HELP aggressive chicken

[Snakebite]

Hi all,

 

we are thinking of chickens, however we have two concerns. Firstly whether they will cause a lot of damage to our lawn and garden and secondly we haev our lawn treated by Greenthumb and are concerned that the chickens would eat the treatment.

 

With respect to the first issue we would love 2-3 chickens. Our lawn is about 1/2 acre and on that basis if we allowed them to roam a lot (which is what we would ideally want) would they cover the lawn in poo and tear it up, or would they make very little impact and spend a lot of time in the borders?

 

As to greenthumb, if we got chickens would that mean we would have to stop our lawn treatments?

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Kind regards,

[Sageandonion]

Warm welcomes to the forum.

 

We haven't had our chickens very long but judging by various posts I've read on here, a beautiful lawn and chickens do not go hand in hand - far from it. In our case we have 3 hens and they poo an awful lot and love to scratch around.

 

Could you set aside a separate area for any chickens and limit access to the rest of the garden? Ours have a chicken patch approx 17 foot by by 9 foot where their house/run is situated and it's separated from the 'lawn' ( a generous description putting it mildly) by some Omlet netting. Occasionally we've let them onto the lawn/rest of the garden and they don't just stick to the borders but like to wander all over.

 

Not heard of Greenthumb so I can't help you there - will google it as it sounds like our lawn is in need of it!

 

Good luck with whatever you decide and pics please when you get your girls .

[Mulberry]

I would think 2/3 chicks with .5 acre is a lower than typical density..! However, from experience over the last year (a) expect to move their accommodation around at least weekly if on grass unless you have a permanent fixture and, if not, think about winter quarters when the grass isn't growing, and there are other sensible suggestions on this subject, (b) we we have never noticed damage to the lawn while they potter around when grazing, © they leave calling cards but I'm sure nothing to greatly worry about although a trowel near the back door is handy, (d) you may well find they spend more time in/around borders but apart from begonias which are a favourite snack for our lot no noticeable damage, and, (e) go for it!

[jlo]

We have almost half an acre of garden. Our girls spend most of their time in their run which is about 6m x 6m. I will let them out when I am around and they do poo a lot - mostly over the patio. It would take them a fair amount of time to completely trash the garden and so far - most of the grass is intact. The area where they spend most of the time is pretty trashed though. I think that it had grass at one stage in its life!

 

Like Jac - I don't know about Greenthumb. I would second her advice though about keeping them within a smaller area for the majority of the time.

[Chucky Mama]

Our garden is of a similar size and our chickens (4) free range all day. The lawn has never been in better shape - they are great at removing moss We used to have the lawn treated but have not done since the chap clearly pretended that the stuff that he used was safe (couldn't be bothered to check ). In terms of damage, they do kick soil and stones onto the lawn and they can scratch up small shrubs that are not very well established. There is a fair bit off poo that can be flicked into a trug with a cat litter scoop on a regular basis or onto borders. Our children cause more damage to our garden playing cricket and football to be honest. I am pleased to see our garden put to good use as the weather in the UK is too poor to spend much time out there enjoying it Remember you have to weigh up your fox risk. This may have a bearing on how much access your chickens can safely have in your garden.

[Olly]

I'd agree with CM above - three or four chickens on an area of lawn that size will not destroy it. My lawn has never been great, but it's not been damaged by the hens, they spend more time in the borders.

 

I would restrict free-ranging anyway for a few reasons, the first one being fox risk - I never let my hens out unless I am in the garden doing things. I also keep them in the run until midday, so that they fill up on pellets, which contain all the nutrients they need; and this also ensures (pretty much) that they lay in the Eglu and not anywhere else. If you let them free-range for limited periods, and avoid it when it's raining, then I think your lawn and the rest of your garden will be fine. I love seeing them in the garden, it brings it to life, but it's possible to have a decent compromise.

[LolaLayla]

I agree with the comments made. My girls started off having the run of our quite large garden. Although the grass was not affected much by their scratching about, the borders, raised beds and pots were! I found that they liked to dig in the forest bark topping the borders and a lot of that ended up on the lawn and I had to keep brushing it back. My potatoes in the raised bed were excavated too. I tried to keep them away by putting up netting etc but it didn't help much. Also as they do poo a lot (I only have 2 girls.) I clear up every evening and put it in the compost bin....if you have a large garden it can take a while. So my girls now have an area for their use enclosed by omlet netting. Part of it is lawn (which is still fine) and the other part is not grassy as it is under trees and a holly bush which they have totally dug up. However it is not a part of the garden that matters and it is not muddy as it is protected from a lot of the rain. They get out of their run about 8am and roam about until dark when they go to bed and I shut them up so that the fox doesn't get them. I know it is a bit of a risk leaving them out during the day even in a small area but would rather they enjoyed a bit of freedom during their lives than being shut in the run for a lot of time........I may not feel this way if I lose them though

Another point is that when they had the whole area to explore one of the girls escaped into the neighbours garden. I think she possibly used something in ours to give her a step up! If they are in a smaller area this is less likely to happen.

When you are gardening you can always let them out and they will keep you company! If you have a greenhouse watch out though because if you leave the door open they will pinch the tomatoes. (I put a bit of expanding trellis over the door to stop mine).

Sorry I don't know anything about the lawn treatment. Hope all goes well

[Daphne]

I think I've had slightly different experiences, I let my LF orps FR most of the time. They aren't known to be destructive and they aren't as bad as many, but they do love to scratch dustbaths in the the grass and under mature shrubs (they seem to have a different preferred bathing spot each year) and pull all the leaves and debris out from the hedge boundaries. I have 0.25 acre of ex-pastureland as a garden and I keep it quite erm, natural, to maintain the wild grasses and flowers so it doesn't bother me to come across holes here and there. If I was tidier or had a lawn compared to grass then it might bother me. If that was the case I'd keep the birds in a netting pen and sacrifice that bit of garden, letting them FR less frequently. But the grass comes back much lusher and richer than it ever did (though that isn't much good for the wild flowers). I manage to keep them out of borders with low netting/hurdles till things have established; I have a lot of mat forming geraniums at the front of them, and once they've knitted together in the Spring then the birds lose interest. Mine don't seem interested in eating decorative cultivated plants, but they are very keen on cultivated fruit and veg so I keep them fenced. However, I'm sure they won't trash your half acre; thats a huge space for 2-3 chooks, they'll think they're in heaven

 

I don't know anything about Greenthumb, I'd google it or better still, ring the manufacturer.