A little bee hive update.

I hope no one is eating dinner right now. This is gross. This is the 2nd box that sits on top of the brooder box. It was full of honey last week. Now the whole hive is full of was moths and larva and cocoons. It's just awful There are still bees though. So maybe I caught it in time to save them?


I took as many frames out as I could and cleaned them and gave all the larva to the chickens. They snatched them up and ate every one of them! But there are still lots more. The brooder box is FULL of them.

Here are some bees on some frames. They are trying their hardest to survive.

But see how black this is? I did read that the wax moths like older frames. Mine are. They also like shaded areas. My hive is under a shade tree all day. I am going out to cut some limbs. I took one box off. So now there are just 3.

I went to the bee store in town and got a mesh bag of menthol to put on the bottom board. Did that as soon as I got home. The bees will still not go in the hive through the front entrance. They are buzzing around the hive like crazy. So I opened the back just a pinch, enough for the bees to go in that way. I hope that's ok. I want them to make it. I love these bees. The whole time I worked out there yesterday, I only wore my regular clothes. I was talking to them and they never stung me once. I think they knew I was trying to help them. I hope this menthol works.

I am also freezing the one box of frames I took off. I also bought more was frames to replace some I took completely out of the frame. I just need to clean them up some more. I hope something works here.

Kristin, I hope your hive is ok. Let me know what happened, ok? I'll be thinking of you as I'm working out in my hive.

So depressing

I was all loaded up to go to market earlier today. Went out to check on the bees for some reason. I lifted the lid and saw long wormy things all over. I looked and they are all through the whole hive.There are bees but not too many. They were all through the hive. I took off the top box and cleaned it all out. Gave it to the chickens. They loved all those good gooey larva.

I kept looking through the whole hive. The bottom one is the worst. Full of moths and stringy webbing and loads of the larva. I am SO upset. Went in here and looked it up on Google. Saw several videos on the moth and what it does. Several said to burn the frames. Some said to freeze them. I just want to go get another clean new hive and start all over again. The poor bees are fighting and trying to save their home.

I don't know if  the moths got in because when I checked them a few weeks ago, I kind of didn't get the 4th box on good enough and there was a little gap at the back of the hive. That's where all the bees were going in and out. Not the front at the entrance. I found out why later. That bottom box is FULL of the darn things.

I just don;t know what to do now. Should I go get another hive and put it next to this hive? One of the guys said these moths and larva like the shade. The sun will dry them out and kill them. My hive is under a maple tree. Shaded all day. Should I move it out into the sun now? But I heard it's not a good thing to move a hive.

It also said the moths like the darker comb or frames. Well, every single frame has been BLACK since I got it. That and the shade. Not good. I so want the remaining bees to be ok. But are they doomed? What should I do????

I was so bummed about this whole thing, I didn't go to market. Plus it started raining here. I am just depressed now.

Good Wednesday morning from Outback Farm!

 Sun rise and

moon set?

First egg!!!!!

NOW I am excited! And I almost smooshed it. It was on the ground so I thought it was an egg shell I had given them in the scraps. I always try to smoosh them all. It was hard. So I picked it up and it was a cute little tiny egg! The first one!!!!!

No eggs yet

No eggs today. I know that moving animals from one home to a new home messes with them. Like goats in milk will really slow down in production. Cows will too. But then they pick back up when they get back into a routine. And hens do the same thing.

These hens (or pullets, since some are not laying yet and some have just started laying, and they are less than 5 months old?) are still young. And just starting out their laying careers. And the guy I got them from had fed them a 16% layer pellet. I don't feed mine layer feed. They will be getting the fermented grains with expeller pressed sunflower pellets and kelp. Plus clabbered raw milk and scraps. So it might take them a few weeks to get into a routine here. Plus they can go outside in their yard for sun and grass and bugs and stuff.

I cleaned out the nest boxes and put fresh older hay in them. And put an egg in one nest. I hope that will get them going soon. I'll look for a few wooden eggs.

I was so excited to come home and go check for eggs and find a few. Then nothing there. Oh well. It will happen. I have to just hang in there.

The new girls at Outback Farm

 My new chickens! I went tonight to Sand Mt. to get them. 8 Red Star and 6 White Leghorns. They are just starting to lay! Am I crazy for paying $15 each for the RS and $12 each for the Leghorns??? I hope they are worth it. But I had to have my own fresh eggs. I have missed them SO much.

I had to keep them in the cage til I got the run up for them. I had bought a 100" roll of 6" welded wire fence a few weeks ago to make a yard for the Barred Rock pullets I got last month. So I thought I better go ahead and get it up before I let the bigger new hens in with the little ones. That way, the littles can get away if they need to. And they did! Their first time out since I've had them here.

They did ok at first, but then the bigger hens started bullying the littles. Poor girls. But I'm sure they'll all be getting along fine in a few days. There's always that "getting to know each other" stage. I clipped the new girl
s wings before I let them all out.

This is their new yard. There is a little space between the boards on the side of the coop for them to jump in and out into the yard. It's pretty big. But will be all brown in about a month. I hope to be able to let them out some in the evenings soon.

And I butchered 21 more CC meat birds this morning. 12 left to do. I'll get them in the next few days. I am so tired of chickens right now! I just got done putting them all in the freezer.

Also made 14 half pint jars of peppermint jelly for market. So have had another busy productive Monday.

At market

Yesterday at the farmer's market, these wonderful kids played for us! It was so nice to hear. The weather was nice. The people were out shopping and buying all the goodies at the market. And we had music! The guy in the green shirt is the leader. He has a few kids. Then some neighborhood kids were there too. They just live up the road from the market. Bill, in the blue jeans, is a fellow farmer, joining in with his guitar. It was fun. Music and good food. What could be better than that?