Bees and Sheep

[MuswellMetro]

just at one of the Apiaries clearing grass and nettles from around my hives when i turned around and I was startled to see an audience of 50 inquisitive Ewes looking at me

Now I have had hives in field of cows and I had problems with them rubbing on the hives but i have never had hives in a field of sheep...not the normal livestock on the farm

So can the vast knowledge bank of this forum tell me if you have had sheep and bees in the same field and problems etc

do they rub against the hive, like cows and are there any other problems other than sheep poo on the bottoms of your bees suit? (as i found out when i got back to the car )

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Yup - they will rub up against what they can find to alleviate itches, including hives. Mine are in a field oft populated by sheep so I have a small stockade fence

 

[Gardenbees]

Rams like to rub their heads against things of a convenient height and can push things right over, but the only sheep/apiary problem I've encountered is when visiting a farm in Northants a few years ago. The farmer was bemoaning the fact that a dog being walked along a footpath had startled and chased some gimmers into a corner, toppling several supers as they tried to scramble over the hive stands to get over the fence. The dog was stung quite badly, but not, according to the farmer, the sheep. Possibly they're just too thick and woolly!

PS - great picture M. Abeille!

 

[greatbritishhoney]

Yes, they will.
Rams are the worst though.

A simple stock fence will keep them out.

 

[gavin]

Sheep newly introduced to the orchard where I keep my bees scratched and pushed and caused quite a bit of trouble, even when the boxes were all strapped together. By that I mean that they could push a whole hive off its stand. After a few weeks the grass around the front of the hives started to grow again and the problems stopped. I guess that they learned.

The next summer the problems were much less, so perhaps they remembered.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Should also add that lambs can be quite keen bounding around them

 

[MuswellMetro]

hmmmm, well i have two strapped to a paving slab, so they are a bit like a Mr wobbley and wont fall over but others are just strapped to the stands

the problem is that the hives are in the most sheltered area being a remnant of of the farmhoses wall garden, so in a NW gale and snow ( like the forecastn,) the sheep will shelter in the hive area

looking around i thought they have already nudged a stack of supers.

i will have to see if i can borrow some sheep hurdles and put four AROUND EACH HIVE!! or I could even move them temp to another apiary but it is 10miles away and that would be a lots of trips one at a time in my VW as there are 7 hives on the site plus super stacks

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Should also add that lambs can be quite keen bounding around them

Lamb and honey mmmmmmmmm

 

[greatbritishhoney]

If you use hurdles it pays to put a stake at each corner too. Enthusiastic sheep will easily knock over free-standing hurdles.

 

[MuswellMetro]

Lamb and honey mmmmmmmmm

might want to nick some of their wool and knit a woolly jumper the way the weather is going by friday

 

[itma]

Quite apart from rubbing, they do stick their heads through any gap they can in order to graze the bit of pasture that they are being fenced away from. And then they get their heads stuck in holes/gaps in fencing.
So you need to think about the hole size in any fencing and design for it possibly being pulled, not just pushed ...

 

[RoofTops]

I had sheep in the same orchard as my hives and there were no problems - they didn't even try to eat the poly hives, which might have been a risk.

The only difference I can think of between my experience and those of others who have had problems is there are lots of other things for the sheep to rub against in the orchard and the hives are also held quite a way off the ground so it would be hard for one to try and clamber on top*. I was also probably lucky but I have subsequently strapped the hives to the stands so they should be a little more secure.

*But I know sheep can climb quite well - I saw a couple on top of a big round bail in a field near Inverness two weeks ago - the field was very wet so I think they had climbed up there to get somewhere dry.

 

[DarynWebb]

Great question was going to ask it myself, I've just found an apiary a few miles down the road, thing is the farmer said he keeps the odd lamb/sheep in from time to time as its a orchard, I'm hoping the trees will keep the sheep off the hives, after reading the posts here it's got me thinking about protection for the bees as I know the can jump over most things.

 

[MuswellMetro]

talked to the other bee keeper up there with me, it appears one hive was knocked over last night......she went up by torch light and found...no sign of bees, the brood and feed super lying on their side ,roof 6ft away and stand dragged by a sheep 30ft (assume a ewe was caught up on it)

hopefully that might have scared them off going near the hives, so that is 10% winter losses already at that apiary

 

[Ross]

I have Jacobs sheep in one orchard where I have a few poly hives. When I put the hives there, they were behind stock hurdles, the farmer must have needed them elsewhere. The sheep had rubbed against the hives, odd horn mark on the poly, but had done no real damage and not chewed anything. I am happy to leave the hives there and the sheep seem to leave the hives alone now.

Ross

 

[MuswellMetro]

I have Jacobs sheep in one orchard where I have a few poly hives. When I put the hives there, they were behind stock hurdles, the farmer must have needed them elsewhere. The sheep had rubbed against the hives, odd horn mark on the poly, but had done no real damage and not chewed anything. I am happy to leave the hives there and the sheep seem to leave the hives alone now.

Ross

the bee-keeper i share the site with thinks the hive that she lost happened because the ewe ate the long grass under the hive stand and got stuck

with head stuck under the stand (it was a tall open side stand), as she came up the ewe tippled the hive off the stand and did not get free from the stand untill 30ft away

 

[YorkshireBees]

One of my out apiaries is at the edge of a field that has had sheep in it since August. The farmer put up temporary (plastic, worksite style) fencing. This seems to have kept them away from the hives however the last couple of times I have visited to check after the winds I have noticed the fence blown down but still everything appears fine so far!

 

[greatbritishhoney]

An electric fence could be useful and would offer protection from badgers (and maybe vandals) too. You just need the netting, an energiser and a car battery. Probably get the lot for around £120.
Not suitable if the sheep are of the horned variety though, and of course you need to keep charging the battery every couple of weeks.

 

[bees4u]

just at one of the Apiaries clearing grass and nettles from around my hives when i turned around and I was startled to see an audience of 50 inquisitive Ewes looking at me

Now I have had hives in field of cows and I had problems with them rubbing on the hives but i have never had hives in a field of sheep...not the normal livestock on the farm

So can the vast knowledge bank of this forum tell me if you have had sheep and bees in the same field and problems etc

do they rub against the hive, like cows and are there any other problems other than sheep poo on the bottoms of your bees suit? (as i found out when i got back to the car )

All you've got to do is strap them up to a pallet or stand, I've kept bees in sheep fields for years and had no problem other than them rubbing the woodpecker wires off sometimes.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

All you've got to do is strap them up to a pallet or stand, I've kept bees in sheep fields for years and had no problem other than them rubbing the woodpecker wires off sometimes.

Live and learn - thanks for that