Second Chance & "Bee" Hives Updates July 2017

Second Chance Hive showing increase in population.

I have had people asking about my beehives, especially the Second Chance Hive, so here is the update.

When my beekeeping teacher came to bring the new queen for the Second Chance hive, we looked through it to double check for a queen. He said because of how dark the honeybees were – mostly black bodies, that they were probably Russian honeybees. These Russian bees were quite the workers!! The comb they drew out without a queen was amazing. The unfortunate part is that now this hive is an Italian cross honeybee hive, and they are not working as good. (The Russian bees died.) Oh, how I wished this hive had had a Russian queen still alive and producing brood. 

Young baby bees working to take care of the brood - lots of
capped brood here. What looks like holes are open cells
which have worker bee larva still being fed, and which will
be capped soon.

After re-queening the Second Chance Hive, it was getting so depleted in population, that I had to do something to help, or I was going to loose it. (In the summer, worker bees only live about 40 days, unless something causes their death sooner.) To help this hive, I did what I call - “a jump re-start.” I pulled two frames of brood from my other hive, which is my “Bee Hive” because of the bee decorations on the front. I put those frames into the Second Chance hive to help increase the population quicker.

Close up of capped and uncapped brood. You can see the
uncapped brood - little white larva in different stages of
development. Some cells have a very small white dot.

There was another problem that occurred – I lost the queen in the Bee Hive, but I realized she was gone fairly quickly before the population dropped. That hive was re-queened successfully; and there is a lot of capped brood once again. Still hoping I might get some honey this year from this hive. It would be the first time getting honey since I started in 2013.

Second Chance Honeybee Hive

Wild Hive of Worker Bees
© Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2017

What do you do with a wild hive full of worker bees that has no queen? I believe most experienced beekeepers would probably let it die, but not me. I knew that if all those wild survivor worker bees could be caught and put into a hive box, that a queen could be purchased and put in with them. Then that living dead hive would become a living hive.

Time was ticking on those little worker bees’ life span. My beekeeping teacher was going to let me use his bee vacuum, but he had let someone borrow it the previous fall. When that person was contacted to return it; it was returned - in pieces – destroyed.

Hive box set up near ceiling where wild hive was located.
© Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2017

I was determined, and went to plan B (plan Bee). I tried thinking like a bee. (Only my adopted dad figured out my thinking.) I went to work getting the hive box set up inside the shelter, but up high, near the wild hive. To accomplish this, friends let me borrow two aluminum ladders. I placed a wide board at the highest level possible in between those ladders, and then put my hive box on the board. I put swarm lure and comb with honey inside the box. Surely, those bees would be hungry enough to go inside the hive box, find the frames with foundation, and think, “Hey, this is a pretty nice space. Let’s build some comb.”

In the meantime, I searched the Internet, found, and ordered a bee vacuum. The memorial holiday was in the shipping time frame, delaying the arrival time. Tick-tock, the worker bees’ life span is ticking away - kept going through my head.

On the Thursday after Memorial Day, the bee vacuum arrived. I loaded my car with all the essential items needed to finally catch those bees, most important - my bee suit, hive tool, bee vacuum, and a light.

I had to wait until nearly dark to do the work, in order to catch the bees that had been out foraging. I would be working alone, out in the middle of the country, and where when it’s dark, it’s extremely dark – no streetlights.

The light colored comb is all brand new comb
made in just a few days.
© Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2017

When I arrived, I was amazed at the amount of honeycomb that had been built in a five-day period, but not in my hive box. I went to work. With the bee vacuum ready to go, I pushed the button, and began sucking up bees.

Five, ten, fifteen minutes passed, and I continued to work. I cut the new comb to get to more bees. Honey dripped from the ceiling, and was sucked into the vacuum. Finally, at 10:38pm, I was ready to go home with the captured worker bees buzzing inside the catch-box.

Wild worker bees in catch box
© Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2017

There were a very large number of bees. The numbers were many thousands, but the honey that got sucked into the vacuum caused some deaths. Still I had bees to put into my butterfly decorated hive box, along with a new queen.

