Help!!! My babies are swarmed by bees!!

[TwoChicks]

Also, if they're yellow jackets, they dig nests in the ground, so you may have a yj nest IN your run. Check the ground carefully for holes anywhere from the size of a nickel to the size of a golfball. I used to think they were snake holes ... NOPE. Yellow jacket nests.

They REALLY hated it when I went over the top with the lawn mower.

 

[mener6896]

gosh, I tried to look out my window to see, I can't really tell the difference between a honey bee and yellow jacket. They aren't going to the waterer which is right next to the feeder. I would say there are about a hundred bees now. I just put the tractor up next to my house for the babies. A few of the big hens came up to the same general area (they're free ranging today) but not paying attention to the bees or feeder. Occasionally a chick will venture toward the feeder, but backs away. I'm hoping they just go away. How do I tell the difference between a yellow jacket and honey bee? BTW, this is a long distance (about 200-300 yards) from my chicken run and coop. It's on down the hill.

 

[sourland]

I'm going to assume that the temperature is quite warm there today. The bees are looking for food, and none is available. I've seen this same action around wild bird feed. I've even seen them trying to attach the feed to their legs much as they would pollen. A strong solution of sugar water located away from the chicks might attract the bees away. Once pollen and nectar are available, they will stop this behavior. Colder weather (not that we want that) will also cause the activity to cease.

 

[turbodog]

Quote:
Yeah, if they're honeybees they may be a swarm with a queen looking for a new place to build a hive. If so, they may very well move along on their own. I've seen several wild swarms on the move like that before. I wouldn't trust them not to sting if disturbed though.

If it is a swarm on the move, StupidBird is right, a local beekeeper may be willing to come and remove them for free.

 

[turbodog]

Quote:
Honey bees look fuzzy and brownish. Yellow jackets look shiny and black and yellow striped.

Of course ya gotta be close to see that.

 

[WriterofWords]

Every Spring my feed cans are swarmed by bees. There is something in there they want very badly. Mine are fuzzy but since I'm allergic I send my son out to shoo them away,,,, that isn't child abuse now that is 18 right? I've gotten to where as soon as the sun goes down and they go to bed, I get a small butter container of feed for the next day. When the sun comes up I go out the back door and set the container far away from the feed and they head straight for it since they don't have to work to get to it. I don't leave feed out for the birds at all during that time, I feed them just what they can eat right then and don't leave it in their feeders to free feed until the bees are gone.

 

[heritagebirds]

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Great idea! I like your name...kinda like my grandparents last name.

 

[journey11]

Well, there might be a few honeybees looking for water, but they're definitely not going to be out swarming at this time of year in your area--that won't happen until about May and then there would be more like 10,000, not a hundred or so (btw, swarms are actually pretty docile, which most people don't know). Odds are most likely they are hornets or yellow jackets. Everything is waking up now with these first few nice warm days we are having and looking for water and food. Try luring them away with sugar water, fruit or meat as mentioned before. I really doubt they are honeybees. They go out individually as scouts this early in the season when they look for water. There's no nectar or pollen right now anyway. Downside to it though, yellow jackets are mean!

Either way, they'll all go back home when the sun goes down.

 

[mener6896]

I decide they were yellow jackets because they were kinda pointy and seemed to be flying aggressive. I shot them with a hornet killer that shoots 30 feet. I was a little nervous with the chemical around the babies, but they all hid under a rubbermaid that was in the tractor. Once I thought I killed most of them, I took out the feeder and waterer, emptied both and cleaned really well. I then sprayed the ground/tractor with water until I thought it was cleaned pretty good and covered the bottom with pine shavings. Hopefully, this solved the problem. It's starting to warm up a bit, so I go check it out.

Thanks for all the advice!!