How Chickens Together With Love Bees Are The Same, Exclusively Different, Past Times Gail Damerow

 

Gail Damerow (left), Kathy Shea Mormino (right)

Long earlier the Internet existed, people turned to renowned author, Gail Damerow's books together with articles for chicken aid guidance. Enter the Internet together with no shortage of questionable chicken aid "advice" together with discerning readers still flock to to the time-tested reliability of Gail Damerow's writings for chicken aid guidance. So, imagine my surprise to observe an e-mail from her inwards my inbox 1 solar daytime spell writing my get-go book! Since then, nosotros receive got larn fast friends together with I am honored to live able to telephone telephone her a mentor. I receive got to admit, it's pretty overnice to live able to pick upwards the telephone to enquire a question, to portion ideas together with collaborate on projects knowing in that location are few people on the planet as knowledgeable almost chickens as she; together with chickens aren't her only discipline of expertise! 

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 see with Gail Damerow on her farm inwards Tennessee where she lives with her hubby Allan.

If you lot follow my Facebook page, you lot may know that I am embarking on an gamble inwards beekeeping. Don't enquire me how that happened as I receive got a salubrious honour for together with natural fearfulness of stinging insects. But with the the assistance of my friends at Tractor Supply Company together with generosity of the folks at Harvest Lane Honey, I am good on my way to becoming a beekeeper! When I told Gail almost this most unlikely plough of events, she shared a piddling fighting almost her adventures inwards apiculture with me. I am beyond thrilled to introduce to you lot the get-go of an untold release of articles by, together with collaborations with, the patron saint of poultry, Gail Damerow!

Gail Damerow with 1 of her Black Silkie hens.

How Chickens together with Honey Bees Are the Same, Only Different, past times Gail Damerow

One solar daytime my hubby Allan together with I were cleaning out our chicken coop together with I got to thinking almost how so many back-to-landers receive got enthusiastically embraced both chickens together with dear bees lately. Cleaning our sizable coop takes several hours, giving me a lot of fourth dimension to wonder what chickens together with bees receive got inwards mutual that makes them as attractive to newbies.

Bees together with chickens are both social creatures that prefer to alive inwards groups, yet neither needs much past times way of spacious housing. Even though a hive is domicile to many thousands of bees compared to a dozen or so chickens inwards a coop, the hive is much smaller together with thus easier to enshroud behind a debate or a few strategically placed bushes. Oh, sure, you lot tin enshroud a chicken coop, too, but some hen e'er gives it away past times cackling every fourth dimension she lays an egg. And what does she receive got to boast about? After all, at best she lays only 1 egg a day. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 queen bee busily lays a grand or so eggs a day, leaving her piddling fourth dimension to scream back almost bragging. If she did holler afterwards every egg, she’d receive got laryngitis inwards no time.

So why practise nosotros enshroud our hives together with coops, anyway? Well, here’s where bees together with chickens definitely receive got something inwards common. People who haven’t spent much fourth dimension around either 1 know everything they demand to know — that bees sting together with chickens smell. Well, yeah. But cats scratch together with dogs poop on sidewalks, yet I haven’t noticed whatever shortage of cats together with dogs. Still, there’s e'er some neighborhood crank who’ll loudly proclaim opposition at the mere refer that you lot mightiness live thinking of getting bees or chickens.

When you lot start out with either birds or bees, the get-go determination is what sort to get. Honey bees come upwards inwards a few different races, chickens come upwards inwards many different breeds. As with bees, some kinds of chickens are to a greater extent than excitable than others together with some are to a greater extent than productive than others. Bees together with chickens both come upwards inwards a selection of dark or designer stripes. But chickens receive got the border here, because they come upwards inwards many other colors, including red, white, together with blueish as good as inwards fancy-pants patterns similar crele together with porcelain.

Frizzled Tolbunt Polish, Calista Flockheart.

Chickens together with bees both attract predators, together with some of the same predators, too. Skunks. Bears! Human ne’er-do-wells. Both are discipline to theft, which serves to emphasize their respective desirability — at to the lowest degree alongside robbers who don’t worry the bees mightiness sting or the chickens mightiness smell.  Bees together with chickens both forage, but bees move further than chickens. Where a bee mightiness aspect for nectar a pair of miles from the hive, the conservative chicken won’t move much further than a few hundred feet from the coop. Less, if no trees or shrubs offering protective cover.