This is only part of the story of the “Second Chance Hive.” I can only hope that my efforts won’t be in vain. I will write more as the second part of this story unfolds during this summer.

WIld comb attached to hive frame with rubber bands until bees attach it to the frame.
© Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2017

The Second Chance Hive is in the left hive box with butterflies as decoration.
© Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2017

Take a Look at Nature's Charm & Critters on Our Small Farm May21st - 27th, 2017

As stated in my last blog post, here are more pictures of the wild beehive I had access to, and am in the progress of saving.

Evidence of an older hive - the old comb left.
Copyrighted photo to Tracey R. Simmons 

All pictures are copyrighted © to 

Tracey R. Simmons, creator of Paws4Hearts Rescue, 2017.

Wild Beehive and My Beehive Update

The original wild beehive found.
Copyrighted Photo by Tracey R. Simmons

I have kept what was supposed to be exciting news to myself for months waiting for it to actually happen. A work friend and her husband were buying a new place. On a warm day in February, they discovered the property also contained a wild honeybee hive. They said I could have it. I got to see the worker bees going to and fro on March 9th.

Not having the experience or knowledge of how to extract a wild beehive from a building, I asked my beginning beekeeping teacher if he'd help me. During the wait time, I worked on preparing a new hive location. 

My schedule stayed open to jump at getting this hive, but I had to wait for the help. Finally, this past Sunday, May 21st, I loaded my supplies, and drove with anticipation and some fear at this chance. You see, honeybees will defend their hive, the brood, and the queen when their hive is disturbed. This means these worker bees, all girls, will sacrifice their lives by stinging. Bee suits are not one hundred percent sting proof.

Roger, my beekeeping teacher, began taking each comb from the ceiling, looking for brood (baby bees) and a queen - none.

Looking for the queen and brood.
Copyright photo to Paws 4 Hearts Rescue/
Tracey R. Simmons

I saw that more comb was above the ceiling, so a panel was pulled off to reveal a load of comb, honey, and bees.

Even more comb found above a ceiling panel.
Copyrighted Photo by Tracey R. Simmons

The search continued for the queen and her brood. We got into lots of comb filled with honey. As we extracted it, honey dripped from the ceiling and covered our gloves.

Eventually, Roger realized there was no queen, so there would be no brood. The hive was a living, yet dead hive. The worker bees would be dead within four to six weeks - the life span of a worker bee. I was extremely disappointed, to say the least.

Copyright photo to Paws 4 Hearts Rescue/
Tracey R. Simmons

How could this be, after I'd seen them working back in early March? The hive grew so much that it needed to split - this is when they swarm. The old queen will have laid brood and a new baby queen. Once that new queen developed, the old queen and about half the worker bees would leave to find a new home elsewhere.

The problem occurred when the new queen flew out to mate. She got killed somehow. Sometimes a queen is eaten by a bird. She could have started flying across the roadway, been hit and killed by a vehicle. There is no way to know how she died, but it means she never had a chance to lay new brood which creates a continuing living hive.

Copyrighted photo to Paws 4 Hearts Rescue/
Tracey R. Simmons

The sad thing is the evidence shows this hive had been at this location for years, and another older hive existed on the other side of the ceiling. It was a great loss for the bee population, especially with all the various things that have greatly reduced the honeybee population in the United States.

For me, I was not just saddened, but extremely frustrated because I have once again felt the "sting" of disappointment of trying to be a successful beekeeper. Further, I have not been able to get my second hive up and filled with a family of honeybees since I first started in 2013.

P.S. I am trying to capture the existing worker bees into my hive box. If I can get them to go in, I could buy a queen. This is a very big long shot, but worth at least trying. Much thanks to Billie and Asa for trying to help me in my endeavors at being a beekeeper by allowing me to access to getting this hive.

