16/01/2024

Keeping chickens outdoors - what matters when it comes to pasture

Tierhaltung

Chickens love to scratch the soil surface for worms, insect eggs, larvae, and small creatures. They also enjoy pecking at fresh leaves and short grasses. In general, they prefer structural variation, not only in food but also in outdoor enclosures.

Provide enough space and protect the turf
Chickens love to scratch and bathe. This puts a lot of strain on the turf and can damage the outdoor area. Therefore, it's especially important to ensure that the chickens spend as much time as possible in the outdoor area. The solution is to provide structure and variety.

How to create attractive outdoor offers

Distribute different structures evenly across the pasture
Sand bathing options (materials with a fine, dry and grainy texture, e.g. fine play sand, quartz sand)
Rotating pasture – change the area of the pasture regularly (the turf has time to recover from the chickens)
Spread litter at the transition from the stable to the pasture (possibly wood chips, gravel, etc. to avoid contamination from wet soil)
Create bad weather run (roofing of outdoor area)

Free-range farming

Generally, outdoor chickens should expect to require 5-10m2 of space per chicken. Of course, the more space, the better, and the more sustainable it is for the turf. Areas near the coop are generally used the most and therefore subject to additional stress. If no access area is created with wood chips or similar, hollows can form. Water residue collects there, and the moist environment provides ideal conditions for germs and other pathogens. If this is the case, diseases are relatively easily transported from the outside to the inside.

Outdoor area for chickens

The pasture should be designed so that the entire area is used by the chickens. Steep and wet areas should generally be avoided. A well-designed outdoor area protects against predators (such as hawks, etc.), offers sufficient shade, and should offer sufficient cover (trees, shrubs, etc.). Artificial structural elements such as ladders and roofs are also possible. Artificial and mobile structural elements have the advantage that they can be moved, thus allowing the turf to regenerate from time to time. Various objects are suitable, such as huts, wagons, stretched tarpaulins, camouflage or windbreak nets, and portable sand baths. In outdoor areas, about 50% of the structure should be provided by natural vegetation.

Bad weather run

In bad weather and rain, the natural pasture is subjected to additional stress not only by the animals' presence but also by precipitation and other factors. On rain-soaked ground, chickens cause significantly more and faster damage to the turf. Therefore, it is advisable to create a protected, covered, and paved outdoor area that can be fenced off from the pasture if necessary.

Possibilities to change pasture

It is recommended to provide several pastures for the chickens. This allows for a rotation of the pastures, giving the turf time to recover after grazing. The vegetation can be mown, and hollows caused by pecking, scratching, or sandbathing can be filled and reseeded. Bare patches in the turf can be quickly repaired this way. Ensure that newly rehabilitated areas have sufficient time to regenerate and are fenced off from the pasture.

ATTENTION: If there are many completely brown areas on a pasture in chicken farming, this is a sign that the run is too small.

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Keeping chickens outdoors - what matters when it comes to pasture