Honey Bees & chickens??????

[sgtmom52]

Quote:
Unfortunately, yes. Even the calmest bees will nail you at some point no matter how careful you are working with them. If nothing else, you'll lean on one.

Woodmort is right. When you are checking the hive no matter how careful you are you are still opening their home and causing some damage as they always have everything sealed with propolis and burr comb. Sometimes the bees are not happy with the home invasion. I usually get stung about 5 or 6 times a summer ~ many times it is my own fault by opening the hive without protection or smoke or some other foolish thing.

 

[kidd42]

I have chickens and Bee's, the hive is about 30' from the run and coop and I haven't had an issue. In fact I was letting the girls free rangs right by the hive in the spring before I put in my garden and they didn't seem to bother with the bee's nor the bee's with the hens. They are both great hobbies to have, enjoy!

 

[redfeather]

I don't know if this is correct or not, but someone from a large honey farm around here told me that bees and chickens are actually really good to keep around each other. Apparently there is some sort of parasite that goes after the bees, but, place your hive in the chicken run and the chickens eat these parasites. Then the chickens also get to feast on tossed out dead bees and stuff too... or something like that. I think I will do a few internet searches on this...

 

[clio]

Quote:
Unfortunately, yes. Even the calmest bees will nail you at some point no matter how careful you are working with them. If nothing else, you'll lean on one.

Bee stings are inevitable, especially when hives are disturbed.

Many beekeepers have said they build up an immunity to the stings; i.e. after several stings over a period of time, there is little reaction when one is stung again.

But, we always have an emergency bee sting medication (by prescription) on hand. Better to be on the safe side.

I have yet to see a chicken get stung by a honeybee; dogs, yes; chickens, no.

 

[7L Farm]

Quote:
Unfortunately, yes. Even the calmest bees will nail you at some point no matter how careful you are working with them. If nothing else, you'll lean on one.

Bee stings are inevitable, especially when hives are disturbed.

Many beekeepers have said they build up an immunity to the stings; i.e. after several stings over a period of time, there is little reaction when one is stung again.

But, we always have an emergency bee sting medication (by prescription) on hand. Better to be on the safe side.

I have yet to see a chicken get stung by a honeybee; dogs, yes; chickens, no.

Chickens like to eat bugs. I think they are immune to every bug.

 

[BarredBuff]

I have four beehives and 19 totally free ranging chickens. Its not a problem. We were worried about the chickens attacking the hives, they leave them alone and have been doing this since may, no problems with chicken stings yet.

 

[matthewschickens]

Quote:
Unfortunately, yes. Even the calmest bees will nail you at some point no matter how careful you are working with them. If nothing else, you'll lean on one.

I disagree. If you wear your suit, you won't have much trouble. I've had them for 3+ years and though I don't take care of them, someone else does, a relative. I'm outside quite a lot with the chickens etc. I've never got stung. But we do have land, that may be something to do with it. Italians are the way to go.

 

[sgtmom52]

Quote:
Unfortunately, yes. Even the calmest bees will nail you at some point no matter how careful you are working with them. If nothing else, you'll lean on one.

I disagree. If you wear your suit, you won't have much trouble. I've had them for 3+ years and though I don't take care of them, someone else does, a relative. I'm outside quite a lot with the chickens etc. I've never got stung. But we do have land, that may be something to do with it. Italians are the way to go.

If you believe that you won't get stung then it is obvious that you do not work your bees. You may avoid being stung if you are just outside where bees are kept ~ but if you actually work your bees ~ you will get stung at some point ~ even wearing protection. Bees can and will sting through bee suits , gloves, jeans and sneakers,especially if you lean on or accidently grab one, although the sting is likely to be much milder than an unprotected sting. When you are working a hive full of approx 60,000 bees it is difficult to avoid picking up a frame or moving boxes without squishing at least one bee.

If you are planning to keep bees then you must expect you will be stung ~ if this is a concern for you then it is probably best that you don't go into beekeeping.

We keep Russians and like them ~ they are winter hardy, hygienic, mite resistant

NC State Italian/Russian Honey bees

Table 1. A comparison of various colony characteristics of Italian and Russian honey bees

Characteristic Italians Russians
Varroa mites More susceptible More resistant
Tracheal mites More susceptible Highly resistant
Brood rearing Continuous throughout the summer Usually only during times of pollen availability
Robbing High Low
Queen cells Only during swarming or queen replacement Present most of the time
Pollination skills Small difference from Russian bees Small difference from Italian bees
Temperament Gentle, less defensive; not likely to sting Gentle, less defensive; not likely to sting
Color Light Dark​

 

[woodmort]

I started with 2 colonies of Italians but, since we have a lot of wild bees around, after a couple of years and a natural expansion to 5 hives they crossed. The result was a bit tougher to handle. My worst experiences happened when they'd find their way inside my helmet and bee face-net--usually they tried frantically to get out but one or two would nail me on the head. I finally stopped wearing the netting and things were actually better--never wore gloves since they made handling hives too hard. One thing, when one bee stings it can cause other bees to attack. Fortunately I was not allergic and, aside from itching at the point of attack, never had a problem--the quicker you can scrape off the stinger and poison sac the better. It is claimed BTW that bee stings are a cure/preventative for arthritis.

Unfortunately, because of my hands, I was forced to give up keeping them. I do have a great honey extractor and equipment stored away that I should probably sell though if you're interested.

 

[Fanny's Mom]

Not only do I have both chickens and bees, but the hives are in the chicken run! I did that purposely because there's a new bee pest called the small hive beetle that pupates in the soil under the hives. The chickens scratch up and eat the larva!

The only warning I would give, however, is if your bees and hens occupy the same space, coop the birds before working the bees. I had a situation once where due to my clumsiness, I upset one of the colonies during inspection and since I was suited up, they took it out on the hens! Other than that instance, they live peacefully together and the hens know better than try to eat or pester the bees.