Putting comb into hive frame.
Copyrighted photo to Paws 4 Hearts/Tracey R. Simmons

Chicks and Honeybees

Seven Chicks
© Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2017

I was going to add six chicks this spring, but not until the end of March or beginning of April. That all changed two Sundays ago when a text came through asking if I wanted some chicks, because twenty-five were coming by mail to a co-worker. My answer at that moment was - "Humm." Some of my reservations were because of horror stories I'd heard about mailed chicks - broken legs and broken necks - and still alive. Broken legs can be fixed, but broken necks are a different story.

My plan was to add certain kinds of chicks that would be great egg layers, since I had more people wanting my organically feed chickens' eggs. Organic feed cost more, so I need to have a good return, when it comes to eggs, for that cost. This led to the question of - what kind were coming, and with that answered, the research began. There were twelve different kinds coming, with a thirteenth being an extra bonus and an unknown exotic.

Of the twelve kinds, I wanted a Black Star, Red Star, Pearl White Leghorn, Buff Rock, New Hampsire Red, and either a Speckled Sussex or Araucanas/Ameraucanas, which I was leaning towards the Araucanas/Ameraucanas for the colored eggs they provide. The other kinds coming were Black Cochin, Dorkings - they have five toes, Columbian Wyandotte, Golden Polish, and Turkens. With these breeds, I studied what the chicks looked like, finidng that some look like others, but made notes hoping I would be able to sort them.

Their first evening home.
© Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2017

On the following Wednesday, the chicks arrived safe and alive, despite temps in the teens. With that many different breeds, and chicks who do not look the way they will once grown, I sat on the floor looking inside the box of peeping chicks. The ones, I will call weird looking, like the Turkens, who have naked necks, were easy to identify. There was only one "normal" type chick that was easy to single out - the Black Stars who were black with white tips on their wings.

For all the sorting done, the Black Star was the only one I knew I had that I wanted. The rest was a guessing game, or as a friend stated were - "mystery chicks." Nevertheless, I brought home my chicks and fell in love watching them, and listening to their sweet peeping songs.

I noticed how at ease these chicks were with me, which was different than the chicks I'd gotten at a farm store the last few years. I am still learning about chickens, but I wonder if the babies who come through the mail, view their human caretaker as their mommy right away. In comparison, the chicks from the farm stores are kept in huge horse/cattle watering troughs, with hordes of monsterous sized humans staring down at them, and even though it is not supposed to be done - reaching in to pick them up, etc. I think this creates fear and makes it harder for the chicks to not see their human caretaker as a threat. Just my theory.

Six of seven chicks. The Black Star has white tip on her wing.
© Photo by Tracey R. Simmons

 My chicks are all thriving and growing. Some are getting more color on their wing feathers, like the two little rusty colored ones in the picture on the left. I think both are the Speckled Sussex. As this mystery unfolds, I will add updates.

In the honeybee department, I checked my hive, and the great news is they got through the winter. We got lucky with the winter, as it was mostly a mild winter. That helped my bees survive with the situation they were in last fall - not enough food. It helped that I was determined to help them anyway I could. The candy boards were a big help. Days in January and February above 50 degrees so that I could check food supply, and change the boards also helped!!

I am providing pictures of the hive, as of Friday, March 24, 2017, including some up close views of worker bees (females) with pollen on their legs. Enjoy!

You can see honey on the upper frame.

Brown stuff is a pollen patty - food which will help queen lay more.

Two worker bees coming in with yellow pollen on their legs.

All pictures were taken and are copyrighted 

© to Tracey R. Simmons, creator of Paws4Hearts Rescue, 2017. 

Winter Honeybee Hive Update

The candy board the worker bees were already eating,
because of lack of food stored.
© Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2017

In parts of the Midwest, unusually warm temperatures created a spring-like feel in the middle of winter for a couple of days this January. When temperatures go above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, honeybees can fly outside their hive to go to the bathroom. They also do some hive maintenance, such as carrying out dead bees.

