One of my yards has always had relatively calm bees....until this year. All 10 hives are mean as snakes this year. Same queens as last summer.
My only theory...the land owner got goats this past year. I've never seen the goats bumping the hives but there's no grass around the hives where grass used to be.
Could it be the goats that have turned this yard nasty? The other yards are totally fine.
Thoughts and/or experiences with goats or other livestock affecting your bees temperament?
are you sure you still have the same queens or are you just assuming?
The goats love to jump on top the hives and dance around. YES, they are making the bees mean.
Quote from: iddee on April 22, 2013, 10:08:18 PM
The goats love to jump on top the hives and dance around. YES, they are making the bees mean.
never considered that but it makes sense.
An older goat will generally avoid them pretty quickly as they don't like getting stung. That of course, will be after they know everything about the hives including how close they can get without getting stung. Youngsters just can't resist the excitement, and can be a real nuisance, clambering and jumping on top and knocking them over etc. Even an electric fence didn't work for me. Any time the fence shorted out, the goats discovered that in no time, and were quick to continue their mischief.