The coop in progress

It seems to have taken forever, a thousand trips to Home Depot and some extra help from my friend John to get to this point.  Shingles still need to be laid when it stops raining, trimming still needs to happen.  Hardware cloth for the ventilation for the top was donated by another friend George and still needs to be stapled in.  Then the fun of digging the fencing.  It's going to be 6' tall and about 10' out from the coop then run down to my vinyl fence.  The fencing will need to be dug into the ground and skirted out so predators (my dogs) can't dig down.

The exterior yellow box is a nest box.  I plan on a yellow flower box below the window.

The door was made by my friend John and I love it.  It has a little window and the chicken door is built in it as well.  I want the fence to run from the right side of the coop out to give my family a little more usable yard space.  We live on a small lot and maximizing every foot is needed.

My life right now feels like my garage.  So much going on, bees, chickens, kids and life.  Crazy but full of excitement, learning and fun.

The bee and chicken combo worked so well at OCG that I have built (almost done) a chicken coop for our house.  SHB stand no chance against the chicken.  Great compost, entertainment and eggs are all extras for me.  I can't await their arrival the first week of May.

How did my yard far this winter?

CSX came out of winter with lots going for it!  Two deeps and a medium mostly full of brood and mixed stores. This hive picked up SHB from the DHS gardens and I have mostly got them under control but I will wait another week or so before adding another medium.

Package #1 had a deep and medium completely full so I added another medium.

Package #2 has 4 mediums.  Two weeks ago I added another medium since they looked very congested.

CSX split had 3 mediums on it.  There was quite a bit of extra room but not to much, so I reverse the boxes to put the queen on bottom and give her room to go up.

Demeter Split and Demeter both didn't come out of winter as strong as I would have liked.  Both of these hives seem to be slowly starting this spring.  I reverse the boxes on Demeter and DS and removed the bottom Deep on DS that was almost completely empty.  Hope they kick it in!

DHS bee club

DHS's bee have died.  Communal beekeeping is different then keeping bees in your back yard.  Who feed them last?  do they have enough pollen?  is the bald face hornet bothering them?  how much do they weigh?  do the brood boxes need to be reversed?  ect....

Keeping bees is different then having bees.

What to do when it's almost to late?

The DHS hive isn't where it needs to be to get through this unusually harsh Georgia winter.  Late winter hive feeding are best done with bee candy.  It's hard for the bees to metabolize moisture during cold weather.
One four cups of water were brought to a boil, then ten pounds of sugar is mixed in and stirred till it reaches 145F.

a candy thermometer is a must.

I poured the mixture after it slightly cooled.

after an hour I have a nice slab of candy.

A 2" shim between top Hive Body and the Inner Cover will keep the candy from interfering with the inner cover.  We will lay small wooden dowels perpendicular to the frames within hive, and gently place the sugar cakes onto these so it can be accessed all the way around.  

Even a hive with stores can starve if they move up to fast and don't eat the stores on the sides.  Hopefully this will help them when they reach the top.

Winter condensation and what to do about it.

I use bee cozies on my bees in the winter.  After several several years of using them and not always having enough for all my hives I have seen the difference that having one makes.  They use far less stores to get through the winter, one of the main causes for winter hive death is starvation, sometimes with in inches of stores.  With the cozy on they don't have to cluster as tight and have a better chance of reaching the stores need to stay fed.

Mold from condensation.

The hive wrapped in insulation, the bottom board in place if using SBBs leaves the top to condensate.  All the warm air from the bees is pressed against the uninsulated top cover.  Condensation forms and drips very cold water on to the cluster below causing death and sickness.  A simple fix is to put a piece of insulation in the top airspace.  If you don't have an airspace on the top the next best fix is a nickel under the two front corners of the inner cover to let moister out.

Beekeeping 101 at Oakhurst Gardens

I'm so honored to be teaching a few classes this year at Oakhurst Community Garden.

January 29th I will teaching beekeeping 101.  I hope to cover the basics of what equipment to buy, from whom. What is and isn't really necessary for starting out and why.  Where to place your hive, how to install your bees ect.

March 19th I will teaching a advanced class.  I have asked for specific questions to be submitted a week before the class so I can try to address the student specific concerns and I know this will lead to lots of wonderful discussions about pest and problems.

April 23rd is the kids version of bees 101.  We will crush and strain a frame of honey, look at all sorts of tools, equipment and protective gear and of course taste some really honey.  If time permits we will also be making a rolled beeswax candles with some foundation.