My hive was already in trouble last fall from the chemicals sprayed by a disrespectful resident across the road, who sprayed on my land. This idiot's stupidity caused my hive population to nearly die completely off, several thousands were dead. After this incident occurred, I have done everything I could to help this queen and her workers. With the warmer temps, I wanted to change the candy board food if the worker bees were already eating it. I figured they were since they didn't have enough food store, because of a lack of worker bees to do the gathering work last fall after the die off.

Sugar mixture heating up.
© Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2017

I had to make a spare candy board. With my hand/arm disabilities, I cannot make a full candy board at one time. I have to find ways to adapt, so I had to make it in two batches. Off to work I went - standing over a stove, stirring a sugar mixture. It took about two hours, but if it helps this hive to survive the rest of winter, that time and cost will be well worth it.

Hot candy poured into frame.
© Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2017

Another two hours was needed for the hot candy board to cool and harden. When it was ready, I zipped up into my beesuit, and went to check the hive. Some workers were out on the landing board. I watched as one worker pulled a dead bee off and flew several inches with it before landing on the ground. Pretty amazing to watch!

I pulled off the candy board I had put on in November, and some worker bees were busy eating on it. I took one quick look between the frames, then slid the new candy board on.

I had to gently sweep the bees off the old candy board, which I will fill in with more candy, in the hopes the temps will be warm enough in February to allow me to change it again.

The worker bees filling their bellies.
© Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2017

                                                                        As I carried the partially eaten candy board to the house, I found one little worker was still eating within a groove. I was able to coax her onto the hive brush, and got a great picture of her.

Please keep this hive in your prayers that they will survive the rest of winter and start thriving again in the warmer temperatures of spring. We need all the pollinators we can get, and I want to truely be considered a beekeeper!!

Stowaway being returned to hive.
© Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2017

Beehive & Chickens Ready for Winter?

My apologies for missing my post. I have been under the weather for nearly two months. Lots of various respiratory problems going around among adults and children in the area. The worse being pneumonia with pleurisy, which I am recovering from.

Hive closed up for the winter.
Photo by Tracey R. Simmons
November 2016

Let's update the farm news. First, my beehive has been shut up for the winter. The bees didn't have the food stores or population needed after having the chemical over-spray kill off a large number of worker bees in late summer.

The queen did her best to increase the population, along with my efforts to keep the girls fed. I used a thick sugar water mixture all through September up to mid November when the temps were suppose to drop below freezing. At this point, the mixture, in glass jars, had to be removed to keep them from freezing and breaking. I did add a candy board, which is a supplemental feed for winter use.

It will take a miracle for this hive to survive the winter, but God still does miracles. Time will tell.

The chickens were laying well, but have decreased some with the lack of light. The older girls (Wyandottes) are either molting or have finished molting. I feel so bad for the two girls who are still molting, with temps dropping below zero degrees Fahrenheit.

Golden Laced Wyandotte Hen Molting.
Photo by Tracey R. Simmons
December 2016

 I have wrapped the north and west ends of the chicken run with tarps. I used to use twine to tie the tarps to the fencing, which was time consuming and cold on the fingers. Then, I started using wire zip-ties, which I believe is the best way to attach the tarps. (Wire cutters work well in the spring to cut the zip-ties.)

The two Wyandotte girls who are still molting have access to being inside their house, but seem to prefer being outside most of the time. At night after shutting their small door, I always go around to the big door to check, by flashlight, that all are accounted for. The molting girls either climb into a nest box for warmth, or huddle beside the other girls.

Before the light fades away in the late afternoon, I give the chickens some kind of treat to help them stay warmer throughout the night. The various treats I give included: oatmeal, pumpkin, sunflower seeds, raisins, pumpkin seeds, and more. All feed and treats are organic.

Red oak providing warmth.
Photo by Tracey R. Simmons
December 2016

The woodstove is keeping our house nice and toasty. I am thankful for this warmth, as it is cheaper than propane or electric heat. Carrying in wood is a free chance at getting exercise.

Stay warm and have a wonderful Christmas!!