The Honey Factory

[Kusanar]

Who said anything about feeding them to chickens?

Uh, you did actually...

I do not plan to over winter my bees. I will use them as protein for the birds when their work is done.

 

[duluthralphie]

Ahh,, they are no longer my bees at that point.

They will be dead protein.

I apologize I thought you meant now.

What we have is a misunderstanding based on our local climates. My brother lives in NC. He over winters his bees.

If I lived where you did I would over winter my bees. I live in Minnesota. Our winters are long and hard. I know several people up here that own bees. They all have one thing in common, their bees die every winter and none have successfully over wintered them.

Here is the reason I will feed them to the chickens in October.

1. The cost of honey to feed them for 8 months
2. By removing the bees, the hive box will be empty for cleaning and disinfecting, which will stop the spread of disease and mites
3. The cost and time associated with wrapping, covering, and insulating the hive
4. The low probability of successfully over wintering them.
5. I can sell the honey I would have used in an attempt to over winter them to buy new bees in the spring​

If I had a place to take them down south and someone reliable to watch them there,
The bee stores up here will take your bees south, but they want you to deliver your bees to them in mid August. They charge $150 for the moving south service.

They will rent your bees to orchards, and they take all honey made during the winter. It’s a great business for them, not for us.

In addition their fine print says they are not responsible for disease and mites.

So those are the reasons my chickens will eat bees.

 

[GodofPecking]

I train beekeepers, I enjoy long walks on the beach and getting my butt kicked by bees. Like yesterday, about 4 dozen stings from boxing the largest swarm I can remember (yes I do have a bad memory, but it was massive. Swarms normally have no budget for security)

Overwintering bees is not difficult if you treat them well from the start. As individuals they are cold blooded, but the colony is warm blooded. Treat it that way and keep it warm. There are very many ways to do this, MANY. You keep yourself warm in winter, why not work out a way to share the warmth.

Chickens won't eat bees. Unless they're battered and deep-fried. They don't like bees. They remember.

Small entrances are good at any time unless there are a lot of bees or it gets hot, or there is direct sun on the beehive. Beehives are best in shade in hot summers, and in the sun in cold weather. Temperature of the day, plus how much work is going on in the hive, plus predators, plus robber bees all come into account when choosing the size of an entrance. For new hives that are being established during cool weather, an entrance you can hardly stick half a dozen straws in at one time is ok.

Don't kill drones, there's no need. The workers will do that themselves when it needs to be done. Bees are smarter than people and people shouldn't tell them stupid things like that, bees are the experts and they may well decide to re-queen immediately, and they'd need drones for that, the drones help keep the hive warm and improve morale.

should respect the bees, they've been here hundreds of millions of years and haven't destroyed the only planet they have to live on, so they smart.

 

[Hidrainja4]

Uh, you did actually...

"I do not plan to over winter my bees. I will use them as protein for the birds when their work is done. " I assumed the birds were the chickens. Evidently bees are inexpensive compare to what we pay for three lbs of bees and a sascatraz queen here in Ohio. In Ohio there is a high winter loss rate, like 75% if you don't want to bother with them maybe you could give them back where you got them from before winter?

 

[duluthralphie]

I train beekeepers, I enjoy long walks on the beach and getting my butt kicked by bees. Like yesterday, about 4 dozen stings from boxing the largest swarm I can remember (yes I do have a bad memory, but it was massive. Swarms normally have no budget for security)

Overwintering bees is not difficult if you treat them well from the start. As individuals they are cold blooded, but the colony is warm blooded. Treat it that way and keep it warm. There are very many ways to do this, MANY. You keep yourself warm in winter, why not work out a way to share the warmth.

Chickens won't eat bees. Unless they're battered and deep-fried. They don't like bees. They remember.

Small entrances are good at any time unless there are a lot of bees or it gets hot, or there is direct sun on the beehive. Beehives are best in shade in hot summers, and in the sun in cold weather. Temperature of the day, plus how much work is going on in the hive, plus predators, plus robber bees all come into account when choosing the size of an entrance. For new hives that are being established during cool weather, an entrance you can hardly stick half a dozen straws in at one time is ok.

Don't kill drones, there's no need. The workers will do that themselves when it needs to be done. Bees are smarter than people and people shouldn't tell them stupid things like that, bees are the experts and they may well decide to re-queen immediately, and they'd need drones for that, the drones help keep the hive warm and improve morale.

should respect the bees, they've been here hundreds of millions of years and haven't destroyed the only planet they have to live on, so they smart.

Could you give us a general area you live in?

I would over winter my bees if possible. I just don’t think I can do it here.

I know quite a few people that keep bees many of them have kept them for years. I have yet to find one that has kept the hive alive over winter around me.

For me to think I can keep them alive and healthy in my first year when these experienced people can’t would be arrogance on my part,



I will not be bringing the bees into the house. My wife would shoot me, stab me, choke me and then hold a pillow to my face while I slept if I did.

I have no outbuilding with heat, or capable of being heated.

Looking at it financially, it’s cheaper to kill the bees than keep them alive and healthy. If you could give me specifics of how I can do that, please do.

Keep in mind I live in an area that is routinely 40 below and we go three weeks at a time without the temperature getting above 0 farenhight.

 

[duluthralphie]

"I do not plan to over winter my bees. I will use them as protein for the birds when their work is done. " I assumed the birds were the chickens. Evidently bees are inexpensive compare to what we pay for three lbs of bees and a sascatraz queen here in Ohio. In Ohio there is a high winter loss rate, like 75% if you don't want to bother with them maybe you could give them back where you got them from before winter?

They don’t want them back. Would not take them.

The cost of overwintering the bees must be less than the cost of me replacing them in the spring.

This would include heat, food, disease and mite protections.

According to most articles 30% of all bee hives die overwinter in the USA. I assume the southern states lose a percent or two, as their winters are warmer than our summers.

Which means the northerns states do much worse on survival. Even amongst the northern states we are special, as in colder than most.

Killing off the bees in the fall is a very common practice up here. My guess is half of the keepers kill their bees.

To me it is not worth the money, time and effort to try and keep the bees alive over winter when their is a greater than 80% chance they will die anyways.

If you want my bees come and get them in after September 20th. Bring your own box and honey.

 

[duluthralphie]

I am going to lift the lid today and check the feeder. Hopefully, without getting bitten.

 

[R2elk]

I am going to lift the lid today and check the feeder. Hopefully, without getting bitten.

Wasps can bite, bees don't bite. At this point, they are not likely to be in a stinging mood yet.

 

[duluthralphie]

Wasps can bite, bees don't bite. At this point, they are not likely to be in a stinging mood yet.

Wasp can bite?
All they have ever done to me is sting me.

Hornets....hornets are just mean, they bite, kick, sting and spit.. I still can feel the pain from that hive I stumbled into last fall picking wild grapes.

I think I got 18 welts out of that.



The guy that’s helping me got stung putting his bees in the hive the other day. He bought new gloves from Fleetfarm and they had ventilation on the wrists with no inner liner, just one layer of mesh.

He never noticed that flaw until the sting occurred. He says he thinks the bee got tangled in the mesh and stung in reaction.

He said he ordered new gloves.

 

[blackandtan]

I really like that feeder you’ve got clipped on the landing board, where did you buy that?