Hello all,
I have a new"bee" question for you. If I have a hive in my back yard, would the bee's ever go after my "small" dogs that go near it? I know they probally will if a raccoon or the such messes with them the night before.(I live in Los Angeles and we have a ton of racoon's, skunks and opossums).
Thanks for all the reply.
Andy
Depends on color of dog . I live in the woods and have a toy poodle ( light tan ) and the bees ignore her . Dark cats get nailed, but not too much.... :)
Assuming that you don't have africanized bees, the bees won't go after your dogs as long as your dogs don't go after the bees :roll: Usually, unless the dog is not very bright or very persistant, they will learn to stay away very quickly.
I don't have problems with racoons, even though they are around. If you were to have a problem with skunks, or if they went after the dogs (unlikely), a top entrance would alleviate that much.
They leave my small children alone, unless my small children start messing around with the bees.
Rick
We had a case of a pit bull being killed in my area last summer, and the news story of course mentioned dreaded Africanized bees could be to blame. First, our state apiary inspector told me he sampled the bees and they weren't Africanized. Second, the dog was chained up and apparently started digging around the access spot in a mobile home skirt and got them going. He believes the dog died because it could not flee.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/article745112.ece
somewhere i posted pictures of the cats that used to come sit on the hives while i worked them. bees all over the place. very few stings to the cats, and only when they tried to play with the bees. my horses are pastured right next to the bees. no problem. i don't take the dogs up there, but they poke at the bees in the garden. sometimes they even eat them :-). they get stung sometimes, but not much.
They don't bother my dog, goat or cow. Like Kathy, the only time the cats get it is when they think they can play with them! They don't do it anymore! J
Yikes! we just got a "Black Lab" puppy what was I thinking :-\
We had a golden lab....a big one and the bees never bothered him.
Good Luck! from a fellow newbee.
Paul
Dogs tied anywhere in the vacinity of bees doesn't end up being the best idea - I can speak from experience. We almost lost a dog this way - it's not a wise move at all. Pulled over 100 stingers and gave the dog a Benadryl. Thought for sure we'd lose the dog. Felt horrible, but she pulled through. Lesson learned.
I have 5 pugs that I don't tie up but are always running around the yard. I hope they learn quick.
Does anyone have chickens? I have a whole bunch of chickens that free range and the spot that I prepared for the hives is where they decided to start dust bathing a couple of months ago.
I have to still put the hives there since its the best spot for them and the chickens go all over the yard anyway so its not like I can keep them away unless I keep them locked up and I won't do that.
One thing I have been worried about is whether the girls will roost on the tops of the hives. I know they will, I am guessing they too(they are surprisingly bright) will learn but I wonder how much a chicken can take being stung if it affects the dogs the way it does.
My chickens haven't gone near the hives yet. They are 100 yards away. But the bees have come around and drank from the chicken water. The chickens just look at them and don't seem to be interested.
My one dog lady blacklab boxer mix is all black . She will go right up to the entrance and watch the bees. She learned real quick not to play with the bee's.
(http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/4237/894969r11211a013uv1.th.jpg) (http://img520.imageshack.us/my.php?image=894969r11211a013uv1.jpg)
The important thing is not to have them confined near the hive. If they are chained or fenced where they can't run away, that's a risk. If there is plenty of room for them to run away, it's not a problem. I've had dogs, and chickens and bees and horses where they get in front of the hives if they want, and they do, but they can also run across the pasture if they want.
My chix don't bother em either. They will run over to see what I'm doing if working the hive but soon lose interest when they see there isn't any food. Funny they don't eat the dead bees around the hive..you would think they would. They never did, even before they knew the bees would sting. They eat every thing else! Mine haven't roosted on the hives yet though, they only really roost in the henhouse or sometimes in the Rhody's or trees when it's really hot. The metal on the tops isn't chix friendly! J
Oh you are right, the hot metal may be a deterrant.
Mine will roost on anything and everything, I was trying to paint some supers a couple of months ago and I had 2 of the hens repeatedly jumping up on the table where I was painting them and trying to get onto the edge of the super. I had to keep pushing them off and they had paint all over their feet. They are like having 2 year olds all over the yard. They like to climb.
I was worried about the hens chasing after the bees to eat them and getting them riled.
My chickens will chase after moths and they do catch them. Its surprising how quick they are.
I wonder how bad the effects are on something so small getting stung. My pugs are small too. Does the size make a big difference with the bee venom?
You would think it would but now I am wondering if its more localized than effecting their systems.
I know if something got stung repeatedly it would endanger them but just wondering about size making a difference with a couple of stings.
My 3 dogs run around the hives, but so fay so good. They really don't bother the bees. One day though the little Pomeranian did get a bee stuck in her hair, I tried to remove it before it stung her to no avail. Just gave her a Benadryl, she slept a bit and was fine.
(http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/8768/img0083dv8.th.jpg) (http://img403.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0083dv8.jpg)
I have a chocolate lab. He's been stung a few times. It was always when I was in hive working, he was near and a stray bee focused on him. He now knows to sit behind a shrub until I am done, or if a bee targets him, he will now run to me and stand still. I just kill the stray bee.
If you think about it, the chix don't have much area that the bees can easily sting. They would have to crawl down past the outer feathers, through the down. There is the skin on the face but the beaks & feet are pretty tough...Mine are like 2 year olds too, into everything, riding on top of the haybales in the wheelbarrow, climbing into the grain buckets, getting into my toolbox. They know what their scratch can looks like & where I keep it in the barn & get into it every chance they get. They ae so fun..well, except for the exhaust all over the place :-P. J
Yup, your right again. There isn't alot of room on the chickens to get stung and by the time spring rolls around my chicks will be pullets and feathered out. The only ones that stay downy are the silkies and I think a bee would get lost in their frizzy feathers :-P
Seems the biggest issue with my dogs is stepping on bees in the grass. I end up pulling more stingers out of their paws than anywhere else. I suppose this could be minimized by not letting the clover and dandelions grow in your lawn. If the bees are ornery, they will go after your black lab if she gets too close, otherwise it will be fine.
FWIW, my chickens and guineas seem to be oblivious of the bees and hives. They will work the grass all arounf them, but I've never seen them bother the hives. Just don't put a mirror on your hives :yippiechick:
I have a black german shep. and a black lab. No problems, not even with the ater dishes. Well I cant say all no problems. The shep. likes to catch and crunch the bees in her mouth along with all flying insects. :-X
A beekeeper friend down the road lost a young border collie, because the dog agitated a hive by barking at it. Later he admitted the hive was rather hot.
Another story I got that happened in the fall, where a guy lost a hunting dog that treed a squirrel in a beehive tree. Interestingly they notified me after they sprayed the bees. So the rumor goes they were Africanized. I have heard no official confirmation regarding that hypothesis.
My dog never seemed interested in the bees, perhaps from an experience I did not witness. We have goats and chickens close to the hives (not in the same fenced area) and have had no problems. I think a lot depends on the temperament of the hive and the animal itself.
David
For the most part, It sound's like my little fury friends should be OK, they spend most of the time inside with us.
Thanks all! :-D