recommended dog breed

[hmwalatka]

He has about 4 acres of berries the locust can damage the plants so bad they will die. He is willing to give some berries to the chickens if it means protecting his investment. He thought about doing 2 coops one at each end of about 15-20 chickens each. His crop is all natural so he is thinking ahead of time about what he can do and chickens are natural bug killers with the benefit of eggs which they will give whatever they don't use to the local soup kitchen.

 

[centrarchid]

So he is thinking integrated pest management (IPM) using a biological control organism (chickens) in an effort save plants rather than a single season worth of berries. Plants are worth as lot more than a single seasons crop. Since this is a predictable event so I am assuming we are talking periodic cicadas, the red-eyed dudes with amber colored wings.

Four acres will be two much ground to cover for 40 birds even when two dispersed roosts like mine are employed. Birds will not be able to eat enough cicadas simply because of gut fill limitations and if your blueberries are anything like our research plots, then the bulk of the cicadas, like the bulk of the blueberries will be out of the chickens reach. Chickens will not chase insects off once they are satiated and at some point will target other eats to balance out diet.

Poisons are seldom practical for such situations. I suggest looking into something like bird netting that is made with smaller holes to physically exclude cicadas. Material need only last about six weeks which is less than even the poor quality material last. I use similar around ponds to keep birds out and have seen some that would obstruct periodic cicadas. I assume your blueberries are in rows.

Cost of netting will be lower than long-term investment in dogs.


Please keep us posted on what you do and how it works. In about 10 years we will be having out next outbreak where we have 6 acres of blueberries right next to a forested area and everything has to be done organically. I will look for netting options.

 

[aart]

...and it takes a couple years to train a pup properly.

 

[hmwalatka]

He already has netting to keep out flock birds which will also protect the main bushes from the chickens but anything low or on the ground is free game. He knows the chickens will not get all the cicadas but will be a big help. Thinking of chicken tractors to move around.

 

[centrarchid]

IMO 40 birds will be too few to cover 4 acres to degree desired but chickens can be cheap relative to lost blueberry plants. Chicken tractors I think will not work over such a large area since birds will have to actively disturb the insects when they alight on plants. Periodic cicadas differ from the big green dog day cicadas where the latter scare and long distance away while the periodics seem intent on breeding and don't seem all that aware of predators.


Lets think outside the box then for a moment. Lets pretend your blueberry bush rows are like my brothers rows of gamecocks, both are valuable, a lot more than any chickens that might running around in same area. For him it was juveniles and broody hens but for you it will be cicada killer and harasser chickens. He always had a potential for fox and coyote problems taking cocks and others so he used dogs. His area was not quite 4 acres but not far from it. He had lots of dogs, sometimes pushing twenty coonhounds. Some were kept in small groups in pens but majority were chained separately and dispersed around cockyard. Dogs went nuts when something came in to chase chickens. Coyotes did not come in at all although red foxes would eventually get ballsy enough to do so. Moving dogs around helped some but once a fox started getting really brave he left a single Faust Dog (squirrel dog for my brother) running loose and it had no problem educating fox. Foxes got used to limits of hounds but could not deal with getting attacked from behind by the little Faust.


For short duration problem you will be dealing with, chained dogs scattered about blueberry patch could get you through the cicada hatch. Not all my brother's dogs were chicken friendly yet the provided birds protection. With your coops, nighttime protection will not be as big of a deal for birds. Problem is periodic cicadas may be doing their business after dark as well.

 

[SunnySkies]

I have LGDs specifically to protect my poultry, which so far has been very successful (i was losing an average of a bird a day, but since they arrvied, my predator loss has dropped to none. but teaching them to not catch and love birds to death is a LOT of work. We lost a couple birds in the learning phase when the dogs tried to play with them. I do not expect to trust them 100% 24/7 until they are at least two years of age.

I have a friend with two LGDs also specific for poultry protection, that are excellent with her family but not so much with strangers and visitors. She confines the dogs during the day if they are expecting visitors or the UPS man. Mine are more socialized and friendly, but again, that was work to ensure they knew to be friendly to people but not to the point they prefer people.

I have at least 40 chickens roaming over my acreage, which is 7 acres, and the number is not enough to reduce insect numbers in any significant fashion.

 

[centrarchid]

I have LGDs specifically to protect my poultry, which so far has been very successful (i was losing an average of a bird a day, but since they arrvied, my predator loss has dropped to none. but teaching them to not catch and love birds to death is a LOT of work. We lost a couple birds in the learning phase when the dogs tried to play with them. I do not expect to trust them 100% 24/7 until they are at least two years of age.

I have a friend with two LGDs also specific for poultry protection, that are excellent with her family but not so much with strangers and visitors. She confines the dogs during the day if they are expecting visitors or the UPS man. Mine are more socialized and friendly, but again, that was work to ensure they knew to be friendly to people but not to the point they prefer people.

I have at least 40 chickens roaming over my acreage, which is 7 acres, and the number is not enough to reduce insect numbers in any significant fashion.

I think hmwalatka whole intent is very different from most of us. Chickens will be valued as a tool more than as a product. Duration has potential for being very short-term with birds going out about time cicada emergence starts and then put back into a more conservative mode once cicada emergence stops. This means more birds will also be needed, at least relative to what I run. I can easily get suppression of grasshoppers and the like with about 20 birds per acre, and fewer birds are required if I hold back a little on feed but care must be taken to keep birds from expanding range to compensate. Expanding range will get them away from blueberry plants to be protected and beyond your area where you plan on protecting them from predators. A problem I see with this application is the birds will first have to suppress the regular insect biomass before taking on a potentially much larger amount coming in as extremely mobile cicadas. If the hatch is heavy like we experienced a couple years ago, the chickens will have a hard time even putting a dent in them since they will be replaced as quickly as consumed by insects coming in from areas outside. I call the insects coming in from the outside drift. One of my free-range flocks that is fed very little goes to considerable lengths to capitalize on the drift but they will only consume so much before targeting green plant materials and seeds. They seem to like a balanced diet. Also, some birds seem more than content doing most if not all their feeding from feeder which not benefit the cicada control efforts. Also think about life-stage of the chickens. For me, juveniles and chicks are much more interested in animals as eats but larger juveniles at least will be required to tackle such large game. I recommend not using Cornish cross or bantams for this.

Hopefully there are some large trees nearby that will take the brunt of the egg-deposition coming from the female cicadas / locust.

 

[yogifink]

would guineas be more effective at controlling insects than chickens in this situation?

 

[centrarchid]

would guineas be more effective at controlling insects than chickens in this situation?

My limited experience with those obnoxious vermin is they tend to range a great deal. Having enough to put a dent in the locusts will likely not stay on the 4 acre berry patch. That said, they might work, and turkeys might be worth considering as well but they might be more problematic with respect to the berries themselves.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Muscovy Ducks eat lots of insects and aren't as obnoxious as Guineas