Bees in quail feed

[7stars]

Today I had bees in my grow out pen they were in feed container and the small quail were all bunched up in corner of pen. Must of had 50-60 bees .
What do I do to get the bees gone . My quail are in an out shed that has windows cut out and 1/2 wire on them.
It’s 105 degs here in Laredo tx and no rain in months so everything is kind of dieting out here.
What do I do to keeps bees out of feed ? Thank
Henry

 

[tjo804]

I don't know what to do to get rid of them. I have them too in the grower crumble its 20% I am assuming it is because there is very little pollen any where the flowers had short blooms with the heat and no rain. Even the cactus have stopped flowering.

I washed all bowls and feeders today thinking maybe they had watermelon juice on them.

I hope someone knows what to do

 

[tjo804]

On beekeeper websites it looks like the bees go after chicken feed in the spring to gather protein before there is pollen available.

Does anyone know if there is a bee mix I could make from my kitchen and set in a pan away from my coop to draw the bees from the feed for my flock?

 

[JaeG]

I wonder if there's molasses in the feed that's attracting them perhaps? Poor hungry bees (and quail). You could temporarily feed the quail parakeet or finch seed and supplement with meal worms, cooked egg or sprouted alfalfa for a bit of protein, just until the bees go looking elsewhere.

 

[tjo804]

@JaeG

If I made a pan of chick feed with molasses would that get the bees away from the coop?

 

[meetthebubus]

I had this organic brand of feed before that attracted bees horribly, I changed brands and they left me alone

If you put options for the bees that will only invite more problems and they'll still go for the feed and other insects like ants can then plague you
IMO change your feed it has something that is attracting them

 

[Fishkeeper]

Take the food out so your quail won't get stung. Put small dishes of different feed in the yard and see what doesn't attract bees.
Any opinions on feeding the quail just a seed mix for a couple days? That certainly won't attract bees, and while not a good long-term solution would, I'd think, be OK as a short-term thing. Probably better for the quail than bee stings.

 

[tjo804]

Take the food out so your quail won't get stung. Put small dishes of different feed in the yard and see what doesn't attract bees.
Any opinions on feeding the quail just a seed mix for a couple days? That certainly won't attract bees, and while not a good long-term solution would, I'd think, be OK as a short-term thing. Probably better for the quail than bee stings.

Would seed mix raise body temp? That might not be a good thing in Texas right now. I don't do seeds or scratch in summer.
But maybe salad type stuff with egg ? I don't know

 

[lomine]

I would try deterring the bees from the quail pen. Bees use their sense of smell to find food. You can put strong smelling smells around the pen that will make the area less attractive to bees. Peppermint is supposed to be a smell they don't like. Crushed garlic seeped in water for a few days and then sprayed around the area is said to work. Cinnamon sprinkled around works too though you may have to apply daily for a bit before it starts to work. Cinnamon also works on ants if you every have problems with them. Apparently cucumber peels also work to keep bees away, though I'm not sure how long that would work in a hot, dry area. If you are going to sprinkle or spray something do it at night when the bees are in the hive.

The bees may also be attracted to the quail water if it's in a dish they can access. Putting a little vinegar in the water makes it unappealing.

I think putting out some sugar water would be a good idea if you can get it far enough away. Just make sure it's not something they can drown in. Bees are in a bad state right now so it would be great to help if you can. Though the first priority is to make sure the quail are safe.

 

[7stars]

Thank you all for responses. I have add screen to all windows and door. So far this is keeping them out.