You have most of the basics covered, I would add plums. I get more fruit off of the native wild plum or Chickasaw Plum (Prunus angustifolia) which is really a bush, and they sucker a lot so you have to manage them. You could grow Pomegranites. They take a while to get big and one tree isn't going to make as much fruit as an apple tree but they are easy, low-care trees. The Russian types do best for me. You might like Feijoa or Pineapple Guava, it is more bush like and a really hard winter will freeze it back but the flowers are tasty and the fruit is okay also. I don't get fruit every year off of mine. I enjoy my pawpaws but the season is short and they do best if you have two varieties, and they sucker, and they do best in part shade. Sour Cherries do okay for me and some varieties are pretty sweet.

there is a very active fruit forum.... for a diversity of opinion

ken

Do you have astringent-til-ripe Asian, non-astringent Asian, native, and nativeXAsian (e.g. Rosseyanka) persimmons? They're all very different, and I'd recommend all four, especially if you're interested in no-spray options. They're very ornamental trees, too.

What about a citrus tree? Something like an owari satsuma is a top-notch fruit and is hardy into the mid-teens. If you could plant it on the south side of a wall for protection from north winds and maybe do something like string some old-style, inefficient Christmas lights to burn for just a little extra heat on the coldest winter nights, you could grow some outstanding citrus. Or for something fully hardy in zone 8 you could try something like a Thomasville citrangequat.

You mentioned pears. Do you have Asian pears? I especially enjoy the early ripening varieties (e.g. Shinseiki) fresh off the tree in August, although a more fireblight resistant variety (e.g. Korean Giant/Olympic) might be a better choice. Unlike European pears they ripen properly on the tree.

Mine aren't far enough along to recommend from personal experience yet, but jujubes might be something else to consider.

And although they're not trees, do you have muscadine vines and kiwis (both regular fuzzy type and smooth-skinned small arguta type)? The hardy kiwis (arguta) are just really good, and the fuzzy type are especially nice because they give you fresh fruit in the winter months.

Thanks for the suggestions! Plums are for sure, we have kiwi on the grape arbor along with six varieties of grape...no muscadines, though. I don't care for those at all. Since I'm looking specifically for trees to put in an open pasture, trees that need protection won't work, but I hadn't looked at hardy varieties of citrus, so thank you for that suggestion.

I'll have to look at the persimmons I put in. I'm pretty sure they are the astringent until frost types. I will look at other varieties as well. Same with pears. The one that is mature came with the property. The fruit ripens after picking, or after a frost. I planted a second pear, although the name escapes me at the moment. We don't use all the fruit from the first, and it's not in the pasture so the chickens can't clean up after it. Wish I could move it!

I will likely ask on the fruit forum as well, but I wanted to ask specifically in NC first. Suggestions from people who live in completely different areas are often interesting, but less helpful than those from people who live in similar conditions.

All your comments and suggestions have been helpful. Thank you!

I also strongly recommend the Asian Persimmons. I only have one, a 5-year old Fuyu, but wish I had several more. This is the first year that it bore fruit and it had 60 tennis ball sized persimmons that were not astringent at all, even when the fruit was still hard. I ended up freezing a lot them and take them out one at a time to eat. After thawing, they are soft and very, very good.
There are Jujube trees growing at the J C Raulston Arboretum here in Raleigh that are very prolific, covering the ground in late summer. I bet your chickens would love them.

Hey ralph. How do you freeze the persimmons? Can you just put them in whole without any sort of prep?