Hens and gardens! Advice needed!

[jadavi]

As warned - our hens have eaten every last scrap of grass and vegetation and all we have is a hard earth garden!
Any suggestions?
We are thinking of cheap paving in a big rectangle taking up most of garden with wood chip round the edge and pots and tyres etc for plants (they eat most of those too)
It would suit me too for the children's sit and rides etc
Have any hen keepers any other suggestions?
Astro turf was mentioned but haven't seen the newer softer stuff and what would happen to the hen poo too? Does it drain in the rain? Any AstroTurf supporters?
No question of getting rid of our hens now!
Help and thoughts gratefully requested xxx

[little chickee]

Do the hens have free access to the same area of garden as the kids? If so i would think it will all need to be slabbed.
Can you have the hens in a separate fenced off area and have grass again.

I won't have my hens in my garden because i like to have grass and plants - i think its better to keep them separate.

[hectors house]

We have had our hens since August they aren't free range but have a large enclosed fenced area that we have now covered with plastic (as they were rescued barn chickens they didn't like the rain), we did let them out the roam round the garden for a couple of hours last weekend and the same again this weekend - but they have made a terrible mess digging up the bark and scatching it all over the grass. (We only let them out as the children don't use the garden much in the winter).

Jadavi could you fence a separate part off just for the hens, we put wood chip down for them to stop it getting so muddy - also having a plastic tarpaulin over the top is stopping it getting so muddy too.

[jadavi]

Thanks

Yrs we have considered that (long run)&
it would be hard to have access all the way along a long thin run to scatter wood chip

Yeh maybe we are letting them bully us....we have just had the gardener look and its about £500 for the job. Interested for sit and rides too
So much wet in the garden be nice to have a hard surfaces
Ooo - choices!...

[hectors house]

Thanks

Yrs we have considered that (long run)&
it would be hard to have access all the way along a long thin run to scatter wood chip

Yeh maybe we are letting them bully us....we have just had the gardener look and its about £500 for the job. Interested for sit and rides too
So much wet in the garden be nice to have a hard surfaces
Ooo - choices!...

My husband made our chicken run it is about 4 ft high, whole thing made of weldmesh not chicken wire (cost a fortune) but the roof is hinged so it can open up in 3 sections so I can get in to spread wood chip.

[jadavi]

Sounds wonderful!
Thanks, I will think about it.
My gardener didn't know about astroturf...
We are costing out the paving stones and coming round to the idea now. I love the idea of no mud!

[hectors house]

Sounds wonderful!
Thanks, I will think about it.
My gardener didn't know about astroturf...
We are costing out the paving stones and coming round to the idea now. I love the idea of no mud!

Chickens will still poo all over the paving slabs but at least you can hose it off. My hens have scratched up all the bark meaning I now get muddy shoes going out to feed them and collect eggs and they have put lots of bark on the grass - my husband said that was no worse than what the mindees do anyway, however he wasn't so happy when he saw they had been scratching around his rhubarb which has now died off for the winter, hope it grows back ok - my husband then said that the chickens had had their chance and blown it!

How are you chickens laying? We were getting 3 eggs from 5 hens but it has now increased back up to 4 most days and even 5 today.

[jadavi]

Thanks

Yrs they lay one each a day but one stopped for three months but started up again. We love keeping them

I think a long covered run is a good idea now but we like the idea of paving for other reasons.