tomdeane Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Hi There, I have had my chickens now for about 2 months now. With spring here and my garden looking like a pig sty now... with mud and holes everywhere due to the chickens what is the nest way to preserve a bit of lawn so that it looks ok? I have 2 chickens that I free range in a garden that is about 15ft wide and about 20ft long, and is all grass. any tips of grass food to use that is not harmful to them, or anything I can do so that it is not as bad as it is at the moment? Cheers, Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAJ Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 I would use Omlet netting so some grass is rested whilst they use half and then swap over to otherhalf. Grass grows at over 6c, so as soon as it warms up and starts growing it will recover if rested. Do you have some dug soil for them to scratch around in and dust bath? I find as long as there is an area to dig up they are not digging up the lawn. Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomdeane Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 cool thanks, there is a flower bed that they dig up constantly, but they also dig up all the grass too... weird! is there anything anyone would recommend like evergreen or rolawn that is harmless to chickens, but will speed up the process of lawn recovery, as most of it is mud now, lol. Thanks, Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clucky1 Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 I totally agree re. the netting. It is easy to use and to move around. Also it kind of blends into the garden as it is a dark green nylon stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Watch Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Tom the netting is good. I've got the Omlet stuff which is good. Don't despare though. My garden is a mud bath (it sits on clay and the girls free range all day and rip it to shreds). But take heart, my girls arrived last Spring and all Spring and Summer my grass was fine just moving the eglu a few feet every few days and blasting the poos with a hosepipe. Grass looked lovely dark green colour. It's just the Winter time when the grass doesn't grow and so can't recover once they've eaten/scratched it. Wait for some warmer weather and it will be much, much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah B Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Our lawn is looking poo literally after 3 and a half weeks but it is where the Eglu run sits for 2 days at a time till we move it. On a plus side they have scratched the moss up! As the weather has been so awful I can't rake the poo up at the mo but I will start doing that once it is not so boggy! We have bought a compost bin yesterday for the purpose. I only have one section of lawn for the run and one for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abwsco Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Our lawns half gone before we've even got the chickens due to us failing to prune shrubs properly for years and years. Haven't told hubby that even more may go -lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 we didnt bother trying to rescue the lawn we re-turfed. We actually returfed last september but during the winter and with the chooks eating it and the lawn not growing in the winter it was a complete muddy mess. We paid £30 a bargain for the amount of turf we got so now spring/summer is on the way the lawn should be able to cope with chooks munching as its growing like the clappers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwichick Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 You could try what i've been doing. We have some low spots in our lawn that need bringing up to level, so I've been throwing compost down in piles and letting the girls get stuck in. They do a better job of spreading it and scratching it in than my rake Plus it's great top-dressing for the grass. Having said that, we are going to net the girls into their own patch of grass so the kids can have one small, clean piece of grass to play on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 I admitted defeat and moved the hens onto permanent sites. We have very boggy lawns and they stood no chance with 8 of them......4 was manageable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisa Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 I admitted defeat and moved the hens onto permanent sites. Me too I have quite a large garden. The top half is lawn & the bottom half is all trees, shrubs with bark & fallen leaves on the ground. I just leave the bottom half alone, apart from cutting back some tree branches & shrubs now & again. The hens love to scratch about down the bottom half & so leave the lawn & plants alone. I have a tree at the edge of the lawn by the garden fence which I dug around & put a load of peat in. The hens use that as a dust bath. Its comical watching them throw the peat over each other & roll around in it. Because they have this facility they don't bother the lawn or borders. For me a permanent site is a must if you want to keep your lawn. ~cruisa~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 I only have one section of lawn for the run and one for us. And me. The chooks are at the bottom of the garden with the eglu & attached run, & netting to keep them contained when they free range. It's all mud where they are now, before it was the fast-growing, hardy Canada grass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeckyBoo Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 I admitted defeat and moved the hens onto permanent sites. Me too For me a permanent site is a must if you want to keep your lawn. ~cruisa~ And me, 15 chickens (or 13 now ) just destroyed it which was heartbreaking as we had it returfed just before they arrived. I'm going to bite the bullet and get it redone again this year, or rather I'm going to be buying it and doing it myself which won't be too much hard work . It's the perennial problem, still I wouldn't send them back for anything! but I have to have a chook poo free lawn for the multitude of children we always seem to end up with. Now, just to fence the dog in.... Mrs Bertie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trapper Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 I wrote to Rolawn asking this same question and the reply I got was, 'We would advise that you need to look at the fertilisers packaging to see if it would contain anything that may be harmful or toxic to animals.' And this was asking them if their products were of any use as I have Rolwan turf. No much help I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...