BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[DesertChic]

I think that the closer that they get to the north the slower they will advance b/c they are native to africa, and thus not adapted quite as well to our climate as other bees.

Anyone that tells you that they are a different species,kind, or whatever you want to call it is telling you hogwash.(if they were different kinds they wouldn't be able to mix.) Now they Are Subspecies!!! IMO

For the sake of those in the north, I certainly hope you're right about them being unable to advance. And I agree with you regarding being a completely different subspecies. I've managed to control my own fear enough to never swat at a single or few bees as they buzz around me lest it trigger an attack...and make no mistake, swatting at them definitely triggers an attack...but having grown up out east and seeing how our traditional honeybees behaved and then watching these Africanized bees has made it absolutely clear in my mind that these little buggers are in a class all their own.

 

[DesertChic]

I tip about Africanized bees...do not squish even one. If it is on you, walk into your house/car and close the door. When it stings or is squished it releases a pheromone that signals the rest of the bees to attack what ever it was stinging. They are attracted to dark spots. It is why you find dead horses with their nostrils and mouth filled with bees. They hate loud noises and vibration. It is why people who are on tractors or running lawn mowers get targeted...that and they have run over bees releasing pheromone.

The Africans made peace with them by using extreme caution. The difference between European and Africanized bees is almost indistinguishable. The darker bee is African, but even in European bees there are darker individuals. It is the behavior that sets them apart.

They are also attracted to our means of respiration once agitated. Local scientists did a series of experiments with them a few years back that offered some very strong evidence that they hone in on exhalations from mammals, which also offers some explanation of their fascination with nostrils and mouths.

And just for the record, these bees are highly attracted to the sound of an orbital sander and wood dust. I've learned the hard way to keep my wood shop sealed up when sanding as within minutes the sound/vibration will have attracted dozens of bees. My other power tools don't afford the same result.

 

[Beer can]

So glad bees here are cool/no worries. Honey bees never sting unless you accidentally step on one bare foot. Worst here is what I call white assed hornets, wife calls bald faced wasps, little buggers seem to nest in ground, find them mowing, once you 'find them' getting stung a dozen times and run, they don't follow. I've had the crap stung out of me by yellow jackets, but fall time pressing fresh apple cider, surrounded by a swarm, they leave you alone. Land in the spigot of the press and fall in bucket of cider, have to skim the 'drunks' out Lol!

 

[DesertChic]

So glad bees here are cool/no worries. Honey bees never sting unless you accidentally step on one bare foot. Worst here is what I call white assed hornets, wife calls bald faced wasps, little buggers seem to nest in ground, find them mowing, once you 'find them' getting stung a dozen times and run, they don't follow. I've had the crap stung out of me by yellow jackets, but fall time pressing fresh apple cider, surrounded by a swarm, they leave you alone. Land in the spigot of the press and fall in bucket of cider, have to skim the 'drunks' out Lol!

OH! I remember those ground hornets! We had those where I grew up in Ohio. My dad used a lawn fertilizer one year that attracted them in droves. That was one of the worst summers I can remember as a kid.

 

[gevshiba]

What does this say for production? My turkey dragged another pecan into the nest box and has been sitting on it. Today, it pipped. Seems hatch time for pecans is only a week or so.

 

[ronott1]

What does this say for production? My turkey dragged another pecan into the nest box and has been sitting on it. Today, it pipped. Seems hatch time for pecans is only a week or so.

What a great picture!

What "hatched"?

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

What does this say for production? My turkey dragged another pecan into the nest box and has been sitting on it. Today, it pipped. Seems hatch time for pecans is only a week or so.

 

[DesertChic]

What does this say for production? My turkey dragged another pecan into the nest box and has been sitting on it. Today, it pipped. Seems hatch time for pecans is only a week or so.

 

[DesertChic]

I am so weak. I've got no less than seven more broody hens, all of which I've been trying to break as 1) I've got more than enough chickens to deal with right now, and 2) I really don't have space to let all of them have their way. But one girl, another of my White Rocks named Dolly, well....she is one mean and exceptionally determined broody. I've never seen such a fierce "I wanna be a mommy" act! So I stuck her in my isolation pen with a cardboard nesting box and fake egg and she immediately took her position. Last night I removed the wooden egg and gave her 5 eggs to sit on. FINALLY she's happy...or at least as happy as a grouchy, growling, hormonal female can be.

Yeah....my husband is none too happy with my decision, but then, he's not the one who deals with the chickens.

 

[gevshiba]

What a great picture!

What "hatched"?

This.