Both bees together with chickens demand a steady furnish of drinking water. If you lot don’t furnish it, they (bees together with chickens alike) are apt to drown inwards some neighbor’s swimming pool. Both brand sounds that expose their status, if you lot receive got fourth dimension to stop, look, together with listen. With a flock of chickens, allow out a whistle together with they’ll halt whatever they’re doing together with larn placidity so you lot tin hear coughs or sneezes. With bees, tap on the side of the hive together with you lot volition hear the bees buzz inwards response. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 brusk buzz way all is well; a longer, sustained buzz way something’s going on — similar your colony mightiness live queenless — so you’d ameliorate check.

Birds together with bees both autumn prey to parasitic mites, although chicken mites are a heck of a lot easier to avoid together with to process than varroa mites. Both also attract beneficial scavenger mites that aid proceed their housing clean.

Speaking of clean, bees receive got the goodness feel to go exterior to practise their business. Chickens, on the other hand, don’t hear messing inwards their ain house. And non precisely on the flooring — on the walls together with ceiling, too. How on populace practise they practise that? As big a chore as cleaning out all that chicken manure tin be, it has the wages that it may live composted together with used inwards the garden to grow side past times side summer’s vegetables. Bees, on the other hand, spread their wealth around where, I suppose, it does destination upwards fertilizing something, unless it lands on your windshield.

Birds together with bees both molt. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 chicken molts 4 times earlier it reaches maturity. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 bee molts 6 times, but gets all its molting done earlier it matures together with doesn’t scatter feathers all over the place.

Both mate almost every 2 weeks to lay fertile eggs. If her eggs aren’t fertile, they won’t hatch. Period.

Hens together with queen bees both lay decently good for a twelvemonth or 2 earlier tapering off, which is why both are replaced past times economy-minded keepers every twelvemonth or so. If you lot larn attached to your layers, you lot could easily destination upwards running a old-fowl domicile for geriatric hens. With dear bees, however, if you lot don’t supercede a negligent queen, the other bees volition practise it for you.

Bees receive got a much to a greater extent than complicated social club together with a stricter social construction than chickens. Each bee has a task together with goes almost it industriously for the betterment of the group. With chickens, it’s every hen for herself. Hens pass a lot of fourth dimension inwards such self-indulgent activities as sunbathing, taking dirt baths, pecking tasty treats from the ground, together with stealing tasty treats from other hens. You tin pass a solar daytime inwards the chicken yard watching the activities of each private chicken, but endeavour spending a solar daytime keeping your oculus on a unmarried bee.

With a few hens, you’re probable to larn daily rewarded with eggs. With a whole colony of bees, you lot don’t larn rewarded with dear until the fourth dimension is right, if at all. When you lot receive got a hen’s eggs, you lot don’t rob her of of import nutrition together with hold off her to endure on something less healthy, similar saccharide water. On the other hand, some chicken keepers indulge their hens past times feeding them corn or scratch grains — the chicken equivalent of junk food.

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 colony of bees volition rob dear from some other colony. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 flock of chickens won’t rob eggs from a neighboring flock, but a hen with maternal urges mightiness growth the size of her brood past times pilfering eggs (or fifty-fifty chicks) from some other hen’s nest.

Both bees together with chickens larn confused when their household is moved. Move it to a greater extent than than a pair of feet together with they volition stubbornly fixate on the erstwhile location. Confining them within for 2 or iii days gives them fourth dimension to reorient earlier you lot allow them dorsum out. For chickens, you lot proceed the door shut. For bees, you lot materials the entrance with grass or something similar; inwards the procedure of clearing out the stuffing, the bees reorient themselves.

If you lot summarily movement their house, come upwards nightfall chickens volition go dorsum to the erstwhile house together with huddle inwards the dark. If it’s raining, they’ll huddle inwards a puddle. Bees are smarter. After circling the erstwhile house together with finding the hive gone, they volition circle inwards an ever widening spiral until they locate the hive past times its odor — that is, unless the weather condition is cold, inwards which representative bees, similar chickens, may chill together with die.

