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Help! Crows feasting on my apples

I have a small apple tree, but it is laden with lovely eating apples not quite ready to harvest.  Today I disturbed 2 enormous black birds calmly sitting in the tree and pecking at my apples, and about 5 or 6  fell to the ground when I chased the birds away.  image  Any ideas to prevent this happening?

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  • waterbuttswaterbutts Posts: 1,270

    A shotgun?

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,617

    When the blackbirds start on the apples I figure they're ready. Unless you can net them, I'd pick them.

  • all birds and slugs will have a go at the apples,I pick them before the birds can do too much damage but there is plenty to round.image

  • Alan4711Alan4711 Posts: 1,657
    Hia Happy ,,if you take waterbutts advise then you must mind your teeth when you later pick the apples, thats if theres any left to pick, and crow pie iv heard is very nice,now thats what i call getting your own back, i noticed new discovery apples appeared in the local vegy today mortgage prices again just to catch all the holiday makers here in Tenby AND they pay it, so i can understand you being annoyed good luck with the crows
  • waterbuttswaterbutts Posts: 1,270

    I suppose if the shotgun shooter was accurate, they could get the crows oven ready with apple stuffing included.

    I'm vegetarian, btw. Don't really suggest shooting them but often dream about it.

  • I thought you were supposed to stone the crows, not shoot them!  ( not that I would do either) image

    Fidgetbones, I picked and cut into two large rosyish apples and the pips were still white, not brown.  I thought pip colour was a good indication of ripeness.  And tasting a bit confirmed they were not ready.  image  They are a sweet eating apple, but I'm not sure which variety.

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384

    How to cook a crow:

    Build a fire and when it is burning well, throw in a couple of rocks and the crow.  When the rocks go soft the crow is ready to eat.

    (Adapted from an Australian joke) image

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,617

    If they are small trees , then try nets or stringing cotton between branches. Or dangle a cd in the tree.

  • I fully understand your problem happycottontail, I have a magnificent 30 odd year old Discovery and it is loaded with fruit every year(except last year). They are early eaters and are usually ready in the middle of August. This year, as you observed they are not ready. But like you, the crows are feasting on them and now they have invited four Green Parakeets who are stripping the tree!!image

    It is upsetting as the children in the street love going up the tree to pick the fruit and at this rate there will be nothing left.My neighbour has offered to shoot them with his airgun but I'd rather they(the birds) shared the apples with us. The tree is too big to net.So I am just doing an impression of a demented old birdimagetrying to chase them away and just admiring the shining red apples that are still on the tree.I have given up fighting life, after all, the bird table that the birds feed on daily is under the tree so to them this is just an added autumn treat I suppose! Ho hum.

  • Oh jatnikapyar, what a shame!  image

    fidgetbones, I had the same idea, and there are now 4 CDs swinging in the tree.  We'll see if that has any effect. image

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