Chickens: May 12, 2012

We went to the tractor supply tail gate late and all of the chickens were gone. They had goats and oddly enough, pigeons. Jim and I decided to join HudsonValleyChickens.com and put a posting that we're looking for specific breeds. We're interested in cold hardy breeds that lay eggs often. We ended up with a black Astrolorp named Sally , 2 Buff Orpingons named Pipla and Berla and an Ameraucana named Joy. Sally lays light brown missile like eggs, Pipla and Berla lay light brown..sort of pinkish eggs and Joy lays these beautiful bluish-green colored eggs.

Sally - Black Astrolorp

Berla and Pipla - Buff Orpingtons

Joy - Ameraucana

We picked them up from a woman, Donna Haines, near Newburgh in a town called Bloomington. She was decent and showed us her operation. When we got them home, they were relatively calm. Sally had feathers missing and Donna said it was from the roosters. The more I see her the more I'm thinking mites but we'll see because the others ones are fine.



Sally seems to be the smart one and understood how to use the water nipples I installed for them to drink. Pipla and Berla soon followed what Sally was doing and ultimately Joy was operating the nipples like an old timer.















They also understood how to get the food from the contraption we set up. The next day was wonderful because when we opened the coop door, they each had laid a beautiful colored egg.

So far they're interesting to watch. I just wish we could watch them more often. While rehearsing a speech for a meeting I was having, they were a good audience. I thought by talking often that they would be more relaxed around me. They were still a bit skittish.
The last thing worth mentioning is that the solar powerd door opener was a SUCCESS! It opens and closes at precisely the right time. We couldn't be happier about this whole experience.

Bees: May 12, 2012

Weather: Upper 70's, Sunny, Overall Beautiful day

It's been a few weeks since we've posted. Although we've been busy keeping our projects Upstate on track, finding the time for the blog in the evenings has been a challenge. In Mid-April we noticed that Hive B had what seemed like the entire hive outside by the entrance. I thought since the weather was beautiful, these were all newly hatched worker bees just getting their bearings.  What we found 2 weeks later while going up to put the finishing touches on the chicken coop was that one of the hives swarmed. There on the honeysuckle bush was a swarm. What luck that it happened over a weekend when we were Upstate.  Jim and I quickly got our gear on, brought up the new cedar hive we bought and a pair of loppers.

We set up the cedar hive where the original hive A was. Jim held the honeysuckle branch with the swarm while I cut the main branch with the loppers. Jim quickly brought the branch with the swarm into cedar hive. We decided to close it while we had lunch and then removed it after they've settled into their new home.

The week after, we checked on the cedar hive all all seemed well with bees coming and going. We opened up the other two hives and surprisingly their honey reserves were full. It was difficult trying to figure out which hive swarmed. Both had honey reserves and both had an ample army of worker bees.
Our purpose was to see if a queen, new or old, existed and Jim spotted a queen in both along with eggs. We felt at ease that those 2 hives were working well. We removed as many queens cells as possible but left the  supercedure cells since our thoughts were that the workers created them for a reason.
This weekend we were working in the vegetable garden and I heard a whurring noise and asked Jim what it was. He then noticed a large swarm of bees hovering near the peach tree and they rested on a nearby Honeysuckle bush in a Heart Shape.

We had the routine down at this point so I ran to the barn to get our gear and we kept to the plan to use the Top Bar hive if we ever got a second set a honeybees this year. We set the Top Bar in a completely new area near my dad's mini-barn shed. It seems like a good location although I'd like to put a more stable foundation to hold it up.

Look how many are guarding the entrance.

We then went to check hive b and c again and sadly, they were practically empty of honey reserves which means they both swarmed.
We found an old saying "swarms in May, plenty of hay" which means that we'll have plenty of honey this year however Jim and I aren't hopeful. We'll see. We're happy because we now have 4 hives which is what we wanted this year.

Chickens are COMING!!! Be Prepared!!!

Over the long winter Jim and I discussed what is it we could do that will bring us some joy, provide a purpose and not take up too much time....Chickens seem to be the answer. Truth is the bugs last summer did a number on our veggies and we thought about getting chickens for the next summer. 

So here we are after weeks of prep. We bought a Chicken Coop, Solar Powered Chicken Door Opener, Rodent proof feed feeder as well as all of the material to keep them safely in a secured open area. Although we were cut up and bruised along the way, we're happy with the way things are turning out so far. A few weeks back on the way back home to the city we took a detour to Highland NY where there was a Tractor Store Tail Gate and everyone was selling goats, pigs, chickens and every other imaginable livestock.

When we got there all of the chickens were snatched up but we did meet a woman selling her chicken eggs that told us about an economical way to give them water. Jim and I bought 3 of these stainless steel watering pails for $35 each. She told us about these plastic nipples that are drilled into the bottom of a 5 gallon pail. She loved them and preached about how since it's above the chickens, there's no way for the water to get contaminated with their FECAL matter AND it saves water since it's not spilled all over the place. We brought the stainless steel pails back to the tractor store and bought a few of these nipples. I'll write next time about how they're working out.

Next Sunday, April 29th in Chatham they're supposed to be selling 4H chickens. 4H is a group similar to the boy scout which teaches kids about farming. They raise these chickens from eggs and then sell them just before school ends. Jim and I are going to be there bright and early to get the pick of the litter. We've been reading up on them and we'll get a few different ones...4 or 5.

Today we finished putting up the fence and gate and there are just a few last minute things we'll do and it'll be good to go!

Here are some pictures:

Here's the spot we picked a few weeks ago. Surprise, surprise when we started digging we found old remnants of an old chicken coop in the same spot!

Here's the beginning of the Chicken Palace! sort of sounds like a fried chicken place :(

Bees: April 20th, 2012

Weather: Partially Sunny, high 70's, Occasional Wind

It's been a while since we've updated the blog but we're back on track. We've been checking the bees every weekend and since the winter's been unbelievably mild, the bees have been our foraging for a while now. Jim and my concern was that they're all flying around and exhausting themselves only to use up whatever honey was left from the winter. If this were to happen, they'd use up all their reserves and die of starvation because nothing's blooming yet. This of course didn't happen...thank God.

We removed our winterizing material...tar paper, popsicle sticks, overturned the top cover, removed the bottom board wood, etc...and examined each one. One interesting point to mention was the strong smell when you're in the hive area of the queens pheramone. I've seen it written where people describe it as a banana smell. Each one looked incredibly healthy with a huge population. Hive C didn't have much store honey whereas Hive B (nasty hive) was loaded with honey. Both had beautiful brood so the queens were still laying.

In Hive C we noticed a supersedure cell which I thought was odd since it was so early in the season. We left it alone incase the worker bees thought their queen needed to be replaced. We installed a honey super on each and we're hoping they each wanted more space.

Over the winter Jim and I purchased a nice cedar 8 frame hive and spent time making it great. We picked an orange color to make it different from the other two. Unfortunately when it came time to order the bees, it seemed like every place was out of stock on packages. When the demand dies down, we'll order a package and hope for the best.

Here are some pictures we've taken over the past few weeks:

We put out some sugar water on an old frame and watched as more and more came to drink up.

This time of year the property is full of catnip and the bees are happy for it.

Three weeks ago is when we noticed a bunch of our honey bees going through our compost. Was it pollen, moisture or sugar??? Who knows!

Lastly, while planting a persimmon tree near the road, I knelt down and noticed this strange looking bee. What is it? It was all alone and not scared. Just walking over the plants and then took off in flight.