Do any of you run poultry in your orchards?
#8145781
05/27/24 09:44 PM
05/27/24 09:44 PM
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 17,148 Champaign County, Ohio.
KeithC
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Do any of you run poultry in your orchards?
I have a big enough orchard that it's a pain to mow. The trees are mature. I'm thinking of just running 6' horse fence around my orchard and putting a lot of low value chickens, ducks and geese in it. I can put some Kangal dogs with the poultry to kill predators. I have 3, 7 month old pups that are approaching 80 pounds, that are big enough to kill, or at least dissuade any predators in my area. Kangals hate vultures and birds of prey.
I want to use the poultry to keep the grass and weeds down, clean up dropped fruit and to lower the number of insect pests.
Are there any potential problems I need to worry about?
I have lots of experience with poultry, but limited experience in semi free ranging it.
Keith
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Re: Do any of you run poultry in your orchards?
[Re: KeithC]
#8145788
05/27/24 10:01 PM
05/27/24 10:01 PM
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 16,703 ny
upstateNY
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I read poetry in my orchard all the time,,but it doesn't seem to keep the weeds down much.
Last edited by upstateNY; 05/27/24 10:02 PM.
the wheels of the gods turn very slowly
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Re: Do any of you run poultry in your orchards?
[Re: KeithC]
#8145807
05/27/24 10:23 PM
05/27/24 10:23 PM
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160user
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I just lost my last chicken and I am NOT sad about it. They were horrible with my apple trees and were constantly scratching the mulching away and digging holes to dust.
I have nothing clever to put here.
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Re: Do any of you run poultry in your orchards?
[Re: 160user]
#8145811
05/27/24 10:28 PM
05/27/24 10:28 PM
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 17,148 Champaign County, Ohio.
KeithC
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I just lost my last chicken and I am NOT sad about it. They were horrible with my apple trees and were constantly scratching the mulching away and digging holes to dust. Did your chickens harm the trees? Keith
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Re: Do any of you run poultry in your orchards?
[Re: Foxpaw]
#8145813
05/27/24 10:29 PM
05/27/24 10:29 PM
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Posts: 17,148 Champaign County, Ohio.
KeithC
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Your chickens will be happier, ticks and insects not so much. These whistling locust right now seem to be a main attraction. You might have to clip their wings to keep them out of the trees. Ours will roost in trees rather than go to the house. I only have one small dog with a big bark and a Rem 1100 standing in the corner in case he needs backup. Did your chickens damage the trees roosting in them? Keith
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Re: Do any of you run poultry in your orchards?
[Re: Providence Farm]
#8145814
05/27/24 10:30 PM
05/27/24 10:30 PM
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KeithC
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I ran my meat bird in closures through my blue berries. But it's a 10x 12x2 enclosure that gets moved daily. The grass is down to dirt between the birds and nitrogen in poo but it's recovered in a month and the strips the birds have been in stay noticably greener thicker and 2 xas tall and where the birds have not been.
Depending on the size of the area # of birds and amount of time there are there it could work and build the soil well . I always thought sheep would be great for that. Would sheep eat the leaves and thin branches they could reach? We have goats and they would do as least as much damage as deer would. Keith
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Re: Do any of you run poultry in your orchards?
[Re: KeithC]
#8145818
05/27/24 10:43 PM
05/27/24 10:43 PM
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Your chickens will be happier, ticks and insects not so much. These whistling locust right now seem to be a main attraction. You might have to clip their wings to keep them out of the trees. Ours will roost in trees rather than go to the house. I only have one small dog with a big bark and a Rem 1100 standing in the corner in case he needs backup. Did your chickens damage the trees roosting in them? Keith No, they never roosted in them and always went back to the coop at night. That said, they did kill several by exposing the roots during the summer heat. I have decided I can have chicken or apples but not both.
I have nothing clever to put here.
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Re: Do any of you run poultry in your orchards?
[Re: KeithC]
#8145833
05/27/24 11:15 PM
05/27/24 11:15 PM
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Providence Farm
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I ran my meat bird in closures through my blue berries. But it's a 10x 12x2 enclosure that gets moved daily. The grass is down to dirt between the birds and nitrogen in poo but it's recovered in a month and the strips the birds have been in stay noticably greener thicker and 2 xas tall and where the birds have not been.
Depending on the size of the area # of birds and amount of time there are there it could work and build the soil well . I always thought sheep would be great for that. Would sheep eat the leaves and thin branches they could reach? We have goats and they would do as least as much damage as deer would. Keith Sheep prefer grass and goats browse. The goats would eat everything they could reach on their standing in their back legs. I don't think sheep would be near as bad. But I didn't have sheep long since they were more flighty . My goats are like dogs sheep would run from me so they were sold. So I didn't run them near any trees just in the fields so can't say for 100% sure.
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Re: Do any of you run poultry in your orchards?
[Re: warrior]
#8145838
05/27/24 11:20 PM
05/27/24 11:20 PM
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 17,148 Champaign County, Ohio.
KeithC
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Geese, you want geese as they are grazers and don't roost in trees.
Sheep are good if the trees are pruned high enough. They will clip leaves but aren't anything like goats. Will sheep stand on their hind legs to eat leaves and branches? I thought about running geese in big numbers. I only have 2 Chinese geese right now. The hen is laying. The last goslings I bought were 77 cents each, for 168 Toulouse and Brown Africans, as over hatch. The 2 hatcheries I used to buy goslings from no longer carry them. Most of the hatcheries want $15.00 to $40.00 per gosling now. None of the overly expensive hatcheries want to discount over hatch much. They prefer to cull most of what they produce to keep prices high. I've also thought about getting muscovy ducks. The only ducks I have are a trio of call ducks. I can buy mallard based duckling for dirt cheap, 40 cents each or less, but don't have a good source for cheap muscovy ducklings. Keith
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Re: Do any of you run poultry in your orchards?
[Re: KeithC]
#8145945
05/28/24 07:57 AM
05/28/24 07:57 AM
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eric space
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I ran my meat bird in closures through my blue berries. But it's a 10x 12x2 enclosure that gets moved daily. The grass is down to dirt between the birds and nitrogen in poo but it's recovered in a month and the strips the birds have been in stay noticably greener thicker and 2 xas tall and where the birds have not been.
Depending on the size of the area # of birds and amount of time there are there it could work and build the soil well . I always thought sheep would be great for that. Would sheep eat the leaves and thin branches they could reach? We have goats and they would do as least as much damage as deer would. Keith Sheep will chew the bark off of apple tree trunks (been there, done that!)
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Re: Do any of you run poultry in your orchards?
[Re: gcs]
#8145948
05/28/24 08:01 AM
05/28/24 08:01 AM
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If I recollect right, geese and ducks have been used in vineyards for your purpose with no damage to the vines.A few Muscovy hens will produce a lot of chicks with no assistance provided nothing eats them. Any extra geese produced is worth a good bit of money too. The only true American breed of geese Cotton Patch Geese were used for weeding purposes in, as the name suggests, in cotton fields.
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Re: Do any of you run poultry in your orchards?
[Re: KeithC]
#8146318
05/28/24 06:53 PM
05/28/24 06:53 PM
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beaverpeeler
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My dad used to run geese in the strawberry fields in late winter early spring. Had to take them out when the crowns opened up or they would stomp out the bloom.
My fear of moving stairs is escalating!
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