Mini Orchard

[bills]

I am planning on not using any chemicals or pesticides. Just chickens for bug control. Thanks, henry

If you plan on staying organic, you should really research the trees you buy. There are some that are now bred for disease resistance, leaf curl, silverleaf, scab, etc.. The availability of these kind in your area may help determine what kind you may end up with. As far as insect problems, I think some species may be better than others, but caterpillers, apple worms etc., may not be detered, other than by the use of dormant oils, or bordeux spray. There may be some insecticides that are considered "organic", but you would have to research this.

Unless your chickens can roost in the trees, I doubt if they will be of much help.

 

[chickenannie]

I recently read that pigs can be great for certain orchard pests. I think because they eat the larva and grubs from the ground that later hatch in the tree. They put the pigs in the orchard at certain intervals to make sure they got all those pests (I don't think the pigs were there all the time) and it was something like a 75-85% reduction of pests. Chickens can also benefit from being in the orchard (it's not just a one-way street.