Janepie33 Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 We have had our girls since the middle of September and they free range when we are home - an hour or so before and after work and all day most weekends. I know chickens like to eat the garden, but the trouble is, they have eaten ALL the grass!! - an area around 10 X 20 feet. All we are left with is a sea of mud and a bit of moss - not very attractive. As a rather new chicken owner, I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this situation and does the grass ever grow back?! Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Am going to try this tip in the spring....pinched it off another forum For grass free hen runs. Fill about 10 seed trays with compost. Buy a roll of turf (B&Q about £2.50) Cut to fit trays , press gently on to compost, water well and let it do its own thing until its established. Give one a day to the hens to eat. They will demolish it in a few hours. Each day, remove the eaten one and water well, it should recover. I think its quite a good compromise, as they get to eat fresh grass in a normal hen sort of way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muppet81 Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 What a great idea. Oh b*****! OH took several rolls of turf to the tip yesterday. Too late was the cry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baggins Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 I have a dog and 4 chickens so you can imagine the state of our lawn! I too thought my lovely green garden was finished when we got our chickens ... however, in April / May last year, the grass appeared as green and lush as ever and stayed that way right through the summer. Don't worry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannie Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 I think it depends how bad it is Jane. Are the roots still there? This happened to us last year, and what we hadn't realised was that we actually had very little grass left anyway - most of the green was just moss! It was only when it failed to grow that we noticed. We had to rake all the grass out, put down lime & organic fertilizer, then reseed it, and cover the whole thing with horticultural fleece. It did recover well, but the lawns so shady that its gone downhill again now. Difficulty is deciding when to make the last cut in the autumn. You need to leave it as late as possible, bearing in mind that the chooks will carry on winter pruning. But not too long. We've got it wrong both years. Think we will have to reseed and cover again for several weeks this spring. You can buy fast growing, tough grass seed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 I seeded over the 1st area destroyed by the chickens rootling about last year. The grass grew back very quickly and was lush and green. Must be all that fertiliser! The trouble was that the hens were eating it faster than it could grow back. So they have been shifted up into their own area, which doesn't have grass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 get bantams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannie Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 The grass grew back very quickly and was lush and green. Must be all that fertiliser! Yes, my sister had our chooks on her lawn for a fortnight, and although her lawn looked distinctly worse for wear when I collected them, she said its now much lusher and greener than the rest! I think its a question of getting the chook / lawn balance right, really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 I htink it does it wonders. Mine is lovely and green except where i've been stomping up and down in my wellies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JellyB Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 I have no grass left at all And I want to grow some veggies again next year so need to make a nice big permanent run for my girls but will still let them out now and again once I have some grass back and will just keep my veggies fenced off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallina Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 My grass is a lot stronger since I had the chickens, as I never bothered to feed it before, and the manure seems to be doing it a lot of good. But in winter my chickens only get out on it for about five hours a week. I don't think grass could cope with much more than this in a season when there is hardly any growth. I also make a net pen for them, so that they are only allowed on the areas where the grass grows very strongly. As soon as the chickens dig a hole in the grass, I fill it in and re-seed, and then put a garden sieve to cover it when they are next out. This stops the lawn from turning into mountains and craters, which hens on light soil like mine can produce very quickly. Best wishes Stephanie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillfamily Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 Grass...............lawns..................ahh i remember them so well. Lost the lawn again this winter - i'm just too soft hearted and can't bear to keep my girls in their run. Will re turf again this spring. Fortunately the lawn area grows smaller each year. Last year my daughter had her own shed built and I put in a veg garden (fenced off ) This year we have increased the width of the path around the 'lawn area' and increased the woodchip area the eglus stand on (so we could fit in a 2nd eglu ) By next year i doubt there will be any room for a lawn anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
