Since locking our chickens up in 2010, I have been struggling to find a solution to the lack of greens in the chicken yard. A few weeks ago I found a post on grazing frames for sustainable chicken greens. OMG: The Answer!

I was so excited about it I could hardly contain my eagerness to get out there and get it done. Similar to my grazing fence, the hens can nibble the greens, but cannot dig into the roots. Voila – a sustainable nutritious ground cover for the chicken yard! Last week I finally had time to build one. A simple task with 2×4 lumber and hardware cloth, fastened with screws and staples. Such a beautifully simple idea.

Bare grazing frame

1/2″ hardware cloth over grazing frame

The Golden Chicken trying to get to the grass seed

Blanca, The White Queen, takes a look

Eventually a grass mat will beneath the frame, will mound up, and productivity will falter. At that time, I can simply (re)move the frame, let the chickens do their worst, and the ground will be freshly tilled in no time. Repeat.

Unfortunately I must first wait for the grass to grow…