Once again, we break out one of our favorite building materials to create something we need on the homestead. Today, it is a chicken coop/hen house. This is actually the second rendition of a hen house we have made. The first one will be slightly re-worked to add the hinged opening. One thing about homesteading, you learn something every time you do something. In this case, I learned that installing an opening to get eggs would be far easier using hinges.
We had the opportunity to take a little drive south. About 3.5 hours or so that direction, you will find a nice little homestead/small farm by the name of J&J Acres. Jared and his family have been doing the small farm thing for a good while, and I wanted to make the drive to see what I could learn about worms and hogs. Turns out, I got stuck on the hogs.
Oh, I saw the worms, but when I saw the hogs, I was hooked. You see, Tommy Alderman, over on the other side of the state, is who first clued me into the greatness of American Guinea Hogs. I have been pondering getting them for years. Well, it looks like the opportunity may just present itself to get some, so I took the chance to check out Jared’s set up first. Below, you will see a quick Q/A session with Jared as he answered some of my questions. Make sure to head over to his YouTube channel, and Tommy Alderman’s as well. Both of them are great guys. ALDERMAN FARMS J&J ACRES
I got a request in a comment on a YouTube video asking how to use Swiffer pads or paper towels for hive beetle control in a hive. I put together a quick Two Minute Tip showing how to install them. Enjoy.
Ok, so today we were trying to figure out lunch. Cyndi wanted pizza, and she loves the Margherita pizza from Chili’s. I decided to see what I could throw together to get close, and I must say, this was a darned good pizza. Continue reading
So, the hives in the back apiary are infested…. badly. The good news is that the front apiary is looking strong. I reworked the hives in the back, essentially replacing everything in an attempt to save those two.
I have been using concrete mesh for trellises for some time. Here is how I use them to cage up some tomatoes. These work great for cucumbers, zucchini, pretty much everything that needs support.
I remember the first time I heard about hog ring pliers, or more accurately, hog rings. I somehow managed to picture a ring in the nose of a hog… like the rings you see in bulls noses. I am not sure why I generated that mental image, but I did. Here is a quick tip about what they are, and how to use them.
Another dead queen in the hive. She never made it out of the cage. It’s a sad day.
As you know, I somehow managed to go queenless in two hives in the rear apiary. After talking to several folks around here, several somehow went queenless this spring. Not sure what caused it, but either way, I had to order some new queens.
I ordered two queens from Kelley Beekeeping. They arrived a few days later, and to my dismay, one queen was dead… very dead. The other looked great. I promptly called Kelley and was quite pleased with their prompt attention to the matter. My new queen is already on the way. Here, I show you how to install a queen into a queenless hive.
I have two queens arriving tomorrow. I ordered them, having been pretty sure I somehow went queenless in both of my hives. This is a quick inspection to verify that I am actually still queenless. Also, a bumblebee (or perhaps a carpenter bee, I need to do some looking) decided it would be wise to stroll into the hive for a snack. The girls did not like it. That was an impressive sight.
