Bees

[user 7704]

Daily? You spoil your chicks Robin. I haven't watered our chickens in weeks. This time of year we have springs everywhere. They just go water themselves. When it drys out later this Spring I'm going to setup an automatic waterer for them.

Well, the chicks are still in the "playpen" and they spill continually even though I have the container suspended on a rope to keep them from stepping and pooping in it.

I won one of those automatic nipple watering systems that hooks to a water hose and it didn't work out for us. The water would sit in the pipe and be about 100° even though I placed it on the shady side of coop. It's simpler just to give them fresh water daily. Plus during the summer, I add a large frozen gallon jug of water to keep them cool.

 

[TexasFreedom]

A few thoughts on chickens. First, I really don't like those nipple waterers. Often the chickens do not get enough water and that reduces egg production. I'd rather have hens drinking water that is a little dirty than not getting enough water.

Plus during the summer, I add a large frozen gallon jug of water to keep them cool.

Ahh, you are one of "those" people! In Tennessee? Here in TX I don't bother with that. I do have a large pan. Picture a really big 2" deep cake pan that I fill with water. The birds drink that water some, but in the heat they will stand in it for a couple of minutes & cool their feet. I have other places with larger water containers, but that's their version of A/C.

Now keep in mind, depending on how friendly your bees are, filling their water may require some protection. I've had my bees chase me after dark when it was so dark I couldn't see my hands in front of my face as I was trying to fill their water. I wouldn't dare try that in daylight, note their water is 2 ft from the nearest hive and within 10ft of 10 hives. Might be better to have 2 waterers, side by side. Let one go dry & it'll be easier to refill. Meanwhile they can keep drinking out of the second, and side by side means they won't abandon it.

 

[Mountain trapper]

The commercial bee keepers around here don't provide water for their hives. Some of the hives appear to be a mile or so from water. How far will the bees travel to get water?

 

[user 7704]

The commercial bee keepers around here don't provide water for their hives. Some of the hives appear to be a mile or so from water. How far will the bees travel to get water?

I live by a Corps of Engineer lake . 300 ' from water. My chicken waterer is next to hives so that they have a source without going to swimming pool and drowning

 

[TexasFreedom]

AD, the bees will travel as far as is needed. They must have water. And they don't need lakes, any puddle will be plenty. Even dew. Down here it's in greater demand because they use it for cooling (evaporative cooling) the hive. But they also drink some.

 

[user 7704]

I DID IT!!!!!! Both queens are alive. I hope i remembered everything. Lordy, i need a valium.

 

[Mountain trapper]

AD, the bees will travel as far as is needed. They must have water. And they don't need lakes, any puddle will be plenty. Even dew. Down here it's in greater demand because they use it for cooling (evaporative cooling) the hive. But they also drink some.

Thanks Tex. The bees will be about a half mile from the pond. I also have several stock tanks that are closer and in opposite direction from the pond. Plus they'll only be about 500' from the garden and orchard. This time of year with the melting snow there's water everywhere.

 

[TexasFreedom]

Robin, That's great news. You are now in the presence of royalty! Treat them as such. Don't bug them. If the queens are free in the hive, don't go looking for them every day/other day/ week. Give them a chance to settle down. Make sure they have some food (sugar water/pollen) if it's not available (ask your mentor) and step away from the hives. Too many new BK in their excitement keep checking for her and eventually kill her by mistake. Like with everything prepper, stay calm.

Water is a good example for a topic. A bee often dies from wearing out their wings. A bee typically lasts about 500 miles of flight. If water is a mile away, one bee will only make 250 trips back & forth before dying. And lots more bees are dedicated to getting water because it takes so long to fly the 2 mile round trip. Instead, let's say water is 20 ft away. That is under 1/100th of a mile round trip. It can easily make 50 round trips (allowing for drinking & dispersing time) for the one trip at a mile away. That frees up 50 other bees to go out foraging. And that can be the difference between 40 bees dedicated to water collection vs 2000 bees just getting water. It adds up.

 

[user 7704]

Thanks TF. I'm not a nervous person, but I can say that I was very apprehensive. My chicken waterer is on 5 or so feet from the hives. The bird bath is about 50' away.

 

[Mountain trapper]

Robin, That's great news. You are now in the presence of royalty! Treat them as such. Don't bug them. If the queens are free in the hive, don't go looking for them every day/other day/ week. Give them a chance to settle down. Make sure they have some food (sugar water/pollen) if it's not available (ask your mentor) and step away from the hives. Too many new BK in their excitement keep checking for her and eventually kill her by mistake. Like with everything prepper, stay calm.

