Bee hive on coop roof?

[Egghead_Jr]

The only problem with keeping the two together would be if the entrance to hive is low to the ground. Chickens pecking entrance and getting stung on the face you'd want to avoid. Problems like bees covering feed in fall will happen if the hives are 300 yards away. New beekeepers constantly ask where the "pollen" is coming from when there is a drought or winter dearth? Animal feed and bird feeders is the answer. Other problem might be if you clip queen wings and the colony swarms they'll end up on the ground in front of the hive, could lose them to the chickens eating them. Bees don't sting when swarming.

 

[Mouthpear]

Bees don't sting when swarming.

Um you may want to recheck your info. I already mentioned in post #6 that they get mad the swarm and sting. How is it

Bees don't sting when swarming.

....that I got stung over 15 times, did then that honey bee hive didn't get the memo..

There are hundreds of people that die every year form swarming bees.

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/swarm-of-bees-closes-streets-in-encino-injuries-reported/

 

[Egghead_Jr]

@Mouthpear
No, that would be aggresive bee defense of hive not swarming. Africanized bees are notorious for this, a cloud of bees will relentlessly chase people from the area. This is not a swarm. Swarming is the reproduction impulse when the old queen or a new virgin and large percentage of bees split from the hive to find a new location. Once swarmed they have no home to defend and don't sting. Docile as could be.

 

[Mouthpear]

@Mouthpear
No, that would be aggresive bee defense of hive not swarming. Africanized bees are notorious for this, a cloud of bees will relentlessly chase people from the area. This is not a swarm. Swarming is the reproduction impulse when the old queen or a new virgin and large percentage of bees split from the hive to find a new location. Once swarmed they have no home to defend and don't sting. Docile as could be.

The hundred or so articles say different.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Ignorance is in print, on the internet and from peoples lips. I'm just trying to do my small part in correcting that. If you don't believe a certified beekeeper like me then attend a local bee club and listen to others with experience first hand.

The term swarm is specific in meaning for bees. The "hundreds" of articles clearly are misusing the term.

Below is a friend of mine collecting a swarm from a post. Locating the queen to put into the empty hive moved over to house them. Swarms are completely docile.

 

[Apis mellifera]

There are hundreds of people that die every year form swarming bees.

In a country of over 300 million people the yearly average deaths from stings are 72. Mostly caused by hornet, wasp, and yellow jacket allergic reactions. The chances of someone being killed by a honey bee swarm would be very rare and most likely from an allergic reaction.

 

[Apis mellifera]

Does anyone have their bee hives on top of their chicken coop?

Plenty of beekeepers have hives on balconies, roofs and second floors. You could do it but it would be wise to build the coop with a second floor or a wide open attic space with stair access.

 

[Birdinhand]

I’m a bee keeper as well and can attest to the fact that sensationalism rules the internet in these early days of the Wild West of the web. If it gains clicks it’s worthy of “print” and often the same misinformation gets “reported” by one source and then hundreds refer to that one and voila, it creates a sense of credibility. A pissed off mob of bees “swarm” in the loose sense that they gather together in large numbers but technically speaking, an actual swarm of bees is indeed a group with no home and a queen in the middle. They put all their effort into tending her and finding a new home and do not pick fights in such a vulnerable state. This is governed by pheromones produced by the Queen that are the alarm system. During true swarming, the alarm system is turned off. Once she is secure, she produces defense hormones that actuate the alarm defense system… can I just say, wow, honey bees are so amazing!

 

[Birdinhand]

As for putting a beehive above a coop, it should work. It’s a bit hard to imagine how that would allow for tending but I guess if the coop were constructed in such a way that the hive could be easily tended and the flight pattern of the bees wasn’t an issue for either the chickens or the persons tending the coop, then I don’t see why not. I can see how zoning might make the combination attractive. Some municipalities require hives and coops to be a certain number of feet from fences and sometimes up against the house, leaving a very limited area for either or both. This could put the urban homesteader in a position to get very creative with respect to design orientation of them both.

 

[Tahai]

I would be concerned about the hive attracting bears, which might have otherwise left your chickens alone. What other predators are drawn to Bees? Raccoons?