Honeybees & Chickens

[bluedaisy30]

I hope this post is in the right place. My hubby & I would really like to raise chickens & keep a couple hives of honeybees in our backyard. We have not purchased anything yet. Does anyone here have both on their property? We want to make sure both chickens & honeybees can coexsist safely in a backyard. We have a half acre. How far apart should the chickens be from the bees? Do chickens eat honeybees? Since will live in a neighborhood & there are neighbor dogs & cats we will have to confine the chickens to a large run. We are newbies to both of these hobbies so any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[Carol Dee]

Is your 1/2 acre within city limits? Be sure there is not any rules saying you can not have bees, chickens, or what ever. Many towns are relaxing more on chickens as long as you do NOT have a rooster. Bees can be a touchy subject. Still many fearful people.

 

[journey11]

I have both here on my one acre. We have the bee-yard fenced mostly to keep the neighbor kids out for their safety, but I used to run my chickens in the same fenced space. (Until opossums started picking them off.) Chickens and bees do great together. The chickens have no interest in the bee boxes and the bees seem to know that chickens are not a threat anyway. They can pass by the entrance unharmed. I don't think they could likely sting through the feathers down to the skin anyway.

I bought a PoultryNet fence for my chickens two years ago and it has been the best containment system I've tried. Mine are tractored and the fence surrounds the whole thing. No dogs (my biggest predator problem) or coons, opossums, etc. can get into the electrified fence. We have hawks here, but I've never lost a chicken to a hawk in the 6 years I've had them. I guess they have enough wild birds and bunnies to eat here. Providing a bush or some other covered area would give the chickens something to get under if needed. Right now they are tilling up my garden for me. The PoultryNet fence is super easy to move and set up. I move it every couple of months after they've worn down the grass or whatever. I like it anyway, if you can tell.

 

[so lucky]

If you live in town, I would be a lot more concerned about the bees than the chickens. Other people's dogs and kids could upset the bees enough to attack an allergic passer-by. Just make sure you take all that into consideration when you think about where to put the hives. And welcome to the forum!

 

[baymule]

I currently live in town and have kept hens (no crowing rooster to disturb neighbors) for 5 years. I have not had bees, so can't answer that. Just be aware that even in town, there are raccoons, possums, snakes and dogs, so build your coop and run predator proof. I let my girls out in the yard, but they have a strong covered run for when I keep them in.

 

[bluedaisy30]

Thanks for all the advice While we do live in a small neighborhood, we are not in town limits. Also we are the last house on a dead end street with some woods on 2 sides of the property. We only plan to have laying hens.

 

[Beekissed]

I've had both and they do well together. The chickens even clean up potential pests that may enter the hive, so it's a win/win. I've never seen them trying to eat the bees. I think bees and chickens are a good, natural pairing of food animals and would like to get back into bees myself.

 

[lesa]

My chickens and bees live in the same area. The chickens completely ignore the bees and vice-a-versa. It is really a perfect pairing. As Beekissed says, the chickens scratch around the hives and eat potential pests.