Homesteading Skills

Curious if anyone here is into beekeeping? It's something I'm just getting into it and I'm picking up some tomorrow after work. I also got a chicken coop last week with 4 chicks. After living 3 years and never seen a bear this guy shows up same day I set up a chicken coop looking down at it. Should make for some interesting times

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My wife started two hives over consecutive seasons several years ago. Neither made it through winter. We just got two nucs this year in our new house. They came from a guy right in our town in NH so hopefully they are hardier. We haven’t seen bears here yet, but have the bees and chickens in electric netting. I’m not sure it would deter that bear.208393EC-9AC6-4F11-8497-7FC9BCFC670B.jpeg

Also have 30 meat birds that will be ready in a month. And some laying hens.9C0B4F5F-D441-429D-9E73-B705A6C7FA04.jpeg
 
My wife started two hives over consecutive seasons several years ago. Neither made it through winter. We just got two nucs this year in our new house. They came from a guy right in our town in NH so hopefully they are hardier. We haven’t seen bears here yet, but have the bees and chickens in electric netting. I’m not sure it would deter that bear.View attachment 622024

Also have 30 meat birds that will be ready in a month. And some laying hens.View attachment 622025
So how much honey did you get from them? My book seems to say you may get no honey the first year but it pays off the second season. Maybe 60 lbs worth? Google says 10-200!
 
Almost no honey. I think you are not supposed to take any the first year to give them the best chance. By the time we realized one hive was dead mice were already in there so we got nothing. I think we did get some honey from the other hive once it died. But it wasn’t much. Hopefully we do a lot better this time.

It was still fun to watch the bees though. They are fascinating animals. I am allergic to hornets so my wife is the bee keeper. But I can still go right up to the hive if no one is messing with it. They just fly right around me. I have only been stung once and had no reaction for what that’s worth.
 
Almost no honey. I think you are not supposed to take any the first year to give them the best chance. By the time we realized one hive was dead mice were already in there so we got nothing. I think we did get some honey from the other hive once it died. But it wasn’t much. Hopefully we do a lot better this time.

It was still fun to watch the bees though. They are fascinating animals. I am allergic to hornets so my wife is the bee keeper. But I can still go right up to the hive if no one is messing with it. They just fly right around me. I have only been stung once and had no reaction for what that’s worth.
I've read that it's random chance to get stung because I be might just fly into you and sting you... just because. Hands up getting a hive made out of plastic. It looks like a cooler but the theory is, it keeps them warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. Mice can't get into it either


View: https://youtu.be/_pPpM9ZhWnw
 
I was thinking about making mead with the honey I get. Does anybody have any experience with that?

This sounded pretty neat

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=agZB1jRkkqM



View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sZBbFX5wJwk

@Golddiggie I may be misremembering, but I think I met you a long long time ago, and I think you showed me some mead you were making.

Kman, how is that plastic hive working out for you? I just saw a video where a guy was advocating a different plastic hive. He said it was much less susceptible to mold than wood. Can you make their entrance bigger? We have an entrance reducer in now but I just noticed last night they are working on chewing it out. Hive has definitely grown a lot already.
 
We were missing one frame when we first setup our hive. My wife went in today to put it in and add another box. They had built this comb into the space of the missing frame. There was a few tablespoons of honey in it and it was incredible.


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Been keeping bees about 8 years - One thing I've come to realize is there is no single "right" answer when it comes to agriculture. Line up 10 beekeepers and get 10 opinions and ways of doing things. That said PM me with any questions and you'll get this beekeepers opinion :)
 
@Golddiggie I may be misremembering, but I think I met you a long long time ago, and I think you showed me some mead you were making.

Kman, how is that plastic hive working out for you? I just saw a video where a guy was advocating a different plastic hive. He said it was much less susceptible to mold than wood. Can you make their entrance bigger? We have an entrance reducer in now but I just noticed last night they are working on chewing it out. Hive has definitely grown a lot already.
Guy who sold me my bees was saying that if you have a space like that, they'll just make their own comb and you want to make sure you have all the frames installed when you add a new super. It's amazing watching them week to week the progress they make!
I like the plastic Hive so much I bought another 10 frame one. They seem to have no problem using the openings right now.

View: https://youtu.be/wNuKbiRPRJo
 
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@Golddiggie I may be misremembering, but I think I met you a long long time ago, and I think you showed me some mead you were making.

Kman, how is that plastic hive working out for you? I just saw a video where a guy was advocating a different plastic hive. He said it was much less susceptible to mold than wood. Can you make their entrance bigger? We have an entrance reducer in now but I just noticed last night they are working on chewing it out. Hive has definitely grown a lot already.
I finally bottle the batches over the winter. Some were from 2012, others from 2013. All good.
 
Been keeping bees about 8 years - One thing I've come to realize is there is no single "right" answer when it comes to agriculture. Line up 10 beekeepers and get 10 opinions and ways of doing things. That said PM me with any questions and you'll get this beekeepers opinion :)
Thank you much!

Guy who sold me my bees was saying that if you have a space like that, they'll just make their own comb and you want to make sure you have all the frames installed when you add a new super. It's amazing watching them week to week the progress they make!
I like the plastic Hive so much I bought another 10 frame one. They seem to have no problem using the openings right now.

