I'm wondering about trying to keep chickens in the bird-netting enclosure around my fruit trees, for the fertilizer and to eat the bugs. However, as a "city-boy", I don't know whether they'll get up into the trees and eat my figs and other fruit. Can any of you poultry experts advise me on this? Thanks.

I know that fig fed chickens are wonderful.

Yeah, one of these days I may raise 1/2 dozen hens just for

No, they would not get into the trees. Your figs will be safe at least from the chicken except the ones at reaching height.

When I was a wee lad (actually I'm French), mon granpere had 2 fig big celeste trees in his chicken yard that bore lots of figs. They  were about 15 foot tall and wider than they were tall. The chickens kept the ground clean of grass and any fallen figs. Of course you had to watch for the fertilizer as you picked the figs.
"gene"

Same with my grandparents Gene......fig tree in the chicken yard.

Dan
Semper Fi-cus

My family owned a chicken farm in williamstown nj and I bought the oldfarm house and a few hectors of land my town won't let me either and this was my family's chicken farm till 15 years ago. So georgi I know how you feel

Thanks, everybody, for sharing your experience; chickens sound like an ideal addition to the "fig farm" if I can protect them from the predators (coyotes, bobcats & great horned owls). I don't think there's any law against chickens in my neighborhood--at any rate, I frequently hear a rooster crowing one street over, so evidently nobody cares if you keep them.

Hi Ken.  That sounds like a fantastic idea.

I always love it when you can take a negative (the necessity to fence) and turn it into a positive (free bonus chicken coop!).

Also, free farm fresh organic eggs sure beat swarms of flies and other bugs eating rotting figs that fall to the ground.  The chickens will keep the ground clean and give you free eggs and fertilizer for the figs.

Also, many cities are changing ordinances to allow small numbers of backyard chickens, and if yours doesn't, talk to someone with common sense on the Council and see if they will.  If there is no rooster, there is no noise; small groups (a dozen or less) create no smell; and fresh eggs are great.

We are going to start a small flock as soon as we can.

The next issue of Mother Earth News is going to have plans for building a small "Chicken Tractor" which is a small coop you can easily move around the yard to give the chickens fresh grass and bugs to eat.

Best wishes to all.

John

Great picture Cathy, and a very impressive critter!

I'll bet though that: 1) The chickens are faster; and 2) Their eggs are way better tasting!  ;-)

Best wishes.

John

Here's a website on local chicken laws (yes; believe it or not some government officials have found it necessary to regulate a chicken; apparently they have everything else under control and functioning perfectly giving them time to regulate the chicken in your backyard):

http://www.backyardchickens.com/laws/search.php?State=&City=Athens-Clarke+County

Some other useful websites on backyard/urban chickens:

http://urbanchickens.org/

http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/chickenlaws.html

Hi John,

This is our female sulcata tortoise.  She is about 6 years old and weights about 30lbs.  Would starve on her 6 eggs a year.  Would not know what they taste like but the coons do.
Their plus, they are eating machines and are quite.  No 6am wake up call.

Hi Cathy.  That really is an amazing pet.

Do you have to bring it inside in the winter, and does it hibernate?  What does it eat?

Just curious, and when I show the kids the picture, I'm sure they will ask.  I have seen a few local turtles in our lake, and a box turtle walked through the yard one day, but never anything like that.  Pretty amazing.

Best wishes.

John

Don't forget about guinea hens Ken. No danger of them eating figs and they will cause a ruckus if anyone of anything messes with your yard. I think they get along with chickens just fine but maybe they like to roam a little more. We have deer ticks around here so I know some people that have them.

That tortoise is great, you are going to need a hand truck to move her around pretty soon! I just found a wayward baby painted turtle here the other day and helped him to find the pond. We have these big old red bellied cooters here that are almost as big as you gal there and those nasty snapping turtles all over the place. What's her name?

Cathy, I also love your tortise. I have had turtles all my life and did box turtle rescue and rehab for a while. I have also had turtles lay eggs and I have raised the babies for a couple of years before releasing. They get hit by cars all the time around here. Hard to understand how people don't see them in time... I don't remember much about tortises - where does yours come from?

Great tortoise. I grew up with desert tortoises as pets in southern Cal, and loved them.

This one is an African Spurred tortoise or aka Sulcata.  They sell them in the pet shops for about $50 around here.  They are native to the Sahara Desert in Northern Africa.  They like things hot and dry.  Here in central Texas they are very easy to keep as pets.  This type of tortoise does not hibernate so they spend their winters in our green house.  These guys have a house much like a chicken house, the doors are open and they come and go through out the day, coming back to their house at night to sleep.  During the winter we provide pig blankets for them to sleep on which is nothing but an huge heating pad.

They are vegetarians and will eat anything and I mean anything, even cactus pads.  Their staple is grass but the love grapes, bananas, figs, cantaloupe, watermelon, pears, peaches, apricots. Basically anything in the produce section. 

They don't bite and like to have their faces rubbed. 

One afternoon, several years ago when I worked at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, I was driving home from work and saw a bunch of parked cars and people gathered around a huge tortoise at the side of the road. It was far too big to be one of our native tortoises, so I stopped to have a look. That was my introduction to the African spur-thigh tortoise, which I had never heard of. Evidently someone had gotten tired of dealing with their ever-growing pet and had dumped it in the desert to fend for itself. It didn't belong there, so I took it home and put it in the back yard for a few days while I looked for someone to adopt it. My kids loved it and the boys would ride on its back (it weighed 80 lbs and didn't even seem to notice them). I found a guy at work who had one and wanted another, so the problem was solved--except for consoling my little tortoise-jockeys, who wanted to keep their slo-mo steed.

We have some hundred pound Alligator snapping turtles down here. They are definitely not people friendly........

........nice tortoise!!

Dan
Semper Fi-cus

Hi Dan,
Very familiar with alligator snappers, I once saw a snapper crunch a broom stick like it was a twig.  We moved to Texas from Hammond, Louisiana about 10 years ago. 

Okay, so you know we Cajuns eat snapping turtles. FYI, in a couple of months I will be hunting for heirloom figs in the Hammond area.

Dan
Semper Fi-cus

I wish I was into figs when I lived there and could direct you to some but unfortunately I can't remember any.  I do have contact information for a retired botanist from SLU who might could help.  I don't know if fruit trees are his thing but I can certainly ask if you would like.

Sure, I'm always interested in running down any leads.  I'm sure that there are some good Italian heirloom figs in the Hammond area that are just waiting to be re-discovered and studied. Most of my professional contacts have been with a couple of retired LSU professors.....one worked with Dr. O'Rourke during the fig breeding program.

Dan
Semper Fi-cus

Dan,

Cathy, did get your email and replied.

Thanks.

Dan
Semper Fi-cus