Category Archives: beekeeping

Beehive Update

Went out to check on the bees today.  There still appears to be a lot of activity, bees flying in and out.  This has been a crazy busy year for me so I did not give them the attention I … Continue reading

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Trying Beekeeping Again

I got two packages of bees and installed them in hives.  When I tore the have apart in the spring I found a family of mice had moved in and I believe that is why the bees didn’t make it … Continue reading

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Mice In My Beehive

I broke down my beehive to see if I could tell what happened.  I discovered that there was a nest of mice in the bottom hive box.  I suspect that is what did in my hive.  I was surprised because … Continue reading

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Losses at the Homestead

We lost 3 more hens including one of our white leghorns.  I’m assuming that it is due to some kind of flying predator as I found a carcass inside the electro-net fencing.  In just over a year I’ve lost 5 … Continue reading

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Bearding Bees

When it is hot bees sometimes do something called “bearding” in which they hang out on the outside of the hide in a big cluster.  We have had extreme heat and humidity in MI, with heat indices around 105.  Here … Continue reading

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Added a Second Beehive

The place I got my first package of bees from got another shipment and had an extra so I went ahead and got it.  This time I sprayed them bees with a 1:1 sugar solution and I think the install … Continue reading

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Installing A Package Of Bees

Well our bees did not survive the winter.  We were very disappointed because they were alive in late January.  About a week ago we got a package of bees and installed them in our old hive.  I decided to put the deep … Continue reading

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Bee Math

For all of you that wonder about bees and how long they take to “hatch” check out this page on Michael Bush’s web site.  It is one of the best explanations of the life cycle of bees I’ve ever seen.

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Winter Hive Inspection

We got busy and did not do a fall hive inspection so we were un-sure of the condition inside the hive.  Since it was almost 60 degrees today we decided to open up the hive and take a look.  There … Continue reading

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Thoughts On Starting In Beekeeping

As a person that went through starting beekeeping I thought I would share my thoughts, observations and recommendations.  I got free equipment from someone who wasn’t using it anymore, so I took what they had.  However after my experiences after the past three summers … Continue reading

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