Feathered rotivators
- Thread starter Icemaiden
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And now there is no vegetation they will turn into feathered JCB's.
Yes, the problem is that over the winter the grass doesn't grow and replace itself. The only solution is to keep them off it over the winter, or to do this now and re-seed, though ths will now take 2-3 months to re-establish well enough for another onslaught.
I keep my girls I their run until after lunch, by which time they have finished laying, then I let them out on grass for a couple of hours, confined within a circle of chicken netting ( well, all except Saffron, the Leghrn, who helicopters out when she has found all she wants.) I move the netting on to another patch of fresh grass every few days, to let the original area recover. I have three main areas that I rotate like this, and so far (several years) they have stayed grassy. The hens do look forward to their daily feed of grass, but don't mess up the garden too badly, and they always troop back ino the run for their evening mash, and seem quite happy in there the rest of the time. They have 12 sq. metres of run between 4 of them so plenty of space.
I keep my girls I their run until after lunch, by which time they have finished laying, then I let them out on grass for a couple of hours, confined within a circle of chicken netting ( well, all except Saffron, the Leghrn, who helicopters out when she has found all she wants.) I move the netting on to another patch of fresh grass every few days, to let the original area recover. I have three main areas that I rotate like this, and so far (several years) they have stayed grassy. The hens do look forward to their daily feed of grass, but don't mess up the garden too badly, and they always troop back ino the run for their evening mash, and seem quite happy in there the rest of the time. They have 12 sq. metres of run between 4 of them so plenty of space.
Another solution is to keep feathered legged chickens. My pekins and sablepoot refuse to go anywhere near wet, cold or snowy grass, or outside much at all in the cold. They spend most of the winter peering out of their house, or sitting on a perch under a small sheltered area and muttering about the weather.
I have to scatter the corn they get as a treat when I let them out at the far ends of the run just to try and give them some exercise and make sure they can still walk. They complain about that too.
If I let them run around the garden, they stay on the concrete or gravel and mince around if they have to cross grass to get to it. Apart from the sablepoot who flies which confuses the others. They still haven't worked out how she gets there ahead of them.
So, I still have 25 square metres of intact grass after the winter.
I have to scatter the corn they get as a treat when I let them out at the far ends of the run just to try and give them some exercise and make sure they can still walk. They complain about that too.
If I let them run around the garden, they stay on the concrete or gravel and mince around if they have to cross grass to get to it. Apart from the sablepoot who flies which confuses the others. They still haven't worked out how she gets there ahead of them.
So, I still have 25 square metres of intact grass after the winter.
dinosaw
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Your post made me laugh Dawn as it described my Pekins to a tee, they are champion moaners too!. The hybrids and large fowl on the other hand have managed in one year to bury the old stone path at the bottom of their ranging area under no less than 5 inches of compacted mud excavated from what looks like a series of shell holes dotting the area, it looks like they have tried to recreate the battle of the Somme 
07 . Like an idiot I tried to clear it this week and put my back out in the process 
07 . Like an idiot I tried to clear it this week and put my back out in the process I like the idea of feathered JCBs- how do I get them to excavate the bindweed? 
Is it worth dividing the run into two & reseeding half of it, if they'll just kill all of the new grass within weeks, or should I put the cleanest of the aubiose out of the coop (on coop cleaning days) onto the ground of the run to keep the mud in abeyance? The run slopes, so it's reasonably well drained...
I'm starting to feed the chooks chopped up lettuce, cucumber & carrots; since serving some up in a hot mash the other day with cooked soft egg & mealworms, they're getting the idea that veg can be eaten. So are they OK without grass in their run? They get the opportunity to wander about on grass at the weekend, when they free-range, but prefer to furtle about in the "flower" beds under the trees anyway, so it's not as if they're that passionate about grass..
Is it worth dividing the run into two & reseeding half of it, if they'll just kill all of the new grass within weeks, or should I put the cleanest of the aubiose out of the coop (on coop cleaning days) onto the ground of the run to keep the mud in abeyance? The run slopes, so it's reasonably well drained...
I'm starting to feed the chooks chopped up lettuce, cucumber & carrots; since serving some up in a hot mash the other day with cooked soft egg & mealworms, they're getting the idea that veg can be eaten. So are they OK without grass in their run? They get the opportunity to wander about on grass at the weekend, when they free-range, but prefer to furtle about in the "flower" beds under the trees anyway, so it's not as if they're that passionate about grass..
chrismahon
Well-known member
You should see what our 8 English Wyandottes have done to 200 square metres of French soil in two weeks Icemaiden. I'm hoping it will grow back, otherwise they will suffer in Summer. But it is easy now to poo pick -white blobs on a brown background.
chrismahon
Well-known member
The TNN's are worse Icemaiden. Four destroyed 40 square metres in one day! Think the problem is the ground here. It's very poor as under trees and we needed to enclose 2000 square metres to make it sustainable.
