The Backyard Flock: Chickens on grass

More from the “What do chickens eat?” department:

Besides hawks, raccoons, and the like, one reason we exiled our flock to a secure chicken run in a back corner of our yard was to keep them from destroying our lawn. Chickens love grass. Not only do they scratch at it; they eat it. I suspect, as in the case with cats, they actually need some grass in their diet every now-and-then.

Since the move, our back lawn has made a pretty good recovery. However, the ground in Chickenland has been completely denuded. On nice days, after they have eaten just about everything I have given them in the way of leftovers, they sit by the fence staring longingly at the lawn on the other side. They often stick their heads through the wire and eat what grass they can reach. Of course, that’s all gone now, too. What to do?

My neighbor, Sharon Mohler, who has raised a chicken or two in her lifetime, offered one solution: Let them out an hour or two before sunset. They won’t be able to do much damage to the lawn in the limited time they will have before they feel that urge to go home to roost, and the hawks have already gone back to their nests for the day. This is a great solution, especially if you only do it once or twice a week.

The problem with this method in our household is Amy. She hates to see them on the lawn for any period of time. So, it takes a lot of arguing and convincing to get her to go along. Most days, I just don’t have the energy. The odd thing about her attitude is that she loves to have a chicken or two with her when she is gardening out front.

Apparently, this grass thing has not only been a problem for us. There are several companies that sell moveable coops with attached fenced in areas. You can also buy the plans, so you can build your own. The idea is to move the coop around the yard periodically, so the lawn doesn’t take too much of a beating in any one spot. This is an expensive solution and good for only very small flocks.

One of the best solutions came to me not as a dietary solution, but as an answer to the question, “What do you do with your grass clippings after you have mowed your lawn?” I read this somewhere, most likely on the Internet. This person wrote, “Thank goodness for my chickens, they have provided me with a great way to get rid of my unwanted grass clippings.”

It’s lawn mowing season. Two problems solved!