chickens to discourage apple maggot

I've got some maggoty problems in my yard: cherry maggot, walnut husk fly, and apple maggot in the compost (I scout apples from around the whole town, it may not be wise, but I then compost all the cores or parts I don't use in my own compost).

Luckily, though, we also have chickens. They're supposed to be able to dig up the offending maggots that live in the ground through the winter. BUT we only have six chickens, and tend to let them out for afternoon hours when we remember it
(the hens lay eggs in the morning, so we'd like for them to do that in the nest boxes)

Will that be enough to prevent maggot from getting back into the cherries for next year's crop?
My question is: are those chickens Really into finding maggots? or should I fence them off in areas with a lot of fruit fall to encourage them to scratch at the soil relentlessly?

I would build a tractor that you can drag to different areas and force them to dig and scratch the maggoty area real well. it seems to me that they are unlikely to eradicate them if they just free range bu tisuppose it depends on how mcuh other stuff there is for them to eat. do they spend alot of time under the trees now?

Are they a heavy or light breed of chicken?  If they are a heavy breed (like my Buff Orpingtons), you don't really need a chicken tractor per se, just a length of 24-30" fencing if you happen to have some lying around.  I have a roll of 30" that I drag around for various uses in various places. 

I will place it in a certain area, open it into a circle of the appropriate size, call the chickens and rattle a little scratch in a tuna can, lift one side of the wire and toss the scratch into the center.  The Girls run under the wire and into the circle.  Since they're a heavy breed, they're not much for flying or jumping over the fence.  If they're going to be there for very long, I put a bowl of water with a rock in it for them.

I don't know how long the stages are for the pests: how long they remain in the fruit, how fast they go into the ground, etc.  If I had more fruit trees than the sour cherries I've got, I would be tempted to put my wire mesh around the earliest tree first, let the girls clean up there, then move on to the next and do the same thing.

We need more input and more info!

Sue

I wonder if there are any grub loving flyers you could attract to your yard.  I know Robins love pokin around for grubs.  Also, are there any pest deterrents you could guild with your trees to keep the maggots at bay? 

I have limited knowledge and zero experience in this area. 

Step by step instructions to Control Apple Slimy parasites
At the point when you notice that your apples are being gone after by apple parasites, make a move right away. You can utilize a few unique strategies to control these nuisances, and it is essential to pick one rapidly on the grounds that they can cause a ton of harm in a brief time frame.

Screen Your Apple and Pear Trees for Invasion
The most important phase in controlling apple worms is to keep watch. Apple slimy parasite fly is dynamic in the spring, between mid-April and mid-June.

So during this time, you examine your apple trees routinely for indications of pervasion:

Really take a look at all branches something like two times per week.
Search for eggs on the undersides of leaves throughout the spring as well as hatchlings in June and July.
Screen your apple trees for signs, for example, leaves that drop rashly
Review for contorted, stained leaves.
apple tree, plantation knoll, apple reap 360083.jpg
Disinfect Your Plantation
Keep your trees solid, and you ought to have the option to oversee apple parasite fly numbers with insignificant effect on your reap.

The flies are drawn to spoiling apples on the ground around a plantation, as well as new apples on trees (frequently brought about by hail). These flies lay eggs in fallen apples that have been left on the ground for quite a long time. Along these lines, it is critical to get any fallen organic product from your trees and eliminate them from your ranch as quickly as time permits after they fall.

Eliminating fallen natural product can diminish apple parasite fly populaces by north of 50% on the grounds that they don't approach food or safe house. The best method for eliminating fallen natural product is with a canvas (connection) or sheet under your trees. This will assist you with gathering the natural product while it's still crisp, making it more straightforward to discard appropriately.

Utilize Regular Hunters
Regular Hunters are one of the most incredible ways of disposing of apple slimy parasite fly. Most bug bothers come into contact with the dirt eventually all through their life cycle, particularly when they are pupae or hatchlings. This hunter doesn't hurt creatures or individuals and they just assault apple worm fly since they are their prey.

A portion of the regular hunters include:

Chickadees
Lacewings
Wander and ground creepy crawly
Parasitoids
Trap The Apple Parasite Fly
To keep the apple slimy parasite fly from laying eggs, put out traps that draw in male flies. This will occupy them from laying eggs on your apple or pear trees.

Here are a few genuine instances of the snares you can utilize:

Yellow board - These show up and possess an aroma like bug honeydew, which is what the fly eats.
Red balls - seem to be apples and are intended to draw in mature mating bugs.
Ladd - A radiant yellow plastic board with red sides of the equator connected to the middle.
Hand crafted - This is a knot trap-coated.The Heavenly and Celebration apples draw in and catch apple slimy parasite flies.
Introduce Bug Mesh
The utilization of bug mesh can assist with holding bugs back from arriving at your trees and eating their organic product. The business orchardists have viewed it as a successful method for combatting apple slimy parasite pervasions.