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Barbara Site Admin
Joined: 27 Jul 2011 Posts: 1857 Location: England/Co.Durham/Ebchester
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Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 2:07 pm Post subject: Bees foraging on hen feed |
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Just reading on a poultry forum about someone in California whose neighbour has a bee yard next door and the bees are so desperate for pollen and water that the poster's poultry feeders and waterers are literally covered in bees, to the point that his chickens are loath to go near and the bees are so desperate for water they are even picking off the silicone sealant on the joints of his automatic waterers to get at the water(there were photos of them in the act).
It seems his neighbour has just brought his hives back to the yard and is now gearing them up for the almond pollination, so lots of bees needing protein and not enough pollen to go round at this time of year, so they are scavenging poultry feed from the hens next door.
I really did not fully comprehend this before. It is so sad that these bees are being pushed to produce brood at this time of year. It acted as a stark reminder not to buy out of season produce and to source locally grown organic wherever possible.
Regardless of how much I fancy some blueberries with my porridge at this time of year, I must resist, grow more in my garden and try to prevent my hens from eating them all next year as they did this year!!! And of course, I will be consciously buying less almond products from now on.
It just made me realise that we are all so complicit in creating and maintaining this monster that is modern agriculture, it really needs conscious everyday consideration to tackle it. |
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Adam Rose Silver Bee
Joined: 09 Oct 2011 Posts: 589 Location: Manchester, UK
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peopleshive Guard Bee
Joined: 07 Aug 2011 Posts: 51 Location: Central Scotland
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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2014 12:18 pm Post subject: |
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After reading that second reference of Adam's I think we can probably assume that cheap almonds might not be so abundant before long anyway...
As an alternative, if you have space to grow them, Barbara, you could try cultivated hazelnut varieties as a prolific, easy to grow crop well suited to British conditions (even Scottish). I find home-grown nuts much tastier than imported ones and several good varieties are available.
Bees are supposed to like the early pollen from the catkins too, but I can't say I've ever seen them taking much interest in it.
Regards,
Andy |
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zaunreiter Moderator Bee

Joined: 26 Nov 2007 Posts: 3097 Location: Germany, NorthWest
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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2014 1:17 pm Post subject: |
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Bees collect all sorts of dust as pollen supplement. Wood saw dust and flour and...
The strangest thing I've seen is that they collected the fine excretions of auricula/primroses:
This way I learned about the fat glands and flour glands of some plants.
Concerning the industrial agriculture: Grow your own food. We in the industrial countries need to learn to feed ourselves! This is why I sometimes stress that producing honey locally is important. Of course not at all costs, but it certainly helps feeding the people. (And not eating other people's food!)
In Germany only 20-25 % of all honey consumed is produced in Germany. So a huge amount of our honey comes from overseas. (Brazil+Argentina.)
Bernhard |
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zaunreiter Moderator Bee

Joined: 26 Nov 2007 Posts: 3097 Location: Germany, NorthWest
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zaunreiter Moderator Bee

Joined: 26 Nov 2007 Posts: 3097 Location: Germany, NorthWest
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Che Guebuddha Golden Bee

Joined: 31 Jan 2012 Posts: 1551 Location: Hårlev, Stevns Kommune, Denmark
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Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 3:14 pm Post subject: |
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I have seen this happen in Sweden too. Bees going likely for the Soya protein in chicken feed which in this part of the World is most likely GMO if not bought as organic.
My bees worked the Nasturtium for pollen i planted until late into October. Will plant lots of it next year. |
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Quality Top Bar Hives by Andrew Vidler
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Conserving wild bees
Research suggests that bumble bee boxes have a very low success rate in actually attracting bees into them. We find that if you create an environment where first of all you can attract mice inside, such as a pile of stones, a drystone wall, paving slabs with intentionally made cavities underneath, this will increase the success rate.
Most bumble bee species need a dry space about the size a football, with a narrow entrance tunnel approximately 2cm in diameter and 20 cm long. Most species nest underground along the base of a linear feature such as a hedge or wall. Sites need to be sheltered and out of direct sunlight.
There is a spectacular display of wild bee hotels here
More about bumblebees and solitary bees here
Information about the Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum)
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