Water is a good example for a topic. A bee often dies from wearing out their wings. A bee typically lasts about 500 miles of flight. If water is a mile away, one bee will only make 250 trips back & forth before dying. And lots more bees are dedicated to getting water because it takes so long to fly the 2 mile round trip. Instead, let's say water is 20 ft away. That is under 1/100th of a mile round trip. It can easily make 50 round trips (allowing for drinking & dispersing time) for the one trip at a mile away. That frees up 50 other bees to go out foraging. And that can be the difference between 40 bees dedicated to water collection vs 2000 bees just getting water. It adds up.

Good point. I'll set up a shallow water trough closer to the hive area and transfer water from a barrel.
I just moved the hive location from where I originally wanted it, it was too close to where the solar panels are going to be installed.
Something else I just noticed, I get good cell reception where the bee hives will be set up.

 

[TexasFreedom]

That will come in handy when you are dying from 5,000 bee stings, laying next to your hives, but able to call 911! Just kidding...

But here is reality. You'll find yourself just sitting out there, watching the bees coming and going. Watching what they are doing, what are they bringing in, which direction they're going, etc etc. More entertaining than TV! But you'll be able to answer your phone, a nice benefit.

Note that you'll want your hives in full sun, dawn till dusk. Even here in TX my hives are in full sun, just take my word for it.

BTW, an interesting fact. Bears don't really want the honey. Yes, they'll eat it. But they really want the brood, more nutrition that they need going into hibernation. It would be interesting to see a bear vs AHB, let's see how a bear handles bees that are very aggressive! Could that be a Gozilla-type movie?

 

[Mountain trapper]

That will come in handy when you are dying from 5,000 bee stings, laying next to your hives, but able to call 911! Just kidding...

But here is reality. You'll find yourself just sitting out there, watching the bees coming and going. Watching what they are doing, what are they bringing in, which direction they're going, etc etc. More entertaining than TV! But you'll be able to answer your phone, a nice benefit.

Note that you'll want your hives in full sun, dawn till dusk. Even here in TX my hives are in full sun, just take my word for it.

BTW, an interesting fact. Bears don't really want the honey. Yes, they'll eat it. But they really want the brood, more nutrition that they need going into hibernation. It would be interesting to see a bear vs AHB, let's see how a bear handles bees that are very aggressive! Could that be a Gozilla-type movie?

Ok Tex. I moved the hive again. And for the last time. Now it's in full sun and only 50' from a water trough. It's down the hill about 200 yards from the house site and just below the cemetery. Don't think they'll bother anyone there. Got the fence around the hives, just need a solar fence charger now.

 

[TexasFreedom]

AD,
I didn't mean to make you move your hive. A key question: do you have a local mentor? Does anyone around you keep bees? If you are new to this, a mentor will stop countless mistakes which could cost you a few colonies. Had you a mentor to start with, you could have set the hive in the right place.

BTW, how far did you move the colony? Put something around the entrance to make the bees re-orient themselves when they come out. Otherwise they might go back to the old location & forget where they moved to. Check the old area, you may find lots of bees maybe on a tree, homeless little girls! Again, a mentor would have advised on this.

 

[Mountain trapper]

AD,
I didn't mean to make you move your hive. A key question: do you have a local mentor? Does anyone around you keep bees? If you are new to this, a mentor will stop countless mistakes which could cost you a few colonies. Had you a mentor to start with, you could have set the hive in the right place.

BTW, how far did you move the colony? Put something around the entrance to make the bees re-orient themselves when they come out. Otherwise they might go back to the old location & forget where they moved to. Check the old area, you may find lots of bees maybe on a tree, homeless little girls! Again, a mentor would have advised on this.

Fortunately the bees haven't arrived yet, so it was just a little added labor on my part. I didn't like the idea of hauling water anyway, plus I like this new location better.
A few weeks ago I stopped by a commercial bee keeper to ask some questions. He told me that he couldn't be bothered with "back yard" bee keepers, but he would sell me some honey and a hive though.
The nearest BK club is about 125 miles away. So I guess you and Robin are my "mentors" for now.
When I go to pick up my tiller on Monday I'll stop in town and look up some bee videos. I guess the first challenge will be putting the little buggers in the hive.

 

[user 7704]

I found very good beginner videos on you tube. I usually don't watch any you tube. Since I did nucs instead of package bees I'm rather lost there. I do believe that you spray them with a 1:1 ratio of sugar water before opening the package.

 

[TexasFreedom]

Robin, be VERY careful with spraying sugarwater. In fact I'd recommend you not do that. The reason is that a tiny bit is fine, it gives the bees something to do while you transfer things. But, do just a tad too much, and you kill thousands of bees. Basically you can suffocate them because the sugar water sticks & prevents them from breathing correctly.

For the most part, when doing transfers, avoid bumping things (vibration). Work quickly. Move smoothly and slowly. Start on the end and make sure you don't roll bees. Don't do it when it's cold or even cool. Have everything 'ready' before you open the nuc.

