Bees!!

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Sounds like yellow jackets. I had that problem once when I threw out egg for a penned up injured rooster. Had to stop doing that they were so annoying.

 

[rebrascora]

With only 10 bees on the feed I'd contribute it to the warming trend right now in Texas. Hitting 50 F will cause them to look around while they've the daylight and weather to do so.

Fair comment!

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Has anyone had a problem with bees swarming your chickens food?! It's getting pretty bad and it's still winter, I hate to think of how it will be in spring and summer....

As of yet you do not have many flowers and the small amount of increased sunlight that you do have has convinced the bees to start raising brood (new bees) to better exploit the nectar and pollen when they come into abundance. Unfortunately there is not enough polen (polen equals PROTEIN) yet for the honey bees to gather and make bee bread to feed to their younger sisters who are still in the honeycomb. As January turns into February more and better sources of protein will become available and the honey bees will completely ignore the dust in your chicken feed feeders. This I will guarantee you.

PS: I have actually seen honey bees work powdered cow poop when other sources of protein are scarce.

 

[rebrascora]

@chickengeorgeto

I have also seen them is my horse muck heap at my stables and particularly the urine soaked bedding. I believe they forage for many more things than protein(pollen) and nectar and water and of course tree resin. I believe they also collect micronutrients/trace elements and even possibly bacteria. I've seen them at the waste water hopper from the bath outlet when there is a stream next to the house that they use for water and I'm told that the sewerage treatment works is a regular haunt, despite clean water being available at the river next to it. They are truly fascinating creatures and I don't think we understand even half of their complex lifestyle.
Sometimes maybe it is best that the general public don't know all the gory details of where their food comes from and how it is produced!

 

[mill-j]

OP could you get us some photos of these bees? As a beekeeper I agree with several of the others, 10 bees are nothing. In a hive you can lift one frame and it might have hundreds if not Thousands of bees on it, and we rarely get stung (I don't use gloves or beesuit.). The best advice is stay calm around bees and you'll rarely have problems(now yellow jackets and wasps are a different story )