What if a hedge apple kills one of my chickens?!

[21hens-incharge]

It is a tree that simply does not exist here. Super fascinating to me.
I am relieved that they are not toxic. I read about the skin irritation and wondered how chickens react to them.

 

[bobbi-j]

If it's falling through the trees, they're going to hear it coming. We have a black walnut tree here - the walnuts are far smaller than your hedge apples - and I can hear them falling because they're hitting branches all the way down.

 

[aart]

Do you still plan on using 14ga wire fencing on the run roof as posited here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...n-rehab-from-chicken-shack-to-chicken-mansion
If so, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[rehric00]

I wish it were that simple. These trees are 50+ feet tall! Im sure it will be fine though. Ill just play it by ear.

 

[bobbi-j]

If they make noise as they're falling, your chickens aren't going to hang around to get bonked by one.

 

[jennyf]

My little boy is obsessed with collecting these! The Missouri Botanical Garden has a huge old one over a kids play area and they have the whole thing enclosed in a steel net so they don't fall and bean children on the head presumably. I'd second nipping the low hanging bottom ones with a picker, and the higher up ones do seem to crash through leaves giving plenty of warning. Supposedly they are insect repellent if you place them around your house. I'd think chances are pretty slim of injuring a chicken too. You could place a hide box in the run during the fall time when they are coming down if you have a lot of them and you think it's stressing out your chooks too.

 

[chickenshelter]

I didn't know what a hedge apple was either so I just looked it up. I suppose it's possible a fruit could somehow land on a chicken, but I'd have to think the probability of that causing fatalities is pretty low?? If the trees really were dropping them frequently the chickens would probably move to an area with fewer branches overhead, if they could.

Most of us worry about predators, not falling objects, just saying.

Lemme tell ya, I have had one fall on me more than once and a few times my dogs have gotten hit. Squirrels run around and knock them down. The wind blowing knocks them down and sometimes they just fall. Hedge is usually growing in with windrows (cedar, cottonwood ect) here in Kansas. So if you are doing anything in the windblocks or windrows, and it's Fall, beware for the fall. lol. Or a twisted ankle if you step on one and it rolls.