HomesteadHensandHoney

Hello! Today's episode starts with a quick update on my fierce little hen, Boo, and then goes on to discuss the issue of obesity in chickens. How can we identify an overweight chicken? What can we do to prevent obesity? And just how much food should our chickens be eating anyway? 

This week is the first in my series of what I am calling 'Farm Stories'. These are mini-episodes that share stories from around my homestead, with a focus on all the animals I am fortunate to share my life with. This week, I tell you all about my tiny hen, Boo, and her big attitude. Can a tiny hen take on a rooster three times her size? Listen in to find out!

This week, I do a 'year in review' for my apiary.

I went into 2022 with two colonies, brought home a package and 4 nucleus colonies, and ended up with 5 colonies as of January 2023. Listen in to learn all about my gains, losses, and to follow each of my colonies as we moved through last year. Reading my bee journal for this episode was a wonderful learning tool for me, and I hope you will also find it useful!

I'm back! and I have news! 

For this episode, I go through goals I set for myself in 2022; what worked, what didn't. And then I explain how I fell afowl (hehe!) of the dreaded 'chicken math'. 

Hello hello! I have returned from my podcast hiatus, and I have lots of news. Most of it depressing (sorry!). 

In this episode, I discuss goals I set for myself in 2021, what worked, what didn't; as well as what has been happening with me since my hiatus. 

Please note: this episode includes frank discussion of chicken death, depression, cancer, and chronic illness.

Hi folks! I've decided to place the podcast on hiatus until next Spring. We're going full tilt through autumn and into winter now, and things will be slowing down around the homestead. Plus, I'm just completely burned out due to a number of different factors, and I need the time to reset.

Happy September! Important announcement: I will be taking the rest of September off so there will be no new episodes (or reposts) until October. I'm taking a much needed break to reset. I hope you will bear with me!

This week, I discuss what things look like in my apiary, treating my top bar hive for mites using the oxalic acid dribble method, bringing home new chickens/pullets, and then share some facts about the supremely fluffy English Orpington chicken.

I do discuss some upsetting information related to my broody hen and chick death. This is covered from timestamp 20:57 until 30:26. Please jump ahead if you would prefer. Nature can be cruel but your mental health is important so feel free to just skip that bit. 

Hello from rainy Ohio!

This week, I am reposting one of my earliest episodes that covers all things Varroa Mite. I go over what this nasty little parasite is, how it transferred from the Asian honeybee (apis cerana) to our beloved European honeybee (apis mellifera), its method of transmission into the US; testing methods, and available treatments. 

This topic is especially timely since those of us in the West are moving into Autumn, which is when varroa mite levels can start to climb. I hope this will act as a useful refresher on this nasty parasite for seasoned beekeepers, and a good introductory guide for first year beekeepers. 

Hello hello! I am back from my vacation and right back into the thick of things. I've been so busy catching up on everything at the homestead that I am bringing you just a mini episode this week. I'll be discussing broody hens (or what it means when a hen 'goes broody') as well as what is happening in my bee hives. Then I'll share some highlights from my vacation.

Hello! This week, I'm taking time off from the book reviews and educational topics, and instead talking about everything that has been happening here on the homestead. Topics include: rehoming an aggressive rooster, bringing a new rooster home, vegetable garden progress, and hive news. 

Hello hello! This is part 2 of my review of 'The Thinking Beekeeper' by Christy Hemenway. This half of the book goes in depth on how to manage your top bar hive colony during its first year, complete with some very handy-dandy diagrams. 

Hello hello! This week, I'll be covering the first half of 'The Thinking Beekeeper' by Christy Hemenway, which is an excellent how-to guide on getting started with top bar hives. I also announce the winner of my giveaway!

This week, I’m sharing my thoughts and experiences with the Gold Star Honeybees top bar hive (complete kit); the quality of the materials, ease of putting it together, and how it is working out. I’m also hosting a giveaway for the book ‘The Thinking Beekeeper - Natural Beekeeping in Top Bar Hives’ by the owner of Gold Star Honeybees, Christy Hemenway. Details at the end of the episode!

Welcome to episode 45! This episode is all about the adventures of Ginny, the guinea fowl hen. I also cover some facts about guinea fowl so that you can decide whether they might be a good fit for your homestead or farm. 

Links of interest:

Hello hello! This week, I finish up my book review of 'Honeybee Democracy' by Thomas Seeley with chapter 10 and the epilogue. Chapter 10 is all about how we can apply the 'swarm smarts' of honeybee swarms to our human forms of governing and decision-making. The Epilogue is a succinct summary of everything covered in the book.  I hope you enjoy it!

