Monday, December 19, 2011

Indoor Grass

Since Lulu is mostly an indoor chicken during the winter, someone suggested I bring in some grass for her.  I think they may have been joking but I decided to give it a try.   


I got a plastic basin and went out into the yard and cut out a piece of sod large enough to fill the container.


I have it up on a shelf near a large south facing window.  I keep an old sheet there for Lulu to stand on so she doesn't slip.


Since she has been able to go out on days when it isn't so cold or snowy, the grass has had time to grow.


When I put Lulu up on the shelf, she really enjoys eating the grass.  She usually eats the longer blades near the edge, so when she is finished, I just turn the container around.  That way she keeps the grass from getting too long.


Usually she stands on her blanket eating the grass.  One day, however, she decided to jump up into the grass to take a closer look at it.


I think she was looking for some dirt to scratch, but the sod is in the container right to the edges so there is no loose soil.


There was not a great deal of room for her to move around.  She seemed to enjoy herself - on the lawn, in the sun and indoors out of the weather.


She managed a few nibbles and poked around for dirt with no success.


I haven't had to let her at the grass every day because we have had quite a nice winter so far and Lulu is able to go outside.


I noticed very tiny bugs crawling on many of the blades of grass and on the edges of the container.  Since this window is in the kitchen, I didn't want indoor bugs.  I made a spray of dish soap, oil and water and sprayed the grass and container.  I didn't let Lulu at the grass for awhile because I did not want her to get sick.  The bugs all died so I sprayed the grass with straight water to get rid of any residue before letting Lulu have another feast.

I don't know if the sod will last the winter or if it will go dormant like it does outdoors.  It isn't growing as fast as it did at the start so we will see what happens.


5 comments:

  1. Awe, so very sweet. You can sprout wheat grass super easy in the kitchen and give that to her as a treat. My hens LOVE it.

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  2. Hi Joan. I shared this wonderful post on my Facebook page. I love Lulu!!

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  3. Flock Mistress - I'll have to try wheat grass. Thanks for the tip!

    Erin - She is quite a character. We love her lots too!

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  4. Very sweet. Love the photographs, and I love Lulu!

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