Drstratton - My Backyard Journey Journal

[drstratton]

We ordered a Varroa Mite tester. We'll probably test on Thursday and see what our counts are.

Hopefully we will also be extracting the rest of the honey.

Here's a great video we watched about chemical free varroa control. This is the method I want to use, but that will probably be next season. This year in addition to the green frames (used without catching the queen) and the Oxalic Acid pads, we are going to use Apivar, if our counts are high. What I'd prefer to use over the Apivar is Formic Pro, but not until September, it's too hot for it right now.

 

[Baymule]

Very interesting video. I learned something!

 

[drstratton]

Very interesting video. I learned something!

I'm glad you enjoyed it and learned something. I've learned so much, but I know that I will never learn it all. There is so much information out there and so many different ways to do things, it's hard to wade through it all. This one really struck a chord with me and I want to try it next year. You just have to find what works for you. I know that you understand all of that!

 

[canesisters]

As you all know, part of being homesteaders & homeowners is house maintenance. It's not all about our livestock and yards.

I had to put on my plumbers pants today. Now, before you laugh, they were pulled all of the way up...

Thankfully it was a simple fix and the septic wasn't backing up in the basement... not fun!

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Oh I am TOTALLY going to be sending you picts of my kitchen sink!! I've had a new faucet for several years. Several friends have said they would help me install it... but none have actually showed up.

 

[drstratton]

Oh I am TOTALLY going to be sending you picts of my kitchen sink!! I've had a new faucet for several years. Several friends have said they would help me install it... but none have actually showed up.

I've never been to VA... wonder if my husband is up to a road trip...lol I mean, we're only in WA, state that is, it's only on the other side of the country.
Send away, I'll help if I can! I also live with a pro who can do anything.

 

[fuzzi]

Road Trip!

 

[drstratton]

Road Trip!
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Animal House! I think a road trip with that crew would be a little scary...

 

[drstratton]

The girls are all over the basil this morning!

 

[drstratton]

We decided to do our mite check this morning. The wind was calm and it was still below 100°.
I am so happy with our results.

Mite counts:
Swarm hive: 0
Package Hive: 0
I'm not really surprised with those results as they didn't come with frames.

Nuc hive #1: 2
Nuc hive #2: 2
I believe the use of the green drone frames has paid off.

I think we will probably hold off treatment until in the fall. Going to do a bit more research.

Mad at myself, I forgot to snap a picture of the mites in the bottom of the cup. I like pictures for documentation. Oh well, next time.

 

[drstratton]

Today's beekeeping chores are not over. Now that we are in a dearth, we are feeding all of the hives weekly. We want the girls to continue building comb and we want the queen to continue laying. So, I thought I would share the equipment we use and the why and how. There are many ways to do different things in beekeeping. I'm sharing our methods and want to make note that those methods can change as we learn.

We feed inside the top of our hives. You never want to feed outside your hives as that can encourage robbing.

My husband built our feeder frames.
The screened portions in front are for ventilation. The middle is for pollen patties(from my understanding this encourages the queen to lay, pollen is used to feed the larvae). The back is for the syrup jar. We place a deep box around it and then the inner cover and top cover.

This shows how we first thought we would use it, but found the method I shared above works really well.

We are currently feeding sugar syrup with a ratio of 5 cups water to 3 cups sugar. That ratio will change depending on the season. From what I've learned you don't want to use boiling water as it will change the chemical compound of the sugar and can upset the bees digestion. My water temp is about 120°, I've found that dissolves the sugar fairly quick.
We use 2quart jars.

Later in the fall and early in spring when the supers are off and before the nectar flow starts, I will add pollen powder, Honey B Healthy and Honey B Healthy Amino Booster to the syrup. We will stop all feeding when we add the first super.

During the winter months, once nighttime temps drop below 50°, we will feed the bees using a candy board. I will share how, when we do it. If you want the information earlier look up David Burns, he is who we are modeling our feeding boards as well as the candy board after and he shares how to make the sugar candy and the syrup with the above supplements.

My jar lids. I drill 2 holes using a 5/64 bit and a dremel grinding stone to grind away any sharp edges. Mine is a variable speed and I set it to 15.

When the jar is full and you turn it upside down, it will drip for a moment and then a vacuum is created and that will stop. It's amazing how fast the bees can empty a bottle with those 2 holes.


I'm always open to any questions or suggestions.