Hello hello! This week, we move on to Chapter 9 of Honeybee Democracy by Thomas Seeley. This chapter looks at how the decision making process of honey bee swarms is comparable to the decision making process of primate brains. Yes, really!

Quick correction: at the end, I say my next episode will cover chapter 10 and the Prologue. I meant chapter 10 and the epilogue. Whoops! 

Hello hello! This week, I push on with my book review of Honeybee Democracy by Thomas Seeley, and cover Chapter 8. This chapter is all about the dynamics of swarm flight. How do the bees make their way to their chosen nest site? Which bees lead the way? How many bees of the 10k+ within a swarm have visited the nest before? These questions and more will be answered!

Hello hello! This week, I am covering Chapter 7 of Honeybee Democracy, which is all about the swarm's final flight home. Have you ever wondered how a honeybee swarm manages to take flight all at once, as one great cloud of bees? What allows 10 thousand plus bees to take off as one cohesive unit? What signals to them to prepare for flight? You're about to find out!

This week, I cover chapter 6 of Honeybee Democracy by Thomas Seeley. This chapter is all about how the scout bees of a swarm come to a consensus on their new nest site. We will learn about how nest site quality relates to waggle dance enthusiasm; how the discoverer scouts recruit other bees to support their site; and whether scout bees compare various nest sites to assess quality, or whether they have an innate knowledge of what makes a nest site good or bad. 

Hello from snowy Ohio! This episode, we are tackling Chapter 5 of Honeybee Democracy by Thomas Seeley. This chapter focuses on the studies Seeley created to ascertain what sort of nest cavity is considered acceptable but not ideal by honeybees, in an attempt to deepen his understanding of how scout bees make decisions when assessing nest site options.

Hello hello! On to Chapter 4 of Honeybee Democracy by Thomas Seeley today. This chapter answers such questions as: how does a forager know when to start looking for potential nest sites? How is a nest site chosen if multiple options are found by scout bees? Is there a genetic component to which foragers become scouts when the need arises? Listen in and learn all about the fascinating dance-off of the scout bees!

Hello lovelies! The book review continues with Chapter 3: Dream Home for Honeybees. 

Happy new year, my lovelies! I hope you had a safe and relaxing holiday away from the hustle and bustle. 

This week, I continue with my review of 'Honeybee Democracy'. Chapter 2 covers information that is very familiar to many of us: the societal structure of the honeybee colony, how queen bees are reared, the process of swarming, etc. I hope it's not too dull for you to hear it all again but I'd like to think it never hurts to rehash this kind of information. 

Hello hello! This episode, I start reviewing 'Honeybee Democracy' by Thomas Seeley. This is a very popular book that was recommended by many so I hope you enjoy it!

Welcome! This week, I compare my 2019 goals to those of 2020, and discuss what worked and what didn't. I go over issues I had in the hives, general time-sucks, unexpected accomplishments, changes I made on the homestead, and what I am planning for 2021. 

Happy Turkey Day! Take a break from eating obscene amounts of pie and other decadent holiday treats, and listen in to the final part of my series on basic chicken biology/anatomy. This week, I discuss the digestive, urinary, male reproductive, nervous, and circulatory systems. 

This week, I am continuing my 'chicken theme' and talking about chicken biology. This is part 1 in a 2 part series, and covers the skin, immune system, lymphatic system, muscles, skeletal system, and respiratory system. Part 2 will cover the digestive, male reproductive, nervous, and circulatory system. 

Hello! Episode 31 covers all my hive news (spoiler: it's not great), the loss of a hen, the introduction of a new hen, and finally some common reproductive disorders in chickens. I go over the reproductive system of our feathered friends, and talk about a few disorders that you might come across in your flock. 

It's here, the final chapter!! 

Episode 30 covers chapter 11 of 'The Lives of Bees'  by Thomas Seeley, summarizing all that has been discussed in the book so far, and offering suggestions as to how we can manage our colonies in a more bee friendly manner. 

Hello hello! This is the second to last chapter of the book. Huzzah! We learn all about colony defense, which includes a fair amount of information about the development of varroa mite resistance behaviours in honey bees. This is particularly timely for me as I'm dealing with high mite loads this year, which I detail at the beginning of the episode. 

I'm back with the book review that never ends! Today, we learn all about how bees regulate the temperature of their brood nest; how they generate heat via their flight muscles; and how wild nest cavities provide key insulation advantages to the wood-ware we use in our managed apiaries. 

