Hi Folks, I have an orchard into which I let my Scottish Blackface Shee
graze, however some of them (not all) have acquired a taste for the bar of the trees of which there are hundreds. Does anyone know of a application which can be applied to the tree bark up to a height o about 1 metre which will stop/deter these peskie creatures? I hav heard of an old remedy of bitumen spray on then covered in sand; wonder is there a simpler product/paint
Lyle wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@gardenbanter.co.uk:
a circle of stock fence (4x4 squares, 4' high) around each tree. it won't be any harder than painting each tree with poisonous chemicals... & the fruit will still be edible. in my experience, sheep really aren't browsers & don't eat bark or low branches if there is enough suitable grazing. is there enough grass for the number of sheep in your orchard? can you exclude the sheep that choose to browse? lee
Hello Lee, thank you for posting; much appreciated. I have discounted stock fencing for a few reason: many of the trees are going to need some sort of painting/covering already as the bark has been removed and they are now vulnerable to infection and dehydration. There is no need for the use of any toxic chemicals and interestingly on a US forum a respondent has suggested latex then covered in course sand. It is a small flock, circa 100 and the acreage, circa 40, and quality of pasture is more than adequate. I could break the flock up but I am reluctant to do this as these animals are all 'rescues' from over the years and have become family pets!
Lyle wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@gardenbanter.co.uk:
well, painting tree wounds tends to cause more problems than it resolves, but painting the *undamaged* trees with latex paint & sand (you can mix the sand into latex paint & save a step) might discorage the browsers. how badly debarked are the browsed trees? if it's over 50% of the trunk you really do need to stock fence those trees off to give them any chance of survival (i'm guessing these are apples, which are pretty stubborn about dying & not pears or peaches, which get all huffy & die if they get any bark damage)
ah! i see. are the browsers from any particular group of rescues perhaps? they may have been kept on such poor pasture they took up browsing for survival? i have llamas & goats currently, both of which are browsers, so i have some experience with my trees being eaten & the stock fence is the one thing that really does work without too much mucking about or oversight. lee
I saw the title and thought your trees had acquired a taste for the sheep! ;-)
Bob
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