they've germinated its OK. They eat most things but love chard and brassicas.

[ESBkevin]

If you want to feed bulk greens to chickens, get waste corn or feed corn and chit some in a seed tray. When the shoots get about 2" tall feed it in chunks to the birds roots and all. They love it and you get more bulk feed for the corn.

[Paul 68]

mesh covered frames

i recently expanded our veg garden area n moved the lifted turn to chicken run and put mesh covered wooden frames over areas of it (seems a popular thing on the american web sites)about 2CM square wood used actualy old raised bases from racing pigeon baskets that were needing to much repair

its still alive n the chickens trim it back to the height of the mesh

now considering some deeper frames to put a selection of herbs n stuff they like under

[Snoop Puss]

Paul, do you mean something like the 'grazing frames' shown in the picture in the link below?

http://www.thegardencoop.com/blog/20...yard-chickens/

They look like a great idea. I'd never come across them. Thanks for the tip.

[mrsbusy]

Hi - bit late joining in here but here for what it is worth etc.....I have quite a nice lawn. I have < > 10 hens. They do graze the lawn but they never dig it up and they tend to keep to the perimeter, so we do mow it, usually once a week - for our benefit. Borders all round the perimeter of the lawn are about 10 feet wide maybe and are what I call a tidy jungle. I grow mainly shrubs and hedging. I don't bother with annuals in the border as the hens would never leave them alone. There are certain flowering plants the hens won't touch - for example red flowering thyme which is spectacular in flower and only 1 -2 inches tall; marjoram which is about 3 feet tall and when in flower covered with bees, Johnstons blue geranium ( other varieties they will eat) They leave mint alone. I have a wonderful bed of hollyhocks and ok the hens eat the lower leaves but they are tall enough to have loads of leaves higher up. I keep plenty of clumps of Comfrey which grows like mad, fortunately, as they eat it almost as fast as it grows - same with Borage. Hens like to hide under trees shrubs and hedges - they are jungle fowl after all - and dig their dust bath holes - nothing so sad as hens in a bare field. So my advice would be to grow stuff round the edge for them to hide under and forage - even if it is just something like beech hedging. Runner beans in 2 rows makes a wonderful tent for the hens too. Protect new plant roots with bricks - I put about 4 right over the roots and that seems to work - I put an old board along the rows of beans. Maybe there was something else in your paddock for the hens they would leave any grass alone. I see you are in Spain so obviously lovely English shrubs won't do for you, but there must be lots of great Spanish natives that will grow...recommend a book as well - Chicken Gardens by Jessi Bloom timberpress.com