Chickens reserve the plant matter that is above them until last, because they are looking down, and those plants block birds from successfully swooping at them. The "overgrowth" you mention is at the expense of the undergrowth, and the chickens are going through it at an alarming rate if they've only been in there for a couple of months. Avoid casting scratch feed on ground that you don't want raked down to bare dirt. This is how perennials hire a flock of chickens to clean it of pests, annuals and other competitors. If they cut the roots up, the dirt will be unmulchable, because they seek mulch for optimal scratching and dust-bath building. It's the closest thing to forest duff, where their food lives, breaking down mulch that the tree wants to move away from its trunk and towards its growing peripheral roots, rather than building soil around itself where pests and plants can weaken it. I found that compressed wood pellet animal bedding will help mend the grass clumps back together, if you sprinkle small amounts of it in thin areas during rain. The chickens quickly learn that it's not good food. You can take advantage of how they apply the scratching instinct by throwing a handful of grains onto a compost/leaf/straw pile that you want turned and stripped of ticks and whatever. It will keep them occupied and quiet doing what they enjoy for a good while. If you have trouble getting the chickens to roost in the coop at night, make sure that it's the closest illuminated location at dusk and until sundown. I'm trying some low-cost LED light strings with little globes on the end for a starry nightlight, and the power draw is very low. I've had them running on a phone-charger battery bank for 2 days now, and it's only down to 89% charge. I've found that with USB light strings, you can't use the self-timer function with a battery bank because the off period doesn't draw enough power to keep the battery bank turned on, and it can't wake up from its sleep without power. I suspect that this would be a good situation for a solar-charged battery-powered light. My outer flock has discovered that I leave a nightlight on in my basement, and so they all pile into the basement window well at night. That actually made shielding them from the wind very easy. It's under my eaves, so it's very dry, and I was able to put one of those flat panel warmers over half of it and set it for room temperature. A few pieces of leftover greenhouse panels made for an easy lean-to shelter over the window well that lets all the sun in, but it's way too scary-close to my house for raccoons and opossums to approach.
Slash the pumkin leaves a little if you want more pumkins. The henhouse looks so cosy!
😂😂 Jurassic Park Chickens
Chickens reserve the plant matter that is above them until last, because they are looking down, and those plants block birds from successfully swooping at them. The "overgrowth" you mention is at the expense of the undergrowth, and the chickens are going through it at an alarming rate if they've only been in there for a couple of months. Avoid casting scratch feed on ground that you don't want raked down to bare dirt. This is how perennials hire a flock of chickens to clean it of pests, annuals and other competitors.
If they cut the roots up, the dirt will be unmulchable, because they seek mulch for optimal scratching and dust-bath building. It's the closest thing to forest duff, where their food lives, breaking down mulch that the tree wants to move away from its trunk and towards its growing peripheral roots, rather than building soil around itself where pests and plants can weaken it. I found that compressed wood pellet animal bedding will help mend the grass clumps back together, if you sprinkle small amounts of it in thin areas during rain. The chickens quickly learn that it's not good food.
You can take advantage of how they apply the scratching instinct by throwing a handful of grains onto a compost/leaf/straw pile that you want turned and stripped of ticks and whatever. It will keep them occupied and quiet doing what they enjoy for a good while.
If you have trouble getting the chickens to roost in the coop at night, make sure that it's the closest illuminated location at dusk and until sundown. I'm trying some low-cost LED light strings with little globes on the end for a starry nightlight, and the power draw is very low. I've had them running on a phone-charger battery bank for 2 days now, and it's only down to 89% charge. I've found that with USB light strings, you can't use the self-timer function with a battery bank because the off period doesn't draw enough power to keep the battery bank turned on, and it can't wake up from its sleep without power. I suspect that this would be a good situation for a solar-charged battery-powered light. My outer flock has discovered that I leave a nightlight on in my basement, and so they all pile into the basement window well at night. That actually made shielding them from the wind very easy. It's under my eaves, so it's very dry, and I was able to put one of those flat panel warmers over half of it and set it for room temperature. A few pieces of leftover greenhouse panels made for an easy lean-to shelter over the window well that lets all the sun in, but it's way too scary-close to my house for raccoons and opossums to approach.