Bees & Chickens
Friend or Foe? Chickens can be fantastic partners to the honey bees in your apiary.
Allowing chickens to free-range around your beehives can bring surprising usefulness to the average beekeeper. As natural "pest controllers," they enjoy cleaning up dead debris around the hives and feasting on the bugs and beetles you don't want in your yard.
If they disrupt the colony by wandering too close to the front, don't worry—the guard bees will let your fine-feathered friends know that they need to move elsewhere.
A Shared Symbiosis
If you unfortunately lose a hive and wax moths have taken over a frame, chickens will gladly enjoy the larvae as a special treat.
An active hive is a healthy hive, and having chickens helps a beekeeper monitor that health!
A word of caution: if you have chickens that like to follow you around, best keep them cooped up when you are working the hives, especially on hot summer days. This makes for a more peaceful experience, ensuring you are not targeted for stings by bees that have become irritated by the chickens.
Are you keeping bees and chickens together? How is it working in your yard?
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