EDUCATIONAL INCUBATION & HATCHING CHAT THREAD, w/ Sally Sunshine Shipped Eggs

[BantyChooks]

It just hit 78F at my house and still climbing. Old record was 75F.
I'm about to go into the hive and check on the bees. Hopefully the queen is alive and laying. I'm driving to Arkansas in April to pick up a couple 5 frame nucs.
Normal high for today is 45F. It only dropped to 50 overnight last night.
It's dropping to 30 tonight and only getting to the upper 30s tomorrow.

On second thought, I'm not too jealous of those temperatures.

My ducks are, but I'm not.

 

[ronott1]

I hear California is supposed to get a cool down soon.
We're supposed to get rain tonight and tomorrow but not likely enough to break our drought.

On Monday the prediction is for a high of 51F which will be a bit cooler.

We were above normal a week ago though--highs in the 70s.

 

[kwhites634]

On Monday the prediction is for a high of 51F which will be a bit cooler.

We were above normal a week ago though--highs in the 70s.

Pushed 70* here today; may have passed that. Same thing tomorrow, then snow on Saturday...go figure

 

[ronott1]

Pushed 70* here today; may have passed that. Sam thing tomorrow, then snow on Saturday...go figure

That is a big temperature swing!

The temperatures last week broke and tied records here

 

[kwhites634]

That is a big temperature swing!

The temperatures last week broke and tied records here

No way will it lay, with 70's two days straight; just make a sloppy mess, most likely.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That is a big temperature swing!

The temperatures last week broke and tied records here

climate change

My hive is dead. About 10,000+ dead bees on the screened bottom board. I had a candy board and a pollen patty on top but it was probably too cold for the cluster to move close enough to use it and it looks like they starved. Lots of bees with their heads stuck in cells.
I bought that hive as a nuc last June and it was full of small hive beetles that I was trapping but I guess the hive didn't recover in time to build stores in the bottom box.

 

[BantyChooks]

My hive is dead. About 10,000+ dead bees on the screened bottom board. I had a candy board and a pollen patty on top but it was probably too cold for the cluster to move close enough to use it and it looks like they starved. Lots of bees with their heads stuck in cells.
I bought that hive as a nuc last June and it was full of small hive beetles that I was trapping but I guess the hive didn't recover in time to build stores in the bottom box.

 

[ronott1]

climate change

My hive is dead. About 10,000+ dead bees on the screened bottom board. I had a candy board and a pollen patty on top but it was probably too cold for the cluster to move close enough to use it and it looks like they starved. Lots of bees with their heads stuck in cells.
I bought that hive as a nuc last June and it was full of small hive beetles that I was trapping but I guess the hive didn't recover in time to build stores in the bottom box.

I am sorry about the lost bees!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Thankfully I secured a source for the earliest nucs available just across the state line.
I'm calling him tomorrow because with this heat wave I'm sure he was able to inspect his hives yesterday or today to ascertain how many made it through the winter.
It just got too dang cold around the first of the year for the bees to access all of their food.
I'm just a little bummed but now I can concentrate on getting the equipment ready for the new bees.
Bee keeping has become a huge challenge in the last 15 years or so.

 

[ronott1]

Thankfully I secured a source for the earliest nucs available just across the state line.
I'm calling him tomorrow because with this heat wave I'm sure he was able to inspect his hives yesterday or today to ascertain how many made it through the winter.
It just got too dang cold around the first of the year for the bees to access all of their food.
I'm just a little bummed but now I can concentrate on getting the equipment ready for the new bees.
Bee keeping has become a huge challenge in the last 15 years or so.

There is a series on Netflix called rotten. One of the episodes is about bees and honey.