New Bee Stand

Our bees have been fending off the invasion of the "Crazy Ant" in our area for some time now. The ants were so numerous and relentless that I decided to give the bees a break. Through some inspiration I came up with the design for bee stand to keep out ants. This design is based on the fact that ants are poor swimmers. I say poor because some ants bunch together and cross water if you can call that swimming. So this design is not full proof but very effective. Basically this is done by surrounding the four legs of the stand with water.

I started with cutting up some very thick sections of pipe for the legs. Next I welded on some sections of angle iron to mount the wood beams. These mounts were sprayed with paint to keep them from rusting. I also added some mounts at the top in case I want to add some shade next summer.

To surround the legs with water I needed some way to attach a container to them and seal it to hold water. This is accomplished by adding a larger section of pipe in the same hole as the legs. By pushing these larger sections of pipe into the same concrete that hold up the bee stand you have just created a moat around each leg. This is the most simple way to create a water tight moat around each leg.

Up Close View of Moats

The wood beams were next. I used 2"X10"X12' so it could hold up as many fully loaded be hives as possible. These were temporarily attached while I set the concrete to help hold up the legs. After the concrete set up I attached the beams with carriage bolts. I added a 2"X4" on the top inside of the beams to make the surface wider where the bee hives will sit.

Moving the hives was the difficult part. First we put a ratcheting strap around each hive to keep them together. After I sealed the front entrance we moved the hives to their new location. We did this work at night when all the bees were home in the hives. This is important because in order to move the hive the 10 feet from their original position I needed to trap them inside for 24 hours. When they are released the bees must be forced to reorient themselves or reset their homing device. This is accomplished by putting some branches with leaves over the entrance before opening it. If this is not done the bees will try to return to their original position.

New Bee Stand with Moats

Roll Away Nest Boxes

To accommodate all of the new layers in our flock we updated our nest boxes. We wanted to be able to collect the eggs without having to wait for the chicken to leave the nest. To keep the eggs cleaner we wanted the egg to roll away as soon as the chicken stood up, which also reduces broken eggs. The last requirement was to be able to easily clean the nest box.

With all of these requirements and some ingenuity along with spare parts around the house we came up these beauties. The best part of these nest boxes are their simplicity. There are really only 5 parts. So far they work great and they save us from getting our hands pecked when we collect eggs.

 Below is a parts list:

-         - 6 Gallon Bucket

-          -Fake grass

-          -3” square rubber

-          -Wood board

-          -Wire

Instructions:

Cut 2/3 of the bottom of the bucket rounding the corners.  This is the side the chicken will sit in This cal also be removed for easy cleaning.  Next cut a hole out of the bucket lid but don’t cut near any of the edges and leave one side flat. Attach the hinge to the flat side of the flap, I used rubber and wire. Drill small holes and poke the sharp wire thru the hole while holding the rubber in place. Bend the wire over. Repeat for the lid and the flap.  You can also use this wire to create stops for the flap so it will only open inwards and so it not hang open.  Cut wood board in a round shape to fit into the bucket about 1/3 of the way into the large end.  Cut a flat side tall enough for the egg to roll by with the grass in place. Screw the board in place. Take the small scrap of wood and screw it to the end of the bucket where the chicken will enter. This makes it easier for the chicken to grab on as she jumps in. Cut piece of fake grass so it is the length of the inside of the bucket and fits under the wood wall. No need to glue this down as the ends of the bucket and the wall will hold it in place. This will also allow the fake grass to be removed for cleaning. Screw nest box in place making sure the angle allows the egg to roll just fast enough on the fake grass.

I did nine nest boxes at the same time so I cut round holes in a 4’ x 8’ sheet. I took the pieces I cut out and used them for the wall to separate the chickens from the eggs.

 

 Parts Needed

 

 Insert Chicken Here

 

 Steal Eggs Here

 

 Chickens Like