Honey Expo
I've been BUSY!!! I have a new job that's taking a lot of set up time and it looks like the insanity will continue for a while. Nice to be busy.
I went to a Beekeeper's "do" earlier this month. It was well organized, with three class sessions, a lunch break, and the opening/closing remarks and some free time to browse exhibits and vendor tables. I attended a couple of beginning beekeeper sessions that were really good, and an apitherapy session where a guy relieved arthritis and other pains by stinging strategic locations on the suffering person, kind of like acupuncture. It was wild. The premise is that bee stings kick start the body's healing processes and encourage the body to heal itself. I didn't volunteer, I miraculously was totally pain free that day.
Here's a vendor table, from one of the big vendors like Dadant or Brushy Mtn. I got a book from them. You kind of had to look around; the same book could vary in price by $3 or so between vendors. There were also small private displays. I got some soap from a woman who makes soap with bees wax in it.
Our beekeeper club raffled off this gorgeous hive. One of the members' wives painted it for us, for free. She did a breathtaking job. We'll use the funds to pay for a table at an expo or fair, where members can sell their honey and related items. I don't sell honey or do anything with bees wax yet. I just try to keep the poor things alive.
posted by Leslie @ 10:58 AM
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Hey there! Gald to see you back. I was worried : )
Seems like a nice expo. I saw on TV this week - someone in Malaysia/Indonesia doing the same bee therapy on his patients. Yes - I would be painless if I saw him coming : ) as well.
Naive question - when does one harvest honey...only at the end of spring? I am assuming with no flowers they go dorment in the winter...is that how it goes? Where does one get the queen bee and the worker bees to get started on a hive? Sorry - too many questions...
Hope you and your husband are well. Greetings from a warming up NJ!
I'm fine, just more busy than you could believe.
I haven't harvested honey yet, and I'm not clear on the details of harvesting honey. You only harvest when the bees have PLENTY of stores and it's a good nectar flow so they can easily replenish their stores. With the drought this past year, I had to feed my bees sugar syrup and I'm still worried they don't have enough to get them through the winter. I lost one of my hives already, still have one left.
But I think, generally, harvesting is done in spring or fall when the stores are abundant and there's lots of nectar. I could be wrong though.
Oh that is a beautiful skep!!
And so interesting about the stings. I remember reading about bees and people with MS.
I was stung a gazillion times when I was a kid...but it was the yeller jackets that did it...ouch...for some reason they didn't like it that I stepped in their nest...
32 eggs in a day! I cant belive it...I am so jealous. Thought you might enjoy reading.
http://backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=33780
Cyndy, Ouch! That's a lot of stings!
The honeybee sting therapy (apitherapy) was kind of sad because when a honeybee stings, it loses its sting, and that kills it (the sting is attached to the entrails).
The guy would sting the victim... er, volunteer, several times. He left the stings in for about 15 minutes, and relief came about an hour or two after that. How long the relief lasts depends greatly on the individual person, how severe their problem is, and how sensitive they are to stings. He didn't always sting right at the source of the pain, either. It was a bit like acupuncture, where the target spots aren't always the same as the pain spot.
Weekend, I don't know where you got the 32 egg number. I have 6 hens now and they give me 3-4 eggs a day, with a very occasional 5. Maybe I tried to type 3 and my fat finger hit two keys simultaneously. Sorry!
I'm happy with my 3 or 4 per day, though.
no no....check out the link at the bottom of my comment....this person in CA has 32 eggs a day! The link will take you to his story...West Coast sun: )
Oh, DUH!
I bet they have a lot of chickens and ducks to get that many eggs.
I've read, and for me it holds true, that for free range, dual-purpose chickens (neither "meat"nor "egg" breed), you can expect a hen to lay about 2 eggs every 3 days.
Or, you can expect 2/3 of your flock to lay on any given day.
So, to get 30 eggs, you'd want 45 chickens.
I have six hens and I get 3 or 4 eggs with the occasional 5, but it's February and the days are still short. I expect that to turn into 4 per day with the occasional 3 or 5.
I am fascinated with bees and honey making. I had no idea that bee keeping isn't so simple and easy. I suppose I just thought that bees were low maintenance and took care of themselves and the bee keeper just gathered the honey every so often.
Wow. I hope you'll post more about your bees in the future.
I've missed your regular posts. Glad you're back.
Our chickens, who are about 19 weeks old now, have laid their first two eggs. I cant wait until they start laying more regularly.
We have 13 chickens, so from reading here, I can surmise that we should expect 8-10 eggs a day?
Twinville, beekeeping isn't difficult, but it's not a "stick them in the box and ignore them" endeavor, either.
In the warm weather they should be checked once every week or two, to see if they have any problems with wax moths, mice, or other pests. If there's a drought so no nectar flow, they have to be fed sugar syrup. Compared to an easy warm blooded animal, they're very easy.
If your chickens are a dual purpose breed and you have 13 hens then I'd think you can expect 8 or 9 eggs a day. you will almost certainly get less next winter unless you provide supplemental lighting. Chickens lay best with at least 14 hours of light per day. If you provide supplemental lighting, do it in the early pre-dawn hours, not after sunset. The chickens need the cues of the fading light to settle into their house and roost. If you provide light after sunset, when the light goes out it leaves the chickens surprised and not settled on their roosts.
At least, that's what I've read. I don't provide supplemental lighting.
Are you in an area where sour wood trees grow. Enjoy reading your journals and the comments from others. Reminds me of days long ago I spent with my grandparents in the hills of TN,76 years ago. Good luck with everything you are doing.
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