When we first built our chicken coop, we envisioned the chickens grazing on a fresh patch of grass every day. For the first few months last summer, the chickens really did eat fresh grass every day because we moved the coop every day.
But this year is different....
The coop is a two person job when it comes to moving it. Eric and I have varied work schedules and don't always see eachother every day...which means the coops stays in the same place for a few days at a time. Our varied work schedules is fine with us, but not fine for the chickens. The seven of them can plow through a grass patch in a day. The second day the chickens start to kill the grass. And the third day there is nothing but dirt. So slowly our wonderful backyard lawn is shrinking.
We thought about just leaving the chicken coop in the same spot and opening the coop door when we are home (our fence allows us to do so now). The chickens need to be supervised when they free range because of the garden. But this idea isn't working right now too. Sometimes the chickens can't free range for a few days. The chicken poop stays in the dirt under the coop and the smell is aweful on a windy day.
Do you have any ideas? How can we let our chickens graze, but let our yard stay green?
