This new Bee and Chicken lover is glad to be here!!!

[Frantz]

Allow me to introduce myself. I am in Park City Utah and have just recently become a bee and chicken keeper. Did the chicken thing cause I had the room and wanted the kids to have some chores and such. So I started with the chickens. They don't have to get up and milk at 5:00am like we did as kids but its a start. We live in a great place, but the kids stay busy with sports and skiing so I wanted them to have some chores. I have a 13, 9, & 4 yr old Girl, boy, girl. Sarted with some day olds in March of "07" and with a few friends that came up with incubators and such have gone a little crazy. Had a friend with an old pigeon racer loft that he wanted to get rid of and started with that. Its is a 8x20 and nice... I did not know that I was taking a $4K thing off of his hands though (Brian), or I would have been tempted to sell the thing. So anyway, I have been loving this year spending time with the kids and getting things done. Building the flight pen and incubating chicks etc. We now have about 70 birds mostly white leghorns, rode island reds and hybrids of the two. I had a couple of others that were given to me by the local elementry schools when they hatched theirs from class so we have quite a group..
I got interested in bees and started doing some research and wouldn't you know it a developer friend of mine bought some property with 13 hives on it. He asked me if I wanted them,,,, They look like they have been forgotten for a year or so I think thought I am no expert. So I took them and happily put them out on the ranch... They are all double deep and 12 of them seem to have good bees. I wasn't quite ready for them in my opinion but I can't complain. The price was right!! I just hope I don't screw anything up. I have been reading posts for about two months now here and absorbing as much as I can. I am very thankful for all your posts. I have learned a lot and know that I have a long way to go. So keep it up all. I always went to general beekeeping and hive construction etc, and I did not even see the bottom section. I was elated to find a lot of you have chickens and other fowl as well. Feel like I found a home... Anyway, I am just praying that I can get most of the bees through the winter. I am taking all the advice in so far that I can and doing a lot of finger crossing. A lot of firsts this year. I grew up working a dairy farm, with pigs and thats about it. You need to pull a calf or artificially get her pregnant I am your guy, but with the chickens and the bees I am a newbee.... For sure. Looking forward to getting to know you all.
Thanks for all the info past, present, and future...
Frantz, Amie, Maddi, Max, & little Emma

[Angi_H]

Welcome to the group Frantz. If you ever have any chicken questions shoot them my way. I have breed and raised rare, endangered and heartage breed chickens, ducks, turkeys and quail and sale hatching and ship hatching eggs. I am also a vet tech. I am getting into bees after 2 years of doing research on them. Again welcome to the group.

Angi

[reinbeau]

Frantz, welcome!  In addition to our wonderful forum here, have you found Backyard Chickens and their nice forum?  It's a great place for all things chicken, although we enjoy the chicken talk down in the Farm forum (I saw you posting in there, too!)  Hope you enjoy it around here! 

[Frantz]

Thanks for the welcome guys and gals. I have loved getting and gaining information this year via these forums. I have been to the backyard chicken quite a bit, and also the easy chicken group as well. I post mostly on the easy chicken. Good group there, very helpful with the chickens stuff. As I said I am looking forward to learning from you all. I will try to get some pics here soon to you guys for some constructive critisism on the operation. I am just hoping my new hives make it ok through the winter as I did not have much time to prepare or learn what I needed to. I know that I am in over my head with 12 hives, but I plan to share the love with a few other people who might be interested in bees.
Thanks again all.
F

[Scadsobees]

If you think you are over your head now, just wait till you have 1200 lbs of honey that you don't know what to do with....   It is nice to have those little helpers around when harvest time comes around.

The nice thing is that they've been abandoned for a while.  If only you can leave them alone they should be fine through the winter .

I was raised with chickens (and my wife says that I act like I was raised BY chickens!! ), and while it would be nice to have a few around for some eggs, mostly it was just alot of work and smelly poop.  And butchering them isn't a cakewalk either....

Rick

[JP]

Welcome aboard Frantz!

Sincerely, JP

[Cindi]

Frantz, thank you for telling us a little bit about you and yours.  Nice.  Glad you joined our forum, yes, you are right, it is a home away from home, we are all caring and great people, you have found the place to be.  Have a wonderful and great day, enjoy this life on our great earth.  Cindi