Hello hello! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing John Swan, host of the Hive Jive podcast. I'm a huge fan of this podcast, and I've been listening from the beginning, so when John asked me if I'd like to do an interview, I jumped at the chance!

We were using some new software/equipment for this episode so I'm afraid the sound quality is not as good as usual. My apologies! And thank you for bearing with me as I did my best to fix things in editing.

Welcome back to the book review that never ends! This chapter is all about food collection and is fascinating. You will be amazed at just how much pollen and nectar is needed to sustain a single colony of honey bees! And have you ever wondered how far a single foraging bee will travel in her lifetime? Because you're about to find out!

I'm back with the book review that never ends! This week, I cover chapter 7, which is all about honey bee reproduction, including such interesting subjects as the average amount of drones vs queens produced in a year; the optimal amount of worker bees that leave with the first swarm; what effects the production of 'afterswarms'; and how the honey bee is much like an apple tree! Confused? You soon will be! Or not, if I've done this right. 

I also spend a little time discussed robbing behaviour in bees, and what you can do about it.

Hello hello! This week, I discuss everything that's been going on here, including: why people should be wearing masks, living in a COVID hotspot, heat stress in chickens, how I came to adopt my first whippet, and how cocktails can creep up on you and lead to impromptu sleepovers where I end up covered in cats!

I also discuss my first honey harvest, and detail how things went, what equipment was used, how to clean up, etc.

Continuing my book review of 'The Lives of Bees' by Thomas Seeley! Today, we tackle chapters 5 and 6, which take a detailed look at the nest site preferences of honey bees, as well as their unique annual cycle, and how both these things affect their survival.

Welcome to episode 22! Today, I'm talking about what's going on in my hive, what you can expect during a state apiary inspection, why I chose to make nucleus colonies over splits, and how knowing about bee math can help you when rearing queens (or letting your colony raise their own).

Hello hello! I'm back to reviewing the book 'The Lives of Bees' by Thomas Seeley, and cover chapters 3 and 4 this episode. Seeley takes a look at the history of the honey bee and humanity's relationship to it, and then gives us a detailed run down of how beekeeping changed over time to what we see today.

Hello hello! This week, I am taking a break from the book reviews to just chat about things that have been happening here on the homestead, and other points of interest. Then I discuss how to set up a 'chicken hospital' for when you need to help an ailing hen. 

Hello hello! This week, I talk a little about the Asian Giant Hornet and why we don't need to panic, and then start a detailed review of 'The Lives of Bees' by Thomas Seeley. I cover chapters 1-2, and there's a lot of info to share! This will be part of a series where I cover 2 chapters each episode. 

Hey folks! This week, I'm giving you all the news about my hives, including a colony loss and a package install. Then I go into a detailed review of the fictional book 'The Bees' by Laline Paul, which I highly recommend. 

Hey folks! This week I share an update on how my bees are getting along, and then review the book 'Top-Bar Beekeeping' by Les Crowder and Heather Harrell.

Hey folks! Hoping you are all safe and healthy, and muddling through this scary time as best you can. We're on a shelter in place order like many others and are adjusting to the new routine.

This week, I share a a big update on how my 3 hives are doing as we move into Spring; talk about the TriCounty Beekeepers Association Spring Workshop; discuss why creating nucleus colonies could be a huge benefit to your apiary; and share some top-bar hive information.

Hi folks! I hope you're all staying safe during this COVID-19 madness. 

This week is my final episode on my 3 part series about edible gardens. I talk about sunflowers and their benefits as a pollinator plant; the 3 Sisters method; and how pasture plants can benefit our livestock, local ecosystems, and pollinators (including our beloved honey bee!). I also briefly discuss why you might be getting thin egg shells from your chickens. 

Hello my lovelies! This is part 2 of my 3 part series on edible gardens. This episode, I talk about even more herbs, lettuce/salad greens, leafy greens, and parsnips (which are apparently quite the stubborn root vegetable).

Hello hello! Thanks so much for tuning in. This week, I'm talking about edible gardens, and things that I'd like to grow! This is part 1 of a 3 part series so stay tuned!

Hi folks! This week I'm talking about preparing for Spring and my second year of beekeeping. 

Hey folks! I had some volume issues with the first 20 minutes of this episode so I apologize if it's rather quiet. Apparently, I also couldn't pronounce 'coturnix' consistently, either! I blame the cold. That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it!

Hey folks! This week, I give you the usual updates on the homestead, and then talk about different races of honey bee (such as the Italian, Caucasian, Cordovan, etc).