Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[BlindLemonChicken]

lot of people don't realize that bees drink water as well. They need shallow places of still or dripping water.

Yes! And this is why I find them floundering in the dog’s outside water bowl all the time. I rescued two yesterday. I have to dump the bowl out when I bring the dog in.

 

[Sally PB]

Does nectar contain anything but sugars?

I'm not sure. Some minerals, maybe?

I do know that not all pollen is equal. At a bee meeting, the lecturer told us that early blooming trees, like maples, had what the bees were looking for. Other trees' pollen was eaten only in case of extreme emergency and had as much nutrition for honeybees as sawdust would have for us.

Trees can have as much forage for bees as an acre of wildflowers. For urban beekeepers, a flowering tree is a huge asset.

 

[Skyeknight]

At a bee meeting, the lecturer told us that early blooming trees, like maples, had what the bees were looking for.

This is why I am planting native male willows. The males should have nectar earlier in the year than other plant/tree species. Which is a good thing for a lot of native insects. Furthermore the bark has medical properties and can be eaten by sheep, while the leaves can be eaten by pretty much any herbivorous animal (including chickens I think ).