Bee’s in the chicken feed – should I worry?

[AMM]

Hi Folks,
For the last week or so there’s been bees in the chicken feed (lots!). The chickens don’t seem to like it and avoid the feeder. Once the sun starts to go down and the bees leave the chickens rush to the feeder to start eating…poor things

. We live in southern NM so we have to worry about Africanized bees. They appear to be honey bees, but I have no idea where the hive is. I’ve tried to watch where the bees are flying to, but there are too many trees in the area. So far the bees don’t appear to be aggressive. This is our first year with chickens and we had no trouble all spring and summer. Should I just let the bees have their fill? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Angie

 

[sgtmom52]

Yes that is strange. What kind of feed do you use ~ is it sweetened in some manner? I raise honeybees and have 7 hives only about 150' from my chickens and have never seen the bees show any interest in the chicken food.

from PA

 

[APK1]

Glad I found this thread! I was thinking/hoping that it was maybe molasses (used as a binder in the pellets) in there that attracted them. I'll have to look for something soy free next time I shop for feed. It just seems bizarre to me that, at this time of year, there are SO MANY in the feeder in the coop. I haven't been able to determine how close a hive is, but there is a lot of construction going on around where we live, so who knows... At the end of the day I put the feeder in the shed (we have voles that we can't seem to get rid of either) and the poor bees that are still in there behave like they are drunker than a skunk. I feel pretty bad for them.

 

[zazouse]

Thats odd, unless there is damp feed and the fermintation is attracting them.

Is that possible in your case mabe?

 

[AMM]

No damp feed. I feed a mix of chick starter with other grains. They seem to be going after the starter feed - the real crumbly parts. I know there is some soy in the starter feed - maybe they're after the protein?

 

[sgtmom52]

The soy is probably what they are looking for. Soy flour is an ingredient in pollen substitute used to supplement protein for honeybees.

You may consider supplying a small amount of the starter feed in a dish outside of the chicken's area in the direction the bees seem to be flying. Make it a little more attractive to them by adding a small amount of honey or sugar syrup to it. Putting it in a brightly (flower) colored dish may also help draw them away from the chickens food.

 

[AMM]

Thanks for the advice!!
I was wondering if I just fed the chickens some whole grains/scraps for a few days would that cause the bees to look elsewhere? Or will they keep coming back to check for the soy?

I wish I could find a good soy free organic chicken feed but I haven't had any luck with that yet.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Interesting. I've also had several bees hanging around my chicken feed lately, and was wondering why. Never seen it before.

 

[AMM]

I know we're having unseasonably warm weather right now. I wonder if that's it?

 

[sgtmom52]

If you are having warmer than usual weather they may have decided to start rearing brood early in which case they would need a good source of protein to feed the larva.