Honeybee Hive Dying?

My hive with two large super boxes, and one
medium super (honey super).
Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2016

One of my heart's desires is to be a beekeeper. Unfortunately for me, all it has been is - trying to be a beekeeper. After moving my hive location further away from the road early this past spring, I thought the problems that was causing my hives to die would be solved.

When I put my package bees into the hive, I saw amazing things I'd never seen before - it was truly a working hive. The queen was laying lots of brood (baby bees), and the worker bees were doing the jobs they are supposed to do. Food was being stored in the frames, with nearly all ten frames filled in the first super box allowing me to put on the second super.

In July, the second super was nearly full, and I worried about the bees swarming. This happens when they run out of room, so I put on a honey super, which is a medium sized box. I put in six frames that had comb already drawn out, and four that just had foundation for the bees to use to draw out the comb. The six frames had to be cleaned first.

Two weeks later, I checked the hive. There was lots of bees, and there was still food stored, but the honey super had no honey being stored, but the comb had been cleaned. I wasn't concerned.

Bees hanging on front.
Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2016

I left the hive alone for nearly a month. The week before Labor Day, there were lots of bees hanging on the front of the hive - outside. This is no big deal. They will do this when it is hot. A few days later, I found hundreds, probably into the thousands of bees lying in front of my hive - dead.

Hundreds into the thousands of
dead honeybees.
Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2016

Early that Sunday morning, while it was still cool enough to check the hive, I suited up and walked to to the hive, with all my tools. Without using smoke, I took off the outer cover - no bees. I removed the inner cover to reveal the honey super - no bees. I pulled off the honey super, and the second super box was nearly empty. My heart was beating wildly by this point.

I attached the frame holder to the side of the super, and started working frames loose, pulling them out, and sitting them in the holder. Once I could see through to the super below, I saw few bees - all my hopes were dashed.

The words of the guy who had taught the beekeeping classes, and who had helped me once he found out, two years ago, the struggles I was having, echoed in my ears - "I won't consider you a beekeeper until you have surviving hives." I felt like a failure once again.

Pulling off the second super, I started looking through the first super's frames. I wanted to find the queen, which I did. I didn't find brood, and all food was nearly gone.

There is a situation called nectar dearth in which there is little food for the worker bees to collect, but I had flowers blooming. Maybe it wasn't enough. Maybe the sudden deaths were caused when the residence across the road, decided to spray Round-up on their land, and on my land by the roadway. Yes, that's right - my land! Land I pay a mortgage on. Round-up is known to kill honeybees, yet it is allowed to stay on the market, which is maddening to beekeepers.

Despite my knowing that the chances this hive will make it through the winter would take a miracle, I made sugar water for the surviving bees. It would take twenty-one days before worker bees would emerge as adults ready to work - if the queen started laying right away, knowing food was available.

This past Wednesday, I changed the sugar water, to the sugar syrup, which is thicker. Having done this before, I know the bees would be better off, since there is little time left before winter. I figured I would do the most I could do to help this hive, even though the reality dances around in my head. I also prayed. Miracles can and do happen, even in today's world!

Pumpkin Plants and Chickens

Pumpkin bloom
Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2016

Last summer, I had a volunteer pumpkin plant start just outside the chicken pen. The previous fall, I had given my hens an organic pie pumpkin I’d grown. (Pie pumpkins are smaller and meater than carving pumpkins.) It was a tasty treat they enjoyed pecking at and eventually eating. Obviously, they had flipped seeds around, with one seed landing just outside their fenced area.

As fall turned into winter, with lots of heavy snows, that one seed lay frozen to the ground. The life within that seed waited for the mounds of snow to melt, and the warmth of spring to come. As can happen in the Midwest, the cold of winter lingered. Finally, spring came according to the calendar, but not in temperatures.

When the ground and air did warm, I notice the beginning growth of the “volunteer” pumpkin. It was an accident, but good can come from accidents. I had read that squash could be grown vertically if given the right support, so I let the pumpkin grow. The pumpkin’s vines slowly reached up towards the sun, sometimes attaching itself to the fence on its own, and at other times I helped attach it. As those vines reached, they snaked their way up the fence and over the chicken-wired top.

This year's two pumpkin plant growin well, until...
Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2016

I had planned to put a tarp over the top of the chickens’ pen during the summer, to give the hens shade. The huge leaves of the pumpkin plant became that shade, like multiple little umbrellas providing relief from the sun’s heat. In addition, I didn’t have to do any weeding. That plant provided eight flavorful pumpkins.

Since pumpkins are in the squash family, they can be stored for a period of time. I was able to give the hens a pumpkin every few weeks throughout the winter. This was a nice treat; and it helped relieve some of the winter boredoms for the hens, since they can’t do a lot of scratching in the frozen ground.

When I broke open the pumpkins for the chickens, I saved some of the seeds, and deliberately tossed seeds just outside the chicken pen. I wanted to duplicate what had started as an “accident.”

A baby pumpkin growing above the the chicken coop fence.
Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2016

This past June, of all the seeds I tossed out, one pumpkin plant started growing on the south facing fence, near my Honeysuckle plant. A second plant started growing on the west facing coop fence about a month later.  The first plant was growing nicely up the fence and over the top, and even had some baby pumpkins growing. 

About this time, I decided to integrate the young pullets with the older hens. I knew the pullets would be laying soon and wanted them to use the bigger hen house with nests to lay their eggs.

I had protected the Honeysuckle plant from the Wyandottes by placing cardboard inbetween them and the fence, with the plant on the outside. With the pumpkin plants, I didn't have to protect them, because the Wyandotte hens left them alone.

If you have read previous post, you know that back in March, Black Australorps and Rhode Island Reds chicks became the newest residents. The Rhode Island Reds are considered good foragers. I found out, by another accident, just how good they are at foraging. 

After playing referee for a few days to keep fights between the older and young chickens to a bare minimum, everyone started getting along fairly well. Then, the youngsters found as few pumpkin plants leaves growing inside the fenced area. The older hens had left them alone, but with the youngsters, their foraging skills went to work quickly. 

To say they were like little lawn lmowers or weedeaters is an understatement. Those young pullets grabbed, chewed, and munched on the pumpkin leaves and moved to the vines. They stuck their heads through the chainlink fence and chowed down on the main vines. 

By the time I realized what was happening, the girls had nearly severed both main vines. The plants' vines and leaves out of the chickens reach no longer had a viable source of nutrients and water. The only thing I could do was watch as the leaves, which had been providing shade, slowly wilted away. 

Out of accidents, either good or bad can come from it. It can also be an opportunity to learn. You can learn from the animals, as the Bible says in Job. I have learned from my chickens. Next spring, I will start pumpkin plants, again, outside the coop fence. I will allow it to grow up and over to provide shade & food, but I will protect the plants from my little munching chickens!