Mama chickens can make excellent junior beeks! This molting mama is giving her little ones a drone-eating lesson. Photo by Miller Compound HoneyBees and Agriculture,
Can chickens and bees go together? Beekeeping is beginning to buzz and I am finding that many folks who keep chickens are beginning to consider keeping bees. Many consider chicken keeping the gateway into other homesteading adventures such as gardening and now seemingly, bees! When I first began considering keeping bees four years ago, it was important for me to research whether bees and chickens could co-exist. I spent an entire winter researching this question. Happily, I learned that they can.
Chickens will free-range near the beehives. The bees do not bother them unless they are directly in front of the entrance. Then, guard bees will fly from the hive, buzz them, and let them know they are too close. Sometimes, the chickens will snack on dead bees around the hives. If you discover that the chickens are eating the live bees returning to the hive, then simply place a makeshift fence around your hives to keep the chickens a couple of feet away.
A beekeeper adds hives to the top of the chicken coop. Photo Credit
Some people who live in bear country actually place the hives inside the chicken’s run for protection. The hive entrances are placed facing outwards into the yard. The bees could care less when the chickens hop up onto the hive and explore. When the hive needs to be inspected or honey harvested, the chickens are simply let out to free-range or locked in the coop until the beekeeper’s work is complete. If your chicken coop has a flat roof, often folks will even place hives on top. Although accessing them for maintenance can be a bit tricky.
Chickens are wonderful at cleaning up the areas around the hive, bee debris, and dead bees. They also eat live bugs and small hive beetles that can cause harm to the honeybees. When frames of the old honeycomb are shared, chickens enjoy cleaning up the debris.
Beehive in the chicken run. Photo Credit
If you discover that honeybees are hanging around the waterers in your coop, simply remove them from their current location for six weeks. The bees will find another water source. They are also attracted to apple cider vinegar, so consider eliminating that from your waterers for a couple of days if you have bees buzzing around the chickens’ water sources. Also, if you discover bees in your chicken feed, read the feed labels. Some feed and supplements contain Anise Hyssop. Anise hyssop is a favorite herb of bees!
I love having the bees and the chickens living harmoniously in the yard and gardens. They are some of the best beneficial and rewarding “gardening accessories” that anyone can add to their own yards and landscape.
Beehives in a field. Photo source
33 Comments
Adding hives to our small farm has been on my “To Do List” for about two years now. My chickens are kept in runs and shouldn’t be a problem, but we have free ranging guinea fowl. Any experience there? I’ve read that guineas can relentlessly consume your bees! I’m hoping that placing the hive in a fenced area with a flight net will be sufficient.
If you raise the hive to a foot or so above their pecking reach, and give them no place to land and be able to reach the area around the hive opening, that should be fine. That will restrict them to bees that are on the ground below the hive, which will overwhelmingly be dead or dying bees anyway. You might have trouble if the colony should swarm, but if you’re staying on top of things as you should you’ll have split the hive before that happens.
I have 18 hives on my property that are located about 50 feet from the chicken coop and yard (though they free-range on 10 acres most of the time). Each yard is protected by electric fencing, and its a completely harmonious situation. Occasionally some bees will come to water at the chicken’s founts, but they are concerned with water and stinging (protecting the hive) isn’t on their minds. Its a nice combination!
Love both my bees and my chickens. I keep a small bee yard that isn’t really secured in any way. But my dog isn’t allowed in and she knows it. The chickens frequently seek refuge there when they’re tired of being harassed by the dog. One chicken even chose it as her nesting site. I like the fact that they’re in an out of the space. They frequently cross in front of the hive opening. I wonder if it has contributed to my bees’ calm temperament.
I hadn’t realized bees also like apple cider vinegar. I’ll have to add a bit to the water source I keep in the bee yard.
Hi everyone! I just joined this forum. Looks like great fun! We also keep bees and chickens, although the bee hives are not located near the barn where the chickens roost at night.
Jamie, I wanted to comment on your observation about your bees being calm. As far as I understand, calm bees are generally attributed to the genetics of the queen. I’ve often read in beekeeping books that if a hive is aggressive all the time, replacing the queen (whose progeny then eventually replace the aggressive workers as they die off naturally) can calm down the hive, assuming the new queen also does not produce aggressive stock.
Other factors contribute to a calm hive, notably gently handling by the beekeeper, as well as how much brood and honey are in the hive (the more brood and honey, they more there is for the bees to defend – which is one reason that a swarm of bees is very non-aggressive; there is no brood or honey to defend as they seek to establish a new hive.
Chickens, people, or other nonthreatening critters crossing in front of a hive run mostly the risk of being bumped into by very busy foraging bees. Crossing in front of their flight path may be a nuisance to them (and you), but other than that, they probably won’t perceive of you as a threat. A skunk or bear may be another matter however. Which is why you should never wear dark, fuzzy clothing when you work with your hive. Dark, fuzzy, hairy seems to equal BEAR! to a bee.
Of course, there is always the exception to the general behavior of the hive. We have known of hives that, when we looked through them in late summer (read: lots of honey and brood with defensive bees) seemed to annoy one or two bees in particular. For a day after we had worked with the hive, we had to avoid walking past them, lest a vigilant bee fly out and chase us away from her territory! But mostly our bees don’t seem to mind our poking around inside their home as long as we are calm and gentle. Also, don’t try to open a hive if it’s raining out. That, too, will invoke their displeasure. Enjoy your bees!
I really enjoyed the article. Thanks for sharing with us.
