The Old Folks Home

[Latestarter]

Well, after 4-6 inches of the white stuff and morning temps today in the low 20s I finally broke down and installed the water bucket heaters. The nipples were frozen solid this morning, and there was ice in the buckets. Not solid mind you, but still... Everything is plugged in, no shorts and no popped circuit breakers, so despite all the chicken dust, I guess all is well. Now I just hope the dog doesn't decide to chew the extension cords. Nothing else out back seems safe from him LOL.

Also went out and removed the empty deep and empty double syrup feeder from the bee hive and put the outer cover back on right above the inner cover. I was amazed at the hordes of yellow jackets/wasps patrolling the hive. Trying to get in a last feed before it's too late. The honey bees have the entrance jammed, so the wasps aren't getting inside. The bees never moved the honey from the medium super frame I left in the deep, so I'll scrape and drain that this evening and have another pint of beautiful honey.

I left it out by the hive for now, until dark, so they can scavenge it if they want.

CC...................................
For you bee keepers in northern climates, do you insulate your hives, what do you use to insulate, for winter and at what temperature do you want to have it in place?

This will be my first winter. It gets pretty danged cold here for spells. I'm going to wrap mine in one layer of felt paper leaving it below the top cover for ventilation and not covering the entrance. That's what the bee club folks here do. I guess from previous posts that SCG is doing an actual insulated wrap or cover... I'll put it on after Thanksgiving unless we have a really cold snap coming before then.

Man, I guess winter is finally here. And the month of November is almost 1/2 gone! Geeze... Hope y'all had a great Friday. I'm going out with a friend for a Chinese food feast for dinner tonight. The left overs are the best part. They always taste super reheated.

 

[Latestarter]

As an aside, while out working around the coops this afternoon I noticed fox tracks alongside the runs in the snow. My LGD was out back by the coops barking the last couple nights and he's been spending extra time out there so I'm guessing he scared the fox off. The area is fenced so the fox can't get in to where the coops are, and Mel can't get out to where the fox was. Good dog!

 

[superchemicalgirl]

As far as the bees go, I never wrapped or did much of anything before this year. I have always put a candy board on, and they've always consumed some of it.

http://www.beverlybees.com/i-want-candy-so-lets-make-a-candyboard-for-winter-feeding/

BF made a simple candy board holder out of pine boards and some welded wire that we had leftover from poultry. I line it with foundation waxed paper and then shove the "candy" in it. I roll it with a small pizza roller to squish it and let it dry a few days. Put a towel down first, then prop it up a few inches until it hardens. I don't put pollen in it but I do make a small hole for travel.

This year I was also going to do a quilt box:

http://www.honeybeesuite.com/how-to-make-a-moisture-quilt-for-a-langstroth-hive/

Which would be over the candy board, followed by styrofoam insulation cut out as the size of the regular inner cover, then top cover.

Instead, the self made quilt box was an epic failure, and so I went this route:

https://www.kelleybees.com/Shop/13/Hives-Components/Accessories/4862/Hot-Box-Moisture-Board

I am on the fence about wrapping the hive this year. I have front holes cut into each box, so I don't want to cover those. I may cut roof paper (since we have a ton) and wrap it using some stretchy ties, but I'm not sure, yet.

 

[getaclue]

Tomorrow is pedicure day for all my chickens. Middle daughter is coming to help. Sunday, Dh is going to mow around the coop. I'm going to rake it out, and Dh is going to help me haul the stuff I rake up to the trash heap. I will also scrub water, and feed buckets on Sunday.

I've been giving a lot of thought to nest boxes. I think I am going to get some medium storage totes, cut an opening in one side, cut a bit off the top, put some hay in, and see if they like it. I've had trouble getting them to like, or stick to a nesting box. I started them with milk crates. I changed the hay fairly regular to keep it fresh, and I always changed it if it got soiled. That worked for awhile, then all of a sudden, they started laying on the ground. Thinking maybe it was something with the milk crates that I wasn't seeing, I washed them thoroughly, put fresh hay in, and they refused to use the milk crates. They would dump the crates, move the hay to a corner of the coop, make a nest, and lay in that nest. My next though was that maybe they had gotten too big for the milk crates, and were too cramped in them. I got larger crates. Nope, they wouldn't have anything to do with them. It got really hot here this summer, and yes I have fans in my coop(s), so I thought maybe they were preferring to lay on the ground because it was cooler there, but I didn't really want them laying on the ground, so I went to Home Depot and got those flat black tubs used for mixing concrete, and put the nests they had built, in them. When they all went into molt, and weren't laying anyway, I rearranged the flock. The storage totes looked like a nice idea, being large enough, giving them privacy, and easy to collect the eggs, and keep clean. More monsters for the coop....LOL!

 

[WVduckchick]

What do you use as bedding in the coop and boxes?
I have one set of girls that are very good at laying in the boxes, only one girl will lay her egg in the coop, just on the other side of the 2x4 outside the boxes.
Another set of girls, one prefers the corner of the coop, while others lay in the boxes. Another set are always in the box. Crazy birds lol.
I've read that different materials in the boxes vs. material in the coop is a good idea, that they like the variation. The first 2 sets I mentioned have straw in the boxes and coops, but the 3rd set has pine shaving in the nest box and straw in their coop.
What does everyone here do?

 

[drumstick diva]

I think some are holding out for radiant heat flooring - boy do they get spoiled fast.

 

[getaclue]

What do you use as bedding in the coop and boxes?
I have one set of girls that are very good at laying in the boxes, only one girl will lay her egg in the coop, just on the other side of the 2x4 outside the boxes.
Another set of girls, one prefers the corner of the coop, while others lay in the boxes. Another set are always in the box. Crazy birds lol.
I've read that different materials in the boxes vs. material in the coop is a good idea, that they like the variation. The first 2 sets I mentioned have straw in the boxes and coops, but the 3rd set has pine shaving in the nest box and straw in their coop.
What does everyone here do?

The coop flooring material is sand/dirt, while the nesting material is hay.

I think some are holding out for radiant heat flooring - boy do they get spoiled fast.

We don't have, or need radiant heat flooring in Florida, but you're right, they do get spoiled fast.

 

[Alaskan]

I thought that mine might need another box (they only had two, a big size one, and a bantam sized one). I like super wide, lots of room boxes.

Anyway, while at the dump, I saw a bookshelf and grabbed it and brought it home. It is a small two shelf one, I put it on its side, used one of the shelves to block the front and keep bedding in.... They love it.

Their nest boxes have wood shavings/dust, the coop is a wood floor with wood shavings, and the shed has a sand floor (everything is connected).

They usually lay in the boxes... Very rarely in other spots.

 

[drumstick diva]

Alaskan do you still have your hidden(from wife's view) banty coop?

 

[bamadude]

Alaskan   do you still have your hidden(from wife's view)   banty coop?

Lol. You are still confused