North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Dianne Ste;phany" <iluvdanc@rochester.rr.com>]

    I have been following the livestock in the orchard discussion and would like to add:  Fred always had a dozen or so geese in his apple orchard. They ate the fallen apples, but being herbivores did not eat the insects.  So there were no windfalls for people to pick up and eat.  Nobody got sick from e. coli poisoning and they had Christmas goose that was very sweet and tender.  These geese had acres of established orchard to roam during the day and were penned at night- no tree damage.  He did lose a couple of geese he thought to owls. 

     His daughter had some goslings penned in a small area which included apple trees from 3 to 5 inches diameter and the goslings (whether from boredom or hunger) ate the bark and girded several trees killing them. 

 

 I think that chickens which are omnivores would also control insect pests, but have no experience with them.

 

Thanks

Dianne

Rochester NY- where we are getting 6 inches of heavy wet snow and not all the leaves have fallen off of all the apple trees yet.