View: https://youtu.be/wNuKbi

It is incredible how fast they make progress. I love the video. Watching them it always looks like swarming chaos at first. But if you watch closely it is just a s ton of bees coming in and going out.

I finally bottle the batches over the winter. Some were from 2012, others from 2013. All good.
Wow, that was a long time ago. Time flies.
 
Today was my first real chicken processing day. I had done a couple before but nothing serious. We got 30 day old Cornish-x birds on May 4. One died around week 4 - maybe heart attack. 3 were killed by a hawk between weeks 5 and 7. And three more died in heat yesterday. So we had 23 left to harvest.

It took my wife and I about 4.5 hours not including packaging time. I killed and plucked them and my wife could almost keep up cleaning them. It was not a fun morning, and was pretty tough on my wife, but it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. I bought a yardbird plucker which was key. I had to hand pluck the chickens I did in the past and that was the worst part. If anyone out there is thinking of raising meat birds just do it. I haven’t tasted them yet, or even done the math to see if hat they cost me, but I can still say it’s worth it. I will update with the cost per lb and the taste once I get there. Some notes on the day:
  • Get a big kill cone. I had a little giant medium and a yardbird large. The large looked ridiculous it was so big. But I ended up killing almost all the birds in it. The medium was just too small. Three birds had a wing fall through the large cone but it wasn’t as bad as them being able to get out.
  • Tie their feet. I thought the cone would hold them well enough but most of them could at least pull their legs in. One was able to completely flip over in there. After that I tied them all but I wasn’t prepared with a good option for it.
  • Wear clothes you can throw out. The second bird shot blood all over me. The fourth pulled his legs in the cone (they weren’t tied) pushed off and let loose a giant shit. I saw it coming but it still got my shirt, the side of my face, and head. Effing gross. At least there was a hose right there. I went shirtless after that and ended up looking like a horror movie.
Lots of other things, but those are ones I didn’t see in the YouTube videos I watched.

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Does anybody own a fruit press and or crusher? I was looking to make some cider, mead and wine. Curious if somebody had any suggestions or advice!
 
I was thinking about making mead with the honey I get. Does anybody have any experience with that?

This sounded pretty neat

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=agZB1jRkkqM



View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sZBbFX5wJwk

I used to do it a bunch. It's been a couple years, but I'll probably get back to it soon. It's probably the easiest way to get into brewing. If you want to borrow a setup, PM me, I'm sure we can make something happen. Could probably even help you pitch your first batch.
 
Today was my first real chicken processing day. I had done a couple before but nothing serious. We got 30 day old Cornish-x birds on May 4. One died around week 4 - maybe heart attack. 3 were killed by a hawk between weeks 5 and 7. And three more died in heat yesterday. So we had 23 left to harvest.

It took my wife and I about 4.5 hours not including packaging time. I killed and plucked them and my wife could almost keep up cleaning them. It was not a fun morning, and was pretty tough on my wife, but it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. I bought a yardbird plucker which was key. I had to hand pluck the chickens I did in the past and that was the worst part. If anyone out there is thinking of raising meat birds just do it. I haven’t tasted them yet, or even done the math to see if hat they cost me, but I can still say it’s worth it. I will update with the cost per lb and the taste once I get there. Some notes on the day:
  • Get a big kill cone. I had a little giant medium and a yardbird large. The large looked ridiculous it was so big. But I ended up killing almost all the birds in it. The medium was just too small. Three birds had a wing fall through the large cone but it wasn’t as bad as them being able to get out.
  • Tie their feet. I thought the cone would hold them well enough but most of them could at least pull their legs in. One was able to completely flip over in there. After that I tied them all but I wasn’t prepared with a good option for it.
  • Wear clothes you can throw out. The second bird shot blood all over me. The fourth pulled his legs in the cone (they weren’t tied) pushed off and let loose a giant shit. I saw it coming but it still got my shirt, the side of my face, and head. Effing gross. At least there was a hose right there. I went shirtless after that and ended up looking like a horror movie.
Lots of other things, but those are ones I didn’t see in the YouTube videos I watched.

View attachment 630766View attachment 630768View attachment 630769View attachment 630770View attachment 630771View attachment 630772View attachment 630773View attachment 630774
I would totally do that but seems like so much going on. Would love to hear your update on yield and such.
 
I used to do it a bunch. It's been a couple years, but I'll probably get back to it soon. It's probably the easiest way to get into brewing. If you want to borrow a setup, PM me, I'm sure we can make something happen. Could probably even help you pitch your first batch.

Just experimenting in 1 gallon jugs. I spent the day making six different flavors of mead (cherry, hibiscus, elderberry), 2 kinds of beer and some hard cider. Interesting to see if this produces anything tasty!

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So I have a pickle question. i pickled cucumbers yesterday in mason jars for the first time. I think I may have put too much garlic in the brine. Now I'm wonderng if I should redo them with new brine. Is there such a thing as too much??
 
So I have a pickle question. i pickled cucumbers yesterday in mason jars for the first time. I think I may have put too much garlic in the brine. Now I'm wonderng if I should redo them with new brine. Is there such a thing as too much??
I love garlic. I put in whole peeled cloves and eat them pickled. They get pretty mild when pickled.
 
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