Chickens love to scratch the ground, looking for tasty morsels to eat, and over time this will destroy the grass and any other plants growing in their run. Until just bare earth remains, exposed to the damaging effects of chicken claws and the elements.
This problem can be resolved by sowing very tough grasses and herbs to create a thick turf cover, with roots that will form a dense mesh in the soil.
This Chicken Run Seed Mix contains a mixture of low-growing turf grasses. Perennial Ryegrass will close up any gaps quickly, Red Fescue and Smooth Meadow Grass send out runners that draw the turf together. This is a balanced mixture capable of withstanding the chickens’ scratching: gap-filling Perennial Ryegrass regenerates very quickly, while the underground runners of Smooth Meadow Grass and Red Fescue produce a very robust sward. Bird’s Foot Trefoil and Black Medick are vital nitrogen sources, especially for dry soils, while the White Clover not only adds valuable nitrogen but with its creeping growth – like the Fescue and the Meadow Grass – draws the turf together into a dense sward.
Chicken Run Seed Mix is also suitable for sowing under trees and bushes – under fruit trees, for example.
The seed mix comprises the following:
- 20% Perennial Ryegrass 'Lidelta' (Lollium perenne)
- 20% Perennial Ryegrass 'Calibra' (Lollium perenne)
- 24% Perennial Ryegrass 'Tribal' (Lollium perenne)
- 10% Smooth Meadow Grass 'Oxford' (Poa pratensis)
- 10% Red Fescue 'Gondolin' (Festuca rubra)
- 10% White Clover 'Bianca' (Trifolium repens)
- 5% Bird’s Foot Trefoil 'San Gran Gabriele' (Lotus corniculatus)
- 1% Black Medick 'Virgo Pajbjerg' (Medicago lupulina)
The seed you receive is lovingly produced by certified European organic growers. And of course MagicGarden
Seeds GmbH is also certified and regularly audited by the organic standards body DE-ÖKO-037.