Honey bees stealing chicken food

[ChickenPalace]

And I thought I had problems with finches stealing food...

 

[monarc23]

Heres pictures of them at my place a few weeks ago:

they were rolling and everythingin this feed...in my chickens scratch and in my quails game bird crumbles. They still are daily. They started to about a week ago collonize in my quails hutch until my quails made them leave by killing several. I was pretty upset but it's not my quails fauilt.

I also offered them sugar water...NONE would drink from it...even when they were forced to walk right into the liquid. I had no idea what they were doing so i took pictures, and seeing this post finnally im not the only one that noticed this!

 

[me&thegals]

Hi! I'm not a beekeeper but have been reading up on bees. They're known to be really clean--they won't even poop in the hive! I wouldn't think they would be real disease carriers.

I would think at this point in the year they simply don't have a food source yet. I would think once they have pollen and nectar available, that would be their preferred food. Would be interesting to see if it works that way

 

[Mahonri]

Any bees we are lucky enough to have in AZ are dangerous.... all of them are Africanized (killer bees) and they attack, injure and sometimes kill pets and people.

We have a couple of Queen Palm trees out back in our garden next to the pool and once a year they come for the palm tree blossoms... but I've never seen them go after layer feed. I just wish they would fertilize our zucchini better.

 

[QuailHollow]

Quote:
Yes, I agree with you. The last few warm days we had here in PA, we had honey bees in the turkey's feed trough. The feed trough is full of cracked corn from the barn. I'm no bee-keeper, so I've no idea why they found it so appealing, but they did! I just left them alone. They haven't been back since the weather cooled back off.

 

[Duppydo]

I have 6 hives of honeybees and they haven't been into my chickens food thous far. I feed my girls laying pellets and laying mash. This is a tough time of yr for honeybees, some surviving hives are near starving and will get into things you wouldn't think appeal to honeybees.
As someone mentioned, as soon as the bees find a perferred source of pollen/nector the problem will likey end.Of my 6 hives one needed emergency feeding,white sugar in a medium super on top of the hive.
Someone was describing following bees/hornet to where they live, this is called " beelining" and is the method i use to find and destroy yellowjackets...
Most liking the honeybees will leave your coop as soon as the find something a bit more tasty..

My girls are working skunk cabbage and crocus's now..

 

[Duppydo]

Just saw the pics, yep...sure look like honeybees to me...!

 

[Opa]

No doubt about it, they are honey bees. I'll check with my neighbor. He has over a thousand hives and supplies bees to orchardists and farmers all over the state. He should know if anyone would.

 

[crazyhen]

They use a sweet molasses like product in the feeds. When you open it take a smell. It will smell sweet. Bees like sweet stuff. Sugar water is not the same as honey or syrup. Jean

 

[mountaintopchicken]

Hmmm... I wonder if it has anything to do with a need for protein, since layer pellets are relatively high protein?