Bugs Beware; there are chickens in the garden moat
- Author cShTiEcVkEeNn
- Publish date
- Updated
- Article read time 7 min read
ALL I can say is wow! I love it!
cShTiEcVkEeNn
Thanks!!!
cShTiEcVkEeNn
Thanks. Measure twice cut once; It took me longer than it should have to remember that.
cShTiEcVkEeNn
I sure hope its functional with the amount of time and money i have invested.
As of yet, I haven't had any fly the coop. While several of my birds are somewhat flighty, as of yet they haven't demonstrated the ability to get enough lift to make it over either fence. They would have to take off at at least a 45° degree angle from right beside the fence to clear the opposing fence. That's not to say they won't at some point, but they haven't yet. If they do, then i will adjust
As far as bug reduction, i dont know as it's still to early to tell. I can tell you they love Jap beetles and pretty much play rugby when one of them catches one. While i'm sure my recent loss of four birds will reduce their efficiency, I'm still hopeful. If gardening was easy, everyone would have one and no one would use pesticides, but here we are. I am still optimistic that chickens surrounding the garden in conjection with out natural methods will be more rewarding than not.
We to have Japanese beetles, one way to control their number is through the use of milky spore. It is organic and works by infecting the larva with a bacteria that kills them. According to Wikipedia, "Resident spores in the soil are swallowed by grubs during their normal pattern of feeding on roots. This ingestion of the spore by the host activates reproduction of the bacteria inside the grub. Within 7–21 days the grub will eventually die and as the grub decomposes, billions of new spores are released into the soil.
Milky spore in the soil is not harmful to beneficial insects, birds, bees, pets, or people; and milky spore, like other bacteria, is highly survivable in drought conditions but suffers in temperatures of Zone 5 and colder".
As of yet, I haven't had any fly the coop. While several of my birds are somewhat flighty, as of yet they haven't demonstrated the ability to get enough lift to make it over either fence. They would have to take off at at least a 45° degree angle from right beside the fence to clear the opposing fence. That's not to say they won't at some point, but they haven't yet. If they do, then i will adjust
As far as bug reduction, i dont know as it's still to early to tell. I can tell you they love Jap beetles and pretty much play rugby when one of them catches one. While i'm sure my recent loss of four birds will reduce their efficiency, I'm still hopeful. If gardening was easy, everyone would have one and no one would use pesticides, but here we are. I am still optimistic that chickens surrounding the garden in conjection with out natural methods will be more rewarding than not.
We to have Japanese beetles, one way to control their number is through the use of milky spore. It is organic and works by infecting the larva with a bacteria that kills them. According to Wikipedia, "Resident spores in the soil are swallowed by grubs during their normal pattern of feeding on roots. This ingestion of the spore by the host activates reproduction of the bacteria inside the grub. Within 7–21 days the grub will eventually die and as the grub decomposes, billions of new spores are released into the soil.
Milky spore in the soil is not harmful to beneficial insects, birds, bees, pets, or people; and milky spore, like other bacteria, is highly survivable in drought conditions but suffers in temperatures of Zone 5 and colder".
cShTiEcVkEeNn
Thank for looking. i too worry about areal predators; however, everything I've read leads me to believe that an aerial strike is very unlikely because of how close together the fences are. Hawks are afraid of getting caught between the fence and there isn't enough room for them to swoop on and strike. If you have or do read anything different please let me know.
I had initially thought of putting an aviary net in the center and attaching it to the fence line. But after looking into i decided to wait until it becomes necessary because of the amount of overhead trees and the leaves they drop and the fact that too me, it being open is much more asthetically pleasing.
I had initially thought of putting an aviary net in the center and attaching it to the fence line. But after looking into i decided to wait until it becomes necessary because of the amount of overhead trees and the leaves they drop and the fact that too me, it being open is much more asthetically pleasing.
cShTiEcVkEeNn
Thanks, i wish i could claim the original credit, but i got it from an article in mother earth news.