While the winters are not very cold here in RVA we do still get below freezing temperatures sometimes. Therefore, we need to do some winterizing in the garden.
The chickens and the bees are the only living creatures in the garden that I need to help out through winter.
Chickens are warm-blooded and have insulating feathers and fat. Properly feeding and caring for the birds will ensure they have a good layer of fat and healthy plumage for insulation. The colder it gets the fluffier the chickens get as they puff their feathers to hold more trapped air. This also multiplies their cuteness, which they then use to get more treats out of me. It’s a racket. I know. I don’t care.
The chickens and the bees are the only living creatures in the garden that I need to help out through winter.
Chickens are warm-blooded and have insulating feathers and fat. Properly feeding and caring for the birds will ensure they have a good layer of fat and healthy plumage for insulation. The colder it gets the fluffier the chickens get as they puff their feathers to hold more trapped air. This also multiplies their cuteness, which they then use to get more treats out of me. It’s a racket. I know. I don’t care.
However, natural insulation is only so good and the birds could get too cold without some help against the elements. We have added straw bales around the coop for added nighttime insulation and a large cover to the chicken run. The cover will provide added shielding from the rain, snow, and wind.
The cover for the run is more of the poly-vinyl paneling and PVC tubing. This attaches with zip ties to the run of the coop. The overall effect makes the chicken tractor look a little like chicken vardo (Romani Gypsy Wagon). However, the chicken tractor is not nearly as ornate.
The following link has more information on what a Vardo is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vardo_(Romani_wagon)
Like many of our projects, this one got a good test from Mother Nature the first night it was up. We had a large storm front move in that was powerful enough to knock out the power. And then we had wind and rain that lasted into the next day.
The run cover stayed in place and the ground and the chickens are nice and dry.
The following link has more information on what a Vardo is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vardo_(Romani_wagon)
Like many of our projects, this one got a good test from Mother Nature the first night it was up. We had a large storm front move in that was powerful enough to knock out the power. And then we had wind and rain that lasted into the next day.
The run cover stayed in place and the ground and the chickens are nice and dry.
Next the bees needed some insulation too. Bees are insects and are cold-blooded. The European honey bee survives cold weather by forming a ball of bees inside the hive. The bees vibrate to generate heat. It is kind of like March of the Penguins with bees.
We have been working to get ready for this for months. The hive has been fed about a gallon a week of 2 to 1 sugar syrup. The sugar is immediate food for the bees. This is their carbohydrate source. The bees also have a pollen replacement patty from Ultra Bee. While sugar is the carbohydrate, the pollen is the protein. The bees need this to draw out wax and the queen needs it to lay eggs. The bees that are in the hive at the beginning of winter will be the same bees in the spring. No eggs are laid over winter. Therefore, the queen needs to lay new brood in the fall to have young bees hatch before winter really starts.
I have already noticed that some days are too cold for them to fly and the hive has no activity. So I know I need to add insulation sooner than later.
I did consider straw bales for this too. However, straw could harbor other insects such as ants that want to rob the bees of their honey.
We have been working to get ready for this for months. The hive has been fed about a gallon a week of 2 to 1 sugar syrup. The sugar is immediate food for the bees. This is their carbohydrate source. The bees also have a pollen replacement patty from Ultra Bee. While sugar is the carbohydrate, the pollen is the protein. The bees need this to draw out wax and the queen needs it to lay eggs. The bees that are in the hive at the beginning of winter will be the same bees in the spring. No eggs are laid over winter. Therefore, the queen needs to lay new brood in the fall to have young bees hatch before winter really starts.
I have already noticed that some days are too cold for them to fly and the hive has no activity. So I know I need to add insulation sooner than later.
I did consider straw bales for this too. However, straw could harbor other insects such as ants that want to rob the bees of their honey.
Instead we decided to tape insulation sheeting to the outside of the hive. We used foil backed foam board insulation cut down to fit the sides of the hive. Of course the board in the front of the hive is shorter so the opening is not blocked. The foam is placed foil side in so heat will be reflected back into the hive. The top does not need insulation as this requires air flow for ventilation. Also the telescoping cover should trap some dead air which is already a great natural insulator. Above you can see before and after pictures. The foam board does not need to be pretty. The bees don't care.
Another item we added to the bee hive is an entrance mouse guard. This is a metal strip with bee size holes. It tacks to the entrance and keeps mice from entering the hive in the winter but allows bees to come and go. Mice can be a serious problem in the cold. Warm-blooded mice can come in and eat the wax and honey while the bees are in a ball. The cold-blooded bees can not break the ball to defend their hive. If they do, they die from the cold anyway.
The USDA has a good informative website on the honeybee hives at the People Garden in DC
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=usdabees
Another item we added to the bee hive is an entrance mouse guard. This is a metal strip with bee size holes. It tacks to the entrance and keeps mice from entering the hive in the winter but allows bees to come and go. Mice can be a serious problem in the cold. Warm-blooded mice can come in and eat the wax and honey while the bees are in a ball. The cold-blooded bees can not break the ball to defend their hive. If they do, they die from the cold anyway.
The USDA has a good informative website on the honeybee hives at the People Garden in DC
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=usdabees
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