Honey Bee Sanctuary - NOT!

[Mimi13]

Bees like mineral water when it is hot and will eagerly search out swimming pools because of the chemicals. I have two hives and neighbors with pools, and I put out a small kiddie swimming pool filled with water them dump in a small mineral block (like for cows/horses to lick) and floating hay/grass for the bees to be able to get out of the water. They never bother the neighbors or my chickens. I also use my chickens to help clean out drone brood or old comb, and they will readily eat the larva, brood, and even adult bees that wonder over. Bees can't really sting through all the feathers, so they really shouldn't be too much of a concern to your chickens. I think if you gave the bees their own preferred water source they may leave the regular water alone.

I think this is a big BINGO and very doable. I’ve got the kiddie pool, the mineral block and the hay. Now I assume I need to place this somewhere the chickens cannot reach. I would think the contents of the lick would be harmful to the birds. I will even take up the water tub and turn off the spigot for a while in hopes the bees will search for and find the “special” water. Win, win!

 

[Chickassan]

You can just get an old towel, wet it and pin it up where you want the bees to drink.
They love the clothes line towels.
Not being a vinegar geezer but ACV causes some calcium issues, not saying don't try it just be careful with it.

All my birds are chickens and they seemed annoyed by the bees buzzing around their heads. I’ve not even noticed them trying to pluck the dead bees out of the water.

And, I can recreate your “cheesecloth” island in hopes it will draw the bees away from the chickens’ water hole.

 

[Mimi13]

I fill a humming bird feeder for the bees.
You don't have to put much or any sugar in it but the red of the feeder draws them.
Purple, red and white are big bee drawing colors.

Gaw-ly! This is totally doable. Thank you.

 

[pennyJo1960]

gosh sad here in Washington State no bees here this year thinking about buying some
to pollinate in my garden

 

[Mimi13]

Good luck! - Strange, all chickens i have met so far - not too many, but a few, were more than happy to eat bees, wasps and even bumblebees.

Wow wee! I guess I have

Spoiler

pussy peckers

! My chickens seem to be terrified of anything buzzing around them.

 

[Fishkeeper]

@penny1960 , If you decide to get bees, don't get honeybees. They're not under threat, not really, not with all the agricultural money going into them, and they aren't native. See if you can find somewhere that sells bumblebees or other native solitary bees, they're under much more threat.

 

[Mimi13]

ACV causes some calcium issues, not saying don't try it just be careful with it.

It’s stuff like this that makes me apprehensive. TY!

 

[Mimi13]

gosh sad here in Washington State no bees here this year thinking about buying some
to pollinate in my garden

Too bad I couldn’t catch and ship these. And to think I once entertained the thought of beekeeping. That thought is now gone.

 

[ValerieJ]

gosh sad here in Washington State no bees here this year thinking about buying some
to pollinate in my garden

We have had fewer bees this year too. I heard there is a local bee association that will come out and set up bees on your property. I'm going to look into this in the spring. I think they come and take them away before the winter freeze, but I'm not positive about that.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Wow wee! I guess I have

Spoiler

pussy peckers

! My chickens seem to be terrified of anything buzzing around them.

They chicken out too quick!
Be patient, once they discover how crunchy and tasty all these buzzing things are their velociraptor genes will take over.