Winterized the bees

Today (sadly) was my last hive check of the season. It was nice and warm with some sun, so I took the chance to get in the hive and winterize them. Today I.... 1) again took inventory of their resources (3 boxes of honey), 2) got a feel for how many bees (way more than I expected, bottom 2.5 boxes full), 3) treated for mites and 4) tilted the hive forward, so any condensation they produce will run forward (away from the winter cluster).  I feel like they are looking really good heading into winter - they have everything they need to make it through. Though with bees, it's never a sure thing. 

Updates...

A few changes around here.  I added 3 new birds to the flock (2 White Leghorns, and a Cuckoo Maran).  Sadly, the Cuckoo Maran turned out to be a Roo, so he was destined for the soup pot. I had really wanted some of their dark "chocolate" colored eggs, but fate had other plans. The good news is, I found someone who wanted to breed Cuckoo Maran's, so he went to live on a farm in Olympia.  So I'm down to 7 chickens (8 being the limit of what I am allowed). *Sigh* I guess I wasn't mean to have 8. Also someone posted an add recently for a breed I like/want, so am considering....

We also installed an automatic door on the chicken coop. It is the best $200 I've ever spent. It runs on batteries, and has a light sensor, so it opens/closes on its own at dawn and dusk. 

I also tried my hand at making pickles.  The fridge dill pickles turned out wonderfully.  I also tried lactofermenting some, which didn't turn out so well - there wasn't enough liquid to cover the pickles, and they grew mold. I also tried hot canning some - I did 4 pint jars, one of which cracked while processing. The other three sealed right away (but I haven't tried them yet).

New coop pics

Finially, pics of the new coop. It's our first ever attempt to build something ourselves. We managed without killing each other. :)

Sides put together

Sides attached to each other

Door in, roof on, partially screened

Nest box from old kitchen drawer

New coop

We are in the process of building a new, open air coop. We are using this design: http://myoutdoorplans.com/animals/simple-chicken-coop-plans/ but without anything on the inside (except a perch).  They will just roost there at night, with access to their run during the day.  I plan on building a freestanding nest box in their large run. I also purchase an electronic door opener, that will open and close with sunrise/sunset.

I will post pics soon of the progress!

A tribute to Buffy & Zippy....

You have nourished myself, my friends, and family well. Thank You.  I hope you have had the best possible chickeny life- able to run, dust bath, chase bugs, and scratch around in the dirt, as chickens should.

Zippy was smart, and an escape artist. Buffy was a kind leader, she never picked on the others.

I am honoring your life and death the best way I know how.  I spent a few minutes holding each of you, thanking you for your life and nourishment before I did deed quickly, quietly, and humanely.  I will continue to honor you by using all of your parts -you will continue to nourish us through rich, flavorful broth that we will enjoy in the months to come.

Bees arrive today!

Today I'm picking up a package of bees.  Im quite nervous, I did a few installs last year with my mentor, but it was over a year ago, and I had guidance. This is all on my own. Im nervous because it's also supposed to be kind of crappy out today and dont want to have to decide what is "too crappy" to install them into their new home.

The installation process is fairly easy. You take out the queen, set her aside, inspect her, hang her between frames in the new hive, and literally dump and pour the bees over her and into their new home. Then quickly close up the hive, and put some food on them to nourish them while the settle in, and are able to bring in food of their own. Im going to ask hubby to take a video of the install.

Ok, so here are pics hubby took during install.

 The package

Prepping the hive for install

Dumping the bees into their new home

Shaking the last few from the box (video)

Puttin' the girls to work....

I hate weeding. And have neglected the flower beds out front all winter long.  Weeding garden beds is one thing, but flower beds is another. They don't feed me, and are just to look pretty, so I don't usually want to weed them.  So, we built a 'grazing pen' out of PVC so we can move it across the flower beds, and the hens will eat the weeds for us.  I just have to put a couple of the hens in it, and take them out when they're done.  In the winter, it can also double as a cloche over the vegetable beds if we put plastic over it.

The RIR's are hard at work!