OK, first time here–I love this site. I had a colony of Italian Honey Bees for about a year when the hive was taken over by robbers. I really thought, even as a new beekeeper, that I knew enough to avoid this (I was at the hive nearly every day!) It was murderous.
Anyway, as heartbroken as I was, I have enlisted the help of a professional, and plan to have a new colony in March (I’m in San Diego, so it’s early). I also plan to have 3 chickens, and possibly a dog.
I’m going with Italians again (GENTLE, SWEET, MILD–I have never worn any kind of protection and NEVER been stung), but have concerns about possible dog. ??? Thanks for putting my mind to rest about the chickens!
Thanks so much for your input!
Kim
Where do you get Italian Bees here in the United States?
I had bees and chooks living happily together then one day I came home and all my birds had been stung all over their eyes and legs. Only one chook survived and it was blind thereon in one eye. Very traumatic. I raised the hives about 3 feet off the ground above pecking height and things have been fine since.
We have a small holding in the Alentejo region of Portugal and grow various crops to try to support and encourage bees to our garden areas. Last year we had a massive swarm came into the house, pitching up in the highest part of our roof and necessitating getting a ladder to a window near them and removing a pane of glass to allow the panicking bees to have access out again. A local bee keeper tried to encourage them into a hive but it seemed there were several queens which kept causing confusion, He took them home to separate them but sadly they were by then too stressed and none survived.
Now I have a new conundrum – at the base of an olive tree I have bees, unfortunately for them the region around the tree they have chosen floods, at times several feet up the trunk. The flood usually goes down fairly quickly but will they survive? I have wired an upturned whicker basket to a higher branch which might give them a safe haven – is it possible to get them to a hive perhaps??
Generally they are quite passive, I came across them while fencing behind the tree, but later a couple really objected when I was clearing a culvert nearby and I got stung.
Very informative..thx
35 yr old man has just been taught about the birds and the bees. Interesting stuff!
If at some point you have a comb of drone brood to dispose of, the chickies will be more than pleased to take care of that for you. And it’s extremely good for them too, especially the chicks.
Chickens are also very good about helping out with most ant problems too.
Hi, 2 year chicken keeper, 2 year bee keeper, how can you tell if the brood is drone brood? My books only explain what royal brood looks like. Thank for new info, Lance.
Capped Drone brood cells are larger and more bullet shaped (protrude), where as worker bee brood (females) caps are flat to the cells. Drone brood is typically found along the corners of the frame.
Drone brood is a bigger cell than girl worker bees.
I feel a bit dumb here, but do the bees actually protect the chickens from predators? I thought putting the hive in the coop was for the convenience of the chickens doing cleanup around the hive. Think I’m missing something?
I am so happy to read your post! I have always wondered if it was safe to add Bees and I never thought of putting hives in the chicken yard. Good info and what a great predator proof idea to put the hives on top of the coop – brilliant.
thought you’d like this
Very interesting read! Thanks for sharing; I’m going to start raising bees and have contemplated also raising chickens. It’s neat to read the ways that one can benefit the other.
I think chickens and bees can go together nicely as you’ve illustrated in this article. Chickens are even mostly besting proof because they can only be stung on their waddles and around their eyes, but it is worth mentioning the risk. I have witnessed an angry (africanized) colony attack and kill 4/5 chickens in a backyard setting. The chickens were in a coop 10 ft. from the hive. When the amateur beekeeper opened it, the bees went ballistic and started taking it out on the chickens. The poor hens had stingers in every inch of stingable space. Whenever you keep animals in a cage around bees, you should consider the risks. If the chickens are free range it’s much safer, but when they are confined they have no where to run. Of course, most bees would not react this way, but for anyone who does live in Africanized zones… it should be something they are aware of.
love your site,,great info,,,great pic,,,peace—infomanusa
BEEHIVES AND CHICKENS. SOUNDS GREAT BUT VIEWING HE PHOTO OF BEHIVE WITH FIVE (5) SUPERS IS CRAZY ON TOP OF A COOP. APPARENTLY EXTRACTION DOES NOT HAPPEN UNLESS HIVE IS MOVED.
Why split the hive ?
I have had guineas and chickens free ranging around my 40 hives for years have yet to see them eat a live bee
I have four hens that roam the yard. Only in he beginning did the bees get angry with them a little and chased after the chickens when I was inspecting and they were too close around. Now the chickens avoid them. No other problems so far. They are fine together.
I would be interested to get an update 2 years from now of what will happen to raising bees inside the chicken coop and on top of the coop as showing on the pictures in this article. After the rain, summer, and winter snow, what I am seeing here are the possible hazards linking to these type of setups. Specifically, safety and sanitary issues.
They also will eat the hive beetles and ants that try to get in the beehive.
We recently picked up our bees, and now rain Is relentless, and so are ants. I’ve tried a couple remedies. I think hive stands will be my next attempt. What would you recommend?
I am interested in keeping bees mostly for pollination. How should I handle the hives since I don’t want the honey?
Excellent infomation regarding keeping bees a longside chickens, as i am interested in keepin chickens. Thank you
How do I start? I am in Riverside County Ca in a mountain community. I would need a smaller hive due to the weight. Who may I contact for starting info?
Thank you!
Hello Claudette,
We recommend that you look through the section of the Keeping Backyard Bees website titled “Bees 101”. There’s lots of information there about getting started with bees, and you’ll find article that refer to your geographic region, or temperate zone. For chicken keeping, you can check out http://www.communitychickens.com our sister website where you will find oodles of information about chickens.
In particularly, look at our Community Chickens Podcasts where there’s a series of 12 podcasts that start with chicken eggs and lead you through hatching, raising chicks to housing and health of adult birds.