Old Speckled Hen

I think they are making it up as they go along. All might be revealed next week...........................unless.

Option 4 is a package. Plenty sell them. The normal way for beekeepers to start up in the States.

Jane, might I suggest....to preserve your view, that you park your own car there

Rotten luck. I know as an ex-runner how painful tendon injuries can be and that they take a while to get better. Have you phoned your clinic to ask? They will know better than me but for what it's worth........................ I have a friend who has them for her back. They take effect straight away.

Well done for giving them a chance to dance in your garden and see the sky

I think it's brill Look here. http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/05/fortitude-season-one-episode-six-recap-leaving-nothing-to-the-imagination I've purposefully started with the last recap. Start at episode six then go back to the beginning. Can't wait for the next episode

Broccoli,peas,onions,leeks,tomatoes,aubergines and calendula all planted in greenhouse. Ordered my Nemasys slug nematodes to keep crops clear, spotted some whitefly on an overwintering Helenium so tossed that outside. I'll have to keep an eye on that and maybe order some Encarsia which worked a treat last year.

Just a minute, you might be sorted. Mann Lakes Hybrid hive comes in 14 x 12 here in the UK. Ring them back and ask again. The stuff they sell here is made in the USA and shipped over, find out where? Good luck.

Unfortunately not LANGSTROTH The measurements of the side bars vary depending on whether the frames are deep, medium, or shallow. Deep frames are 19 inches x 1-1/16 inches x 9-1/8 inches; medium frames are 19 inches x 1-1/16 inches x 6-1/4 inches; and shallow frames are 19 inches x 1-1/16 inches x 5-3/8 inches. Are you happy with the way the Beehaus works? You can run only the one colony in one half as you need the other half for artificial swarming so you are restricted to this one colony only. Two is much better as you have "spare" bees/queens (or the ability to make them) should a disaster happen. If it was me..........I might advertise it for sale and somebody else with a Beehaus and skill to make frames might buy it then you can move on to poly Langs; a much better choice in my opinion. Best of luck and let know how you get on

You should renew your frames every three years. A good way of doing this is to replace a few every year, gradually working old frames towards the edge of the hive and then taking them away. The replacement frame of foundation should go next to but not in, the brood nest. The frames are British Standard 14 x 12 for brood and Shallow for supers, nothing special about them. Mann Lake sell them here in the UK, you might ask to see if they can supply you.

Amongst other things. The frames would get clogged up with crystallised honey/wax and propolis after more than a season. The "inventors suggest that they are taken out of the hives and cleaned twice a year to combat this....ummmmm, you take the frames out ONCE a year to harvest honey in the normal way. Having a bottle of honey being poured OUTSIDE the hive is going to attract other bees and wasps and lead to swarms of robbing. They are going to reach 5 million USD on their crowd funding site then do a runner. It's not beekeeping it's a scam.

I find that cheap bird food gets chucked out by the sparrows who pick out the best bits; one of the reasons I had rats in the garden. The best places I have found are twootz.com for straights and wildbirdfood.uk.com for mixed seed. Their "superior high energy" blend is not wasted at all........and both deliver free.

I can help with 4 and 5 I have hatched bantie eggs under a broody in a Classic. I just take the roosting bars out and fill the lot with straw. I add a ramp so that the new babies can get in and out but I often wonder whether it's necessary. Never had a problem with the run.

Yes, I've heard resistance is reported in the USA. I do a worm count twice yearly after I treat them and all has been negative so far.

Mine would never eat food laced with anything. When I had only three very tame hens I could get by with feeding them each a grape with a speck of flubenvet inside. Now they all get spot-on Eprinex. Husband with torch, pick each bird off the perch/out of Cube and spot. So easy.

I agree with Olly, too. It's the kindest way if you can. I have had to let three hens go this way while cuddling them. they don't know what's happened. Had to get husband to do sickly cockerel as I wasn't strong enough. I don't believe in prolonged treatment for a hen and I think you are doing the right thing. Best of luck.

Bees like it and it makes red honey

I can't believe the hysteria surrounding Knotweed. It is actually quite easy to eliminate using glyphosate. I bought a house six years ago at a real premium price because people were getting their knickers in a twist over knotweed that was going to undermine everything. It took me one season to remove it!

I agree pretty much with what others have said. I cook up all my veggie peelings and mix them with a handful of cheap porridge oats. But.....being a gardener you should know that the best place for your earthworms is back in your soil. Leave them there.

Will let you know how I get on http://www.gardenbetty.com/2013/05/why-and-how-to-ferment-your-chicken-feed/

I'm just trying a parrot sprouting mix. It has all sorts in it. My lot get a whole grain diet which I'm going to try fermenting next. Has anybody else tried that?

So sorry,Jane. I left my lot out all night once....just luck I got away with it. Onward and upward......new chickens to look forward to. Tell us what you get

Fitbit for us. Makes sure we do at least 10,000 steps a day It does a sleep cycle and monitors intensity of exercise too.

My advice would be to get to grips with bees in a common format before exploring the unusual. Also, putting a beehive anywhere near the public is fraught with problems. How are you going to move it if people start getting stung?What about visitors to your front door? When they swarm and you miss it is there a likelihood of the swarm ending up the public side of your hedge or even on the telegraph pole. It may be that your house is in splendid isolation, so perhaps I presume too much in which case I'm sorry. Let us know how you get on?

I think my husband might disagree with you, there.