Author Archives: jkmcintyre

Pullet-Shut!

Posted on May 29, 2015 by jkmcintyre

[caption id="attachment_139" align="aligncenter" width="640"]The original coop door - R.I.P. The original coop door – R.I.P.[/caption]
Ah, the chicken coop door. The times we’ve neglected to shut it. The times we’ve forgotten. The times we thought we did, but didn’t. The times it was out for repair. Over the years we have unnecessarily lost 5 hens to raccoons Continue reading →

Posted in chicken coop / run, DIY, predators, Uncategorized | Tagged | 3 Comments

Feeding them Fodder, Slipping them Sprouts

Posted on May 19, 2015 by jkmcintyre

I have been feeding our chickens sprouted grains now for a few weeks.  They are definitely a hit, but it’s not quite what I was expecting. I bought two 50# bags of grain: one barley, one oats.  The barley sprouts … Continue reading →

Posted in chickens, starting seeds | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Bringing Home the Bees

Posted on April 30, 2015 by jkmcintyre

Old combs will be recycled
Old combs will be recycled

After the swarm moved into the hive we had ready for the new packaged bees, I had one day to scrounge a suitable replacement. Luckily we had the empty hive from the first die-off in 2014. But it needed some love. Continue reading →

Posted in animal behaviour, bees, honeybees, top bar hive | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Swarm!

Posted on April 29, 2015 by jkmcintyre

Two days before our package arrived, a swarm moved into the hive!   Bees had been checking out the hive for weeks, but it looked like they were just robbing the remaining honey. I stopped thinking it was scouts looking … Continue reading →

Posted in animal behaviour, bees, honeybees, top bar hive | Tagged , | 5 Comments