Regardless of the cause, if 1 chicken dies, upwards goes the cherry-red flag. But bees driblet dead routinely together with constantly brand replacements, so you’re unlikely to notice a serious work until the work gets serious. Chickens don’t mysteriously driblet dead inwards droves. Instead, they unremarkably give you lot some advanced notice similar coughing together with sneezing or precisely hanging around looking perfectly miserable.

How chickens communicate is precisely as controversial a discipline as how bees communicate. Some chicken keepers similar to believe chicken sounds receive got abstract meanings, similar the cackling hen is saying, “Woo-hoo! I seat some other egg!” Others believe the cackle is precisely an instinctive survival machinery through which the hen draws attending to herself, hoping whatever lurking predator volition follow her together with leave of absence her defenseless egg alone. Similarly, some beekeepers believe the waggle dancing bee is saying, “Woo-hoo! I establish some swell novel nectar!” together with communicates such abstract information as the direction together with distance of the nectar discovered. Others believe the trip the low-cal fantastic is only an instinctive survival machinery that piques the curiosity of workers together with sends them on their ain odor search.

Much as a bee waggle dances to dot a novel nutrient source, a hen utters the nutrient telephone telephone to exhibit her chicks she’s establish something yummy. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 rooster uses the same nutrient telephone telephone to get together hens around himself, together with and then sometimes shows his truthful intent past times segueing into a mating dance. If some other rooster tries to horn inwards on the action, the 2 volition duke it out until 1 gives upwards or is mortally wounded.  Drones are much to a greater extent than civil. They congregate at a singles bar, waiting for a willing queen to swish through. The fastest Eddie gets the action, together with then dies happy together with the side past times side fastest takes over. No deceit together with no squabbles.

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 bee colony revolves around the queen. If to a greater extent than than 1 queen is present, either 1 queen kills the other or 1 queen leaves inwards a swarm. Hens alive inwards groups together with don’t swarm, unless individual left the gate opened upwards together with they spot freshly sprouted seedlings or succulent ripening strawberries inwards the yard side past times side door.

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 flock of chickens revolves around the kingpin rooster. His functions (aside from fertilizing eggs) are to swagger around the yard, periodically crow to denote his presence, receive got total credit for every process you lot convey your flock, together with protect his hens from predators. Alas, most municipalities don’t allow roosters, which way a lot of today’s chicken keepers never receive got the pleasance of enjoying the antics of the hens’ ameliorate half. On the other hand, not all roosters are fun. Some roosters, together with fifty-fifty an occasional hen, volition assault its keeper. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 hateful rooster tin stab repeatedly with his sudden spurs. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 bee that stabs you lot with its sudden stinger dies. An assault rooster doesn’t driblet dead unless individual fetches the ax together with transforms him into fricassee.

The clinical conditions of existence afraid of bees together with of chickens both start with an “A.” Apiphobia is a fearfulness of bees. Alektorophobia is a fearfulness of chickens. I’m afraid of bees, but non of chickens. As a youngster I got stung plenty of times, but most probable non past times dear bees. Try telling that to a piddling youngster who hears something buzz together with and then gets a nasty sting. I hear a buzzing audio together with correct away the hairs heighten on the dorsum of my cervix together with I instinctively start swatting. I can’t aid myself. Turns out, too, I’m allergic to bee stings (just as some unfortunate souls are allergic to chicken eggs).

When Allan decided to larn dear bees I told him he’d receive got to receive got aid of them himself. He elected me to proceed the smoker going inwards representative he needed it, which he rarely did. We both figured I’d live rubber if I stayed far plenty away together with kept pumping the smoker. One solar daytime Allan was working his bees inwards the orchard when I wasn’t around to human being the smoker. Suddenly 1 of his colonies boiled out of the hive together with pursued him as he hotfooted the 8th mile to the house. That solar daytime I pulled 32 stingers out of his hide, but amazingly he suffered no sick effects. If that had been me, I’d live dead. Which is why nosotros no longer receive got dear bees, but nosotros soundless receive got chickens.

 

Gail Damerow is the writer of The Chicken Health Handbook, Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens, Hatching together with Brooding Your Own Chicks, The Chicken Encyclopedia, The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals and a flock of other books on poultry together with related subjects.