Plant zoo

My honeyberry bushes got new enclosure. It is missing a roof now that would be installed after pollination in spring. I hope, the birds would not be able to rip THIS netting.

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Nice project for two honey Berry plants

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Sometimes I think I am crazy… But I always tell myself - there are people who is ready to pay 6 digits price for a car… I am not THAT crazy :slight_smile:

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i have 4 honeybees that are producing and so far the birds haven’t stole any that i noticed yet. I’ve been real lucky here that birds haven’t been a issue but with many of my bushes and trees just starting to mature, that could change. i bought some fruit netting on clearance but haven’t had to use it yet, knock on wood! where did you get that fencing?

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Birds are going crazy here for any blue berries. The worst thing they rip apart any type of fabric or plastic netting and squeeze in. Naturally they are not so smart in squeezing out. This summer I removed couple birds barely alive from my blueberry cage. And one was taken out by my dog from honeyberry cage, when it stuck in the fabric net in the bottom of the cage. That one was not that lucky. The fencing is not a set, I bought pieces separately. It includes 3/4 pipe fittings bought in ACE Hardware, 3/4 metal pipes and metal mesh from HD (I actually ordered 4’ wide online as it was in better length for my project and bought 3’ wide in the store) and metal cable ties to connect the mesh I ordered on Amazon. The door frame made from PVC electric conduit (1/2’’) and corners from Lowe’s. Connected to the main cage by metal cable ties.

Love it! Plant Zoo!!:rofl:
I should add pics to this zoo page of my bird proof blueberry house… 15 x 40 and my
bird proof strawberry tunnel. 30 x 8. I don’t spend money on jewelry etc…but I do indulge when it comes to my plants!! LOL
I did find that the larger bumblebees that help me with pollinating my blueberry plants had some trouble navigating the chicken wire covering so I open up one 40’ side until the berries are starting to turn blue and the bees are done with them.

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15X40 impresses me! Though I do not have such space in my yard, I don’t know if I would be able to engineer something like this. Please show us the pictures!

Ok… need to find out how to upload pics to this site.

The structure is just a combo of two old pole/tarp carports covered with 1"chicken wire… My son replaced a portion of the roof ribs with 1 1/2 PVC to make it a little wider than the original carport. Found the carports on craigslist… local online ads. Very cheap as the tarps only last so many years and then folks want to get rid of the frames.

The most common size I see in the ads is 12x20 but even that is good size for several blueberry plants.

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Use this button to upload pictures:

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ok… I gonna give it a try. blueberry house. door is one of those cheap magnetic close types. works pretty good.


Wow it worked! Thank you!
strawberry tunnel
!]

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That’s great! So chicken wire works for birds? I was thinking about it, but was not sure if starlings would get through. And how about snow in winter? Does it fell through the net or sticks on the roof? I am planning to remove net from the roof, so snow doesn’t damage.

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great idea with the pvc pipe. like Galinas said might be a issue with the snow here in the N. east but if you use the plastic 1in. nylon mesh on the roof it could easily be rolled back for the winter. or use nylon mesh for the whole thing. even if birds hit it , it won’t hurt them anyway. they’d just bounce off. :wink:

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My birds sit on the top of the frame or on the ground and methodically peck that nylon mesh until they make a hole big enough to squeeze in. When they done picking my berries they try to escape right through the net. Yes, they bounce off it… But on a work day when it is 90 F + outside they can spend bouncing off 8-10 hours. And when they panic, they forgot there are berries that can keep them alive, they just hit the net again and again and again…

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@nwlady
What kind of tree is that in the background.
The big ! One.
A oak ?
Looks spectacular.

My first covering was 1/2" bird netting. I got tangled in it… birds got tangled in it. I was leery of using chicken wire as I had read that small sparrows and such could get through 1" chicken wire… but did more reading/looking when I was getting frustrated with 1/2" bird netting. Comments were that folks RARELY saw small birds inside of chicken wire enclosures.
I have only had one or two birds in the enclosure since I changed to chicken wire and each time it found a spot where I had left a small opening. So I am very happy with it.
I get very little snow here. A big snow would be 6 - 8" and would only last a couple of days but mostly the snow just falls through. Sometimes I get a load of oaks leaves on the roof in fall but I just blow them off with my battery powered blower… LOVE that thing!
One bird that got in promptly went back to his sneakly little hole and flew out. I thanked him… didn’t have to spend time looking for the hole. The other bird was too flustered so I just raised a large section of wire and away he flew and then I found a small possible entry point and plugged it… No birds at all this past season.

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Yes… splendid big oak. Love that tree! This property was pasture before we bought it so there were very few trees of any size on it except a couple of walnut, alders and hazelnut trees down by the creek so I really appreciate that beauty!

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you ladies have much more determined birds than i do. i find this strange as i have tons of birds and my property is ringed with 60ft red pines and norway spruces that provide perfect cover. yet the birds leave all my berries alone so far. once and awhile ill see some crows eat a few blueberries but thats it. i wonder if its my chickens/ ducks that keep them away? not complaining . i just don’t know whats different here.

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REALLY! I am jealous! I have ducks, chickens, three cats and two dogs… and definitely have bird problems. I have to bag my persimmons or I am robbed of every piece of fruit. They seem to leave the apples alone unless they are on the ground … but that’s fair.

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got 2 cats and 3 dogs but they don’t have access to the yard unless they come out with me.

Galina,
You’ve never ceased to amazed me with your creativity and engineering skills. Too bad they did not rub off on me just by being your admirer.:grin:

Nice job.

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