A decent video on installing a nuc:
And another with other hints:

 

[Mountain trapper]

I found very good beginner videos on you tube. I usually don't watch any you tube. Since I did nucs instead of package bees I'm rather lost there. I do believe that you spray them with a 1:1 ratio of sugar water before opening the package.

I'll stop by my parents on Monday and look at some bee videos. Can't open YouTube on my phone.

 

[user 7704]

TF I didn't spray mine. All the videos I've seen, show that the spray the package type. I didn't need to with the nuc

 

[Mountain trapper]

I think the company shipping our bees will only ship when the temps stay over 60 degs. We're still freezing at night and day time temps are in the 50's mostly.

 

[TexasFreedom]

AD, above 60F? How many days a year in Alaska qualify for that, 9 days? Or did you have a record year last year with 24 above-60F days? Oh dear Lord, global warming! Just kidding... you will have fun jabbing me come July & my 100 degF days!

Friendly ribbing... (I'm sure I'll get plenty back!)

 

[user 7704]

TF so on rainy days, do they just stay inside the hive? We are having rain all week.

 

[TexasFreedom]

Robin,
Yes. They stay in the coop and just get mad. Similar on cloudy or cooler days. That is why you never open a hive on a bad day, they will come after you. You also want to avoid getting chilled brood (letting the brood cool down for even a few minutes can kill them).

I joke that on cloudy days, older bees with arthritic knees stay at home and are even grumper while the not-so-bright youngsters might head out. Remember that bees use the direction of the sun to give directions, cloud cover means they are flying blind unless they've flown that path repeatedly before.

But this is where your in-hive feeder really matters. If 10k bees can't go out to collect nectar/pollen, they can really hustle getting the sugar water out & into frames. This is when they can suck down easily a gallon a day. And that sugar water can get converted to wax by the younger bees to build out more comb. That comb can both store sugar water as well as make room for more brood.

 

[user 7704]

So since my feeder is a mason jar size, I need to put in a new jar and not disturb the hive. I have an inner cover on the frames. So if I do it fast, will it be okay? I'll wait for break in rain. Am I correct?

 

[TexasFreedom]

So since my feeder is a mason jar size, I need to put in a new jar and not disturb the hive. I have an inner cover on the frames. So if I do it fast, will it be okay? I'll wait for break in rain. Am I correct?

Great question. OK, did you put your inner cover under the mason jar? That really helps, you don't get that cold draft throughout the entire hive with that barrier. In this case doing it quick will be fine. But be ready, a lot of bees will be in that upper area & immediately hate you. If you have a spare mason jar, have it filled & capped & ready for a really quick swap-out. From when you remove the outer cover, it should be 10 seconds to take out the empty jar, swap the new one in, set it down, and replace the outer cover. Don't dally, don't daydream, don't look to see if your queen is in the upper area (she won't be). Light rain won't matter, don't do it when you have any real 'rain', one drop will take out a few bees & make others even more angry.

No jerking movements, no 'thumping' the hive with a whack by mistake, imagine a Chinese exercise where everything flows smoothly and with purpose.

 

[user 7704]

thanks. Yes, the feeder is on top of the inner cover. I'll have the jar nd klled and will just have to change lids. I only have two with holes. Ill make it fast though.

 

[TexasFreedom]

Sounds like you are ready. Don't do it too early, they will be better later in the morning/afternoon as long as rain isn't worse then.

Do not fear your bees being aggressive. Just understand they have good days and bad, just like people. Understand they have their reasons for being nicer or meaner just like we do. Remember that just like wives, they are all girls and they are always right (it's up to you to work your reality into their "real" reality). I'm really not joking here, it's just a true statement.

And remember that you can't do anything without killing a few bees. For example when you put the lid on, you're going to cringe trying to not kill one or two at that top edge. Don't worry, they will die, they have 10,000 sisters & one of them will replace these. Just try not to kill 100's, and definitely avoid things that could kill the queen.

 

[user 7704]

I'm going to take my son to school and by that time there should be a break in the rain.

 

[TexasFreedom]

Which part of 'afternoon' did you not hear! Wait longer, they will be a little better.

 

[user 7704]

There's only going to be a small window when it isn't pouring rain.

I don't like the options either. I'll keep eye on radar.

Coming to school, the roads were underwater in 3 different places.

 

[TexasFreedom]

Maybe today's just not going to be a good day for this. They have their frames, they have their quart from yesterday, let them go. Will tomorrow be better? They're not going to starve for 1 day without extra food.

A side note this is one reason I like larger feeders. A gallon will definitely keep them busy for a day, sometimes a few days.

Don't just use your judgement, call your mentor & get his opinion as a local BK.