tomdeane Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 Hi there, My lawn is looking very patchy and I was thinking of fencing off some areas and putting down some grass seed. I will get one with a lot of rye grass in the mix as it seems to be good for toughness (and will hopefully withstand the chickens pecking a bit better than the old grass... but if the chickens eat some of the seed i put down will it kill them? Is any grass seed poisonous? I was looking at getting lawn food instead but it all seems pretty harmful, Thanks, Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallina Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 Grass seed is usually treated these days to prevent birds from eating it. I would read the packet carefully to see what it has been treated with. But if the areas that you are sowing are fenced off, it probably won't matter anyway. You will have to keep the area fenced off most of the summer to give the grass a good start: new grass with be up with one scuff of a hen's foot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAJ Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 My hubby also raised the issue of grass seed being poisonous to birds - I bought some fast growing hardwearing stuff (10-14 days). My response was the chickens were not going to be allowed anywhere near it until it was well and truely established and we know one its sprouted it is fine - that's why I need to re-seed in the first place. To be fair to the chooks, they have scratched out the weeds & moss more than the grass, but that is why I have bald patches. Just keep them off it whilst it is seed to be safe - if not it proably won't get the chance to become grass anyway. Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...