Honey Bee Homestead

[HoneyBeeHomestead]

Nice to meet you!!!
We have alpacas too!! 23 of them!

Oh wow! That's so cool! Do you breed and show them?

 

[athomas718]

Oh wow! That's so cool! Do you breed and show them?

We do! We just started 3 years ago so we are still fairly new, so we haven’t gotten very far in the show ring - a few first place and second places tho.

 

[HoneyBeeHomestead]

We do! We just started 3 years ago so we are still fairly new, so we haven’t gotten very far in the show ring - a few first place and second places tho.

That's so fun! I only have my five ladies right now. I believe the second youngest is 14, and my two oldest are almost 17. My youngest will be 2 in June. With the twelve-year age gap, I know I'm going to have to get more at some point so she won't be left alone. Thankfully, they are all very healthy and living their best retirement lives!

 

[athomas718]

That's so fun! I only have my five ladies right now. I believe the second youngest is 14, and my two oldest are almost 17. My youngest will be 2 in June. With the twelve-year age gap, I know I'm going to have to get more at some point so she won't be left alone. Thankfully, they are all very healthy and living their best retirement lives!

Our youngest is just two weeks old, a little boy. and then we have the full spectrum of ages up to our two retired girls, 14 and 16. Nelly and Ellie.

We have another due 6/11 and then 5 due in September.

 

[athomas718]

We are also getting some goats and we are restarting our flock. When we moved from our old farm, the people buying it wanted our flock.
So we have 36 eggs we are getting locally and 12 chicks from new hatches at the end of May.

 

[HoneyBeeHomestead]

Our youngest is just two weeks old, a little boy. and then we have the full spectrum of ages up to our two retired girls, 14 and 16. Nelly and Ellie.

We have another due 6/11 and then 5 due in September.

Aww, congratulations on the new and soon to be born babies! I think all baby animals are adorable, of course, but crias are next level with their super skinny and long necks!

We are also getting some goats and we are restarting our flock. When we moved from our old farm, the people buying it wanted our flock.
So we have 36 eggs we are getting locally and 12 chicks from new hatches at the end of May.

My goats are pain in the butt escape artists and trouble makers! Last year, they escaped and started eating the corn in the field we rent out next to their pasture! We have it electrified now, and so far, so good, except when they broke the lock going into the barn and got into the chicken feed. Sometimes I wonder how they are still alive... But I do love them. My five goats are just pets, but I'm hoping to get a couple of milking does soon. Maybe I will next year, but I want to rebuild their pen first to make it extra secure before I get any more. So, just one tip, before you get the goats, make sure their area is way more secure than you will ever reasonably believe it needs to be.

 

[thistlewick]

How did your hatch go?!

 

[HoneyBeeHomestead]

How did your hatch go?!

It went ok, I only ended up with 3 chicks. There was a fourth that was malpositioned with its wing over its head. It pipped in the afternoon of day 21, then passed before 11 am on the 22nd day. It was making good progress, and I was keeping a close eye on it. It was alive at 8 am, and just starting to zip. So I decided to let it do its thing, it continued to zip but died at some point before 11 when I checked next. I'm thinking it may have suffocated.
The other two eggs were fully developed but neither pipped, I'm not 100% sure what happened with them.
I find it quite funny that all three are light colored, as most of my chickens are dark colored.
One is golden yellow, my guess is a RIR or Isa Brown cross. The other two are light yellow and will probably be white when they are older. Both have feathered legs, and one has a black dot on its head. I'm thinking these two are white cochin crosses.

I have about 50 eggs in my incubators right now. I think this time I'm going to try a 100% dry hatch. I've been nervous to do so, but I think it will be worth it to give it a try. Even with just adding a little bit of water this last time, the humidity jumped way up, then would drop so quickly overnight. I'm wondering if that is causing them not to hatch.
On another note, I went to Tractor Supply today and bought 12 more chicks. I got 9 Buff Orpingtons and 1 black sex link. The BOs I got because they are a breed I've been interested in breeding, but I don't have a ton of experience with the breed. So I figured I'd see how I like the hatchery stock before I spend lots on good breeding stock. In all reality, though, it was really just an excuse to buy more chicks. The black sex link I got because it was the only one left of that breed, and she's cute and they're good layers. Lastly, I got two turkeys. I've been wanting to get some turkeys for a long time now, but at TS I almost always see just the meat breeds. These two are Beltsville Small White turkeys. They are technically a meat breed as well, but they are a heritage breed and don't get huge. They will most likely just be pets unless they become aggressive, then they will be Thanksgiving dinner.

I still have 26+ RIRs coming in June, so I have to start working on another brooder and coop.

 

[5Australorpasaures]

Thank you! I'd love to have some beehives. Someone gave me a hive and all the supplies, and I have it all sitting in the barn. But I'm honestly quite scared of bees and have been avoiding making the jump to get them! One of these days, I'll make myself do it and get over my fear!

Ya get used to it. I rarely get whacked and usually when I pinch one on the frame. Many of us don't even wear gloves.

 

[HoneyBeeHomestead]

Ya get used to it. I rarely get whacked and usually when I pinch one on the frame. Many of us don't even wear gloves.

I dislike getting stung, of course, but my other fear is that I'll develop an allergy to them. Allergies and I don't exactly have a good relationship.
I have severe food allergies and almost every environmental allergy you could think of. I think the weirdest one is cockroaches... I'm allergic to cockroaches... thankfully, there are no cockroaches where I live... but still, why cockroaches? I'm also very allergic to grasses/hay, which is awful, seeing as so many of my animals eat hay. I have a family member who is severely allergic to bees. I don't think I've ever gotten stung by a bee, oddly enough, it's always been wasps. (I've never had a stinger stuck in me at least.) So I'm really trying not to get stung, lol!
But still, I really want that honey!