Manchester71 Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 I was worried that they will destroy the grass if i kept them on the same spot for a few days, Anybody got info on this?! Tom x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Hi Tom, They won't destroy the grass if they are only on it for a short time, but they do scratch at it and obviously you get a patch of poo where the eglu run has been. If you leave them in one place, then yes, you have a patch of bare earth in no time. You will need to move the run every few days (how often depends how many chickens you have). Rake over the patch they have been on to loosen the poo and hose it off. The grass will recover and grow back greener than ever with the added fertilizer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manchester71 Posted June 9, 2008 Author Share Posted June 9, 2008 SO say if i left 2 chickens on one spot of grass for 3 days, would there be a big difference?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 If you only have two, they would be fine for three days, probably more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhapsody Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 YES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sootem Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Hi I've had my girls for nearly five weeks and move the cube once a week. Every evening I take the hose around the lawn and blast the poo piles. I have to say my grass is looking greener than it has for years. The girls are also great gardeners - excellent weeders. Susanx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 yes, they do destroy it if they are left on it all the time. Especially in winter. If you are fond of your lawn you might want to section/partition it off come autumn/winter as otherwise come spring you'll just have a big ole patch of mud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallina Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 I would say Yes, they would destroy the grass in three days if left on it in a confined space. As some people have said No, it obviously depends on: (1) the hen -- hybrids in my experience are the worst. (2) the type of soil. Mine is light and sandy, and so my hens were able to get the grass up in the run and make their own dust-bath within a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyhole kate Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Hi I have 3 in a and after two days in the same spot the little devils had scratched huge patches of lawn as well as craters to dust bath in! my Soil is clay and stones and this did not deter them one bit! They now have there own dedicated border with bark chippings much easier in the long run! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 We decided within a week of getting our girls that the lawn would not survive them. We made a bark chipped permenant area and they are allowed out around the garden for about 2 hours a day and the lawn is lush and green and hardly ever needs mowing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallina Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Possibly if you provide a dust-bath for them in the run the grass might survive a little longer. I think it is the desperate urge to find some soil to roll in that makes them dig up the grass. When I let my hens out, they are more interested in gently grazing the grass than digging in it, because they have a special spot where there is soil for their dust-baths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenanne Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 When the grass is actively growing then it will recover reasonably quickly when the house/run is moved every 2 or 3 days. But it'll be a different story in the winter, simply because the grass doesn't really grow much then, so it'll look messy for a good few weeks; obviously how long depends on soil/climate/weather etc. Personally I would recommend on planning on keeping them in a stationary run with a good thick layer of Hemcore/ wood chippings/ similar, which you can clean out regularly, when the grass isn't doing anything. In the spring/summer then you should be fine moving it about the garden if you wanted to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egg Lou Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 I have four hybrids in a cube plus extension ..only had them since Friday afternoon and grass in pretty much gone! Hmm.. plans for a permanent site are under way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manchester71 Posted June 9, 2008 Author Share Posted June 9, 2008 Well i think i will have to provide them with a permanent wood chipping area, do they mind this? And will it require maintenance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbaraJ Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Mine don't do much damage whilst free-ranging though they do eat weeds so i have bare earth in places lol we have a permanent run and could imagine with grass in it would be mud!! how do people hose poo into the grass? their poo is mostly quite firm with the bran and it wouldn't go into my solid grond? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manchester71 Posted June 9, 2008 Author Share Posted June 9, 2008 lol im also worried about if my chickens will be able to jump over 5ft fences? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenanne Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 In terms of maintaining a permanent run, you will need to clean it out occasionally, and preferably dig it over & add garden lime every few months. What you can do is move it annually, and re-turf the original area after liming it, which will keep diseases from building up from the site. Some breeds of chicken are lighted and keener on flying than others; some will get over that, others won't bother. But a fox will easily get through a fence of that height. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocchick Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 It depends on the chicken and the type of fence. If they can land easily, then they might fly up, perch and fly down. Some chickens don't really bother, others are more flighty. Flimsy fences that are harder to perch on can help, but they are good at tracking down gaps too. Yes chickens are destructive with grass. Raking up poo helps. They won't necessarily use a dust bath you provide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajm200 Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Ours have dug a crater in the run when we left them in for a week as they are used to free-ranging and missed their dustbaths in the compost heap. They normally freerange for most of the day and 5 share an area of about 25m2. Tthey have really improved the condition of their bit of grass. It is lush, green and moss-free. Hosing their dropping in a couple of times a week makes sure that the lawn is well fertilised. It might be different in the winter though The main lawn where they are only allowed to roam for a few hours a week looks a mess by comparison. It's brown, sp"Ooops, word censored!" and has moss patches despite a couple of organic lawn treatments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazygal Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 in answer to the first question- yes they do destroy grass. I have bare patches where the run has been as they always seem to stay at the entrance when they are in, so that part gets bare over the course of a week. However I've found that the grass grows back within a month, by which time I have 3 new bare bits of lawn! As for dust baths, they have been quite good in that they have only made craters under a conifer where the grass doesn't grow too well anyway and also in flower beds which I don't mind as we have mature shrubs that don't get disturbed. The worst time for grass destroying seems to be after its rained when they all troup to the bare bits and kick and scratch as much as they can. I have been known to try and cover said bits of once grass with children's toys which they then try and kick away as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reikiranf Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 We have three girls & move our run around the grass, we move it once a week & the grass looks grim when we first move the run, but we rake it and sweep up all the poo & hemcore & within 3 weeks the grass is back to normal, well it's actually better than normal as it's a darker green and seems to have fewer weeds It does seem to take more of a bashing in cold or wet weather though and having a shower curtain on the run doesn't do the grass any favours so probably takes 4-5 wks then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbie26pet Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 (edited) i have a permanent run for mine, they are let out to free range from after dinner, till they go bed at night, my grass ive never so green its great. i d have some places like the little bit of flower bed they dust bath in but i leave that space for them now i have 7 hens 4 kids, and 2 ducks on it and im happy Edited June 11, 2008 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedusA Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 The grass on my small lawn was completely gone in a few days! What was formerly the lawn is now their walk-in run. And who says chickens aren't very bright? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbie26pet Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 And who says chickens aren't very bright? they are very bright, im sure they do some kind of degree before coming to us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daisymay Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Hi I've had my chickens for approx 6 weeks now and they have a fenced off area of about 30ft by 20 foot at the end of the garden. The ground there is brilliant but has always had a mix of grass and bare patches (it's under the trees so doesn't get loads of sun). It is safe to say there is almost no grass there at all now. Juts brown dry stuff. In the rains last week it was like a mud bath. I had said I would move the eglu/run every week but within 3 days knew this wouldn't work as they had destroyed the grass within the run in those 3 days. I've decided to leave the eglu where it is and keep letting them freerange in their area. I let them out round the garden yesterday and watched them for approx 10 mins. In that time they scratched 2 patches of grass near the hedge approx 1 ft square...they are natures own bulldozers I think...I put them back in their netted area as didn't want them to dig up any more mud for me! My theory is they have destroyed their area...they have to live in it!!! Bit worried about the winter as I think it will be like a bog in their patch of the garden.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
