Chickens + Fruit Trees?

Miss Kay · #21 02/12/13, 09:37 PM

I just planted 14 apple/peach trees this winter in the very large poultry pasture. The chickens haven't bothered them at all but it only took the geese a few hours to rip the bark right off those young trees. By the time we saw them, many had been damaged. The geese are history and the nursery sold us some spray to seal the wounds and then I put tree wrap around them. they are leafing out so I think they will make it but I'll never have another goose on the place.

CJ · #22 02/19/13, 05:29 PM

We have our orchard in the chicken/geese area, it's about an acre fenced in. What we did was to put 18 inch high fencing in 6 foot diamter circles around each of the trees, and mulch inside the rings. That way, the chickens can't scratch up the mulch and the geese can't strip the bark off the trees... which they will do.

haypoint · #23 02/19/13, 09:34 PM

Many small fruit trees are killed each year by bumping the trunk with the lawn mower or weed whip or the dog getting the chain wrapped around the trunk. I'd be afraid that frequent random pecking on the tender trunk of a fruit tree would damage it. They do sell a hard plastic tree trunk guard.

Marilyn · #24 02/20/13, 12:02 AM

Copperhead: moving your chickens to a tractor might be easier than you think. We raised some meatbirds in a tractor this past summer and it only took a number of days before they learned to get to the front of the tractor as we pulled it. We never put a floor in it and they didn't use the roosts, so we took them down as they were in the same end with the pull rope.

ChristieAcres · #25 02/20/13, 02:35 AM

We also had chickens who partied in our fruit trees! Yes, a few would get in the trees and knock fruit down

Yes, considering all the work we had gone to caring for those trees, watering them, pruning them, and also buying Mason Bees... Just to witness the chickens destroying the fruit?!

The chickens were moved out! They were only in there temporarily while we replaced the electric mesh fencing around our chicken yard (separate area than our orchard). However, we do have a Cherry tree, and a few smaller fruit trees in there. I netted the Cherry last year and will do that again (yep, caught a few up in the tree, really had to work to get up that high, too). The smaller fruit trees will get welded wire fencing around them to keep the chickens from eating the developing fruit.

Our chickens get fresh fruits/veggies most of the year, so they are spoiled enough.