critters for an orchard

[ninny]

So chickens, mini sheep and geese would work best. I love goats though. I know my nubains would not work at all. But the mini goats won't either?

 

[Soccer Mom]

I see lots of recommendations for geese and guineas. I have both and geese would be much better for what you want. The guineas will roost up in the trees and help themselves to fruit. The geese will stay on the ground and only eat what falls, plus they are great for mowing. They will trim and fertillize your lawn. My only problems with ganders occured when the ratio of males to females was off. A 1-1 ratio and they will be much happier.

I love my goats, but I shudder to picture what they could do to an orchard. They are browers, not grazers. The folks who tell you that they would eat the trees are absolutely correct. If you fence around the trees or even just make a collar for the trees, a mini goat breed would probably work.

 

[ninny]

Quote:
What do you mean a collar? They are staked so add so fencing on to their poles?

 

[Soccer Mom]

We take those rubber pipes and split one side and then place around the tree lengthwise to keep small critters from chewing on sapplings. I'll try and take a picture tonight to show what I mean.

 

[chinbunny]

Anything that grazes will strip the bark from the trees and kill them. Pigs may be OK. You really got to watch them so they aren't rooting around them too much. I would say geese, and any type of water fowl, or poultry would be your best bet.

 

[Rosalind]

I would say, keep even the mini goats out. They will girdle the bark even if they can't reach the branches.

Sheep would be OK, although you can't fit too many sheep on one acre. I would stick with birds, really--with ruminants I would be too worried of the dropped fruit fermenting in their stomachs.

Where I went to college in PA, there was a serious deer population. The deer loved to get into the local orchards any way they could, and they would gorge themselves on fruit. The fruit would ferment in their stomachs and they would die of alcohol poisoning after repeat visits to the orchards.