Birds and Bees

This week the population of Taproot Farm has increased by 20,018! 

18 chickens and 2 bee hives.

The Hens

Laura called us from the Post Office on March 9 saying our peeps had arrived from Texas. What a way to celebrate our one year anniversary in Capon Bridge!

Our brooder is made of a cardboard box, newspaper bedding and a 250-watt heat bulb suspended from a floor lamp. Allen and Tim picked "the girls" up and brought them home with their coats wrapped around the shipping box to keep out drafts. Jenny drove up the next day to meet the little fluff balls and do a photo shoot.

We have 4 Leghorns, 8 Barrd Plymouth Rocks and 8 Americaunas which should yield white, brown , and blue/green eggs, respectively, in 4-5 months. Like babies they spent the first few days eating, sleeping and pooping. But after only a week, they are practicing grown-up chicken behavior- scratching and pecking.  They are developing distinct personalities. Supposedly chickens, like other animals, become attached to their owners and will follow you around if you are out in the yard with them.

Today was a big day for the girls- a field trip to the garden! Since the temperature was in the 60's, the chicks spent a few hours in a fenced "playpen" in the garden while Beth planted spring crops. They hit the lottery every time Beth turned up a worm and threw it in to them. It took a while to venture out of their box, but once they did, they had a ball pecking at the grass and soil.
After such a big day, they collapsed and we don't expect a peep from them until morning.

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Busy Bees

While Tim was building the hives, we got an unexpected call that our 3 lb. bee packages were ready for pickup in Wardensville- 2 days early! So he kicked it into high gear to be ready to receive the queens in high fashion.
A bee package consists of one queen, 300 drones (males) and 10,000 workers (females). These Italian Honey Bees were raised in Georgia and trucked overnight.

As the sun set, we first released the queen into the brooder box, then "poured" 10,000  bees in with her. The workers will feed, clean and protect the hive- they got to work immediately.

Tim was fearless in his white beekeeper jumpsuit, gloves, and netted hat.  It kept 99.9% of the bees out except for the one that snuck in and stung him in the back of the head. Nothing Benedryll and bourban can't cure!

Man, after a long, snowy winter, these past two spring days have been full of Life!!

More birds and bees photos- thanks to daughter Jenny's wonderful photo eye ...birds and bees 3-2010.  (the lambs in these photos belong to a friend :-)