I want to tidy up my brood box

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Don't you geddit LJ - the whole thread is totally barmy - it's a windup!

 

[Little John]

Don't you geddit LJ - the whole thread is totally barmy - it's a windup!

I agree insomuch as the lion's share of this thread is barmy - but I don't really think that the International Journal of Pest Management is in on any wind-up.

It's rather like 'crying wolf' - the one time that someone comes up with an idea which may have some merit to it - no-one listens because of what has gone before.

If copper oxide is fatal to varroa mites (not yet proven, of course) then this could represent a major breakthrough. How to get the mites into contact with it is another story - that could prove problematic - but if there were something like this, which could be installed in beehives on a permanent basis - without any further need for medicinal applications of any kind - then in my view it deserves at the very least some serious consideration.

LJ

 

[Jimmy]

From many of the OP's rather off-the-wall ideas has emerged one which could possibly (I need to stress that) be worthy of further research.

Bayer's varroa gate would appear to be the heavy metal-free, chemical pesticide version.

http://www.research.bayer.com/en/24-varroa-mite.pdfx

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I agree insomuch as the lion's share of this thread is barmy - but I don't really think that the International Journal of Pest Management is in on any wind-up.

I've read it - 2008, so you think that in six years someone would have thought there may be a link? The whole paper refers to carpet mites
not varroa, a totaly different critter.
but why are we (me included) still feeding this troll?

 

[carrodale]

because idiots spouting random "stuff" can be turned into interesting theories by smart people.

historical raving idiots used to be listened to and called seeres and kings kept them

 

[theeggman]

I put 'shedman' on ignore a while ago, when I lost the will to live.

WHY are you all still feeding this idiot??

 

[MikeT]

Just remember that Copper at certain concentrations can be extremely toxic. In sheep it is toxic at very low levels and will cause death. It is an extremely good fungicide used widely in onion production and is used against potato blight by organic growers.

 

[Hivemaker.]

In sheep it is toxic at very low levels and will cause death.

So how many sheep would you need to eat to cause death, or is just getting in close contact with them also risky.

 

[MikeT]

Death to the sheep!!

 

[Hivemaker.]

Death to the sheep!!

No need to take that attitude,Mike, whatever have sheep done to you to deserve that.

 

[itma]

I put 'shedman' on ignore a while ago, when I lost the will to live.

WHY are you all still feeding this idiot??

Well, for some, the 'Ignore' facility is simply too well hidden.
And others claim they won't 'Ignore' anyone … http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=31895

 

[MikeT]

No need to take that attitude,Mike, whatever have sheep done to you to deserve that.

I have some lovely Suffolk Cross sheep, I make sure their feed is not contaminated with copper. I also have 3 Highland cows, these can have copper in their ration

 

[REDWOOD]

Nothing wrong with sheep

 

[alldigging]

I have some lovely Suffolk Cross sheep,

Valais Blacknose sheep look really cute.
Does it affect how they taste with mint sauce?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Nothing wrong with sheep

Have you ever tried them spit-roasted?

 

[Little John]

Just remember that Copper at certain concentrations can be extremely toxic. In sheep it is toxic at very low levels and will cause death. It is an extremely good fungicide used widely in onion production and is used against potato blight by organic growers.

Sheep are mammals of course, bees are insects, whereas fungi are neither.

As humans, we need certain heavy metals in our diet to remain healthy - Iron being one. But iron bolts falling several hundred feet from the outside of skyscrapers have often proved fatal. So it's really a case of how much metal is involved, and how you come to encounter it ...

On a serious note for a moment, the real problem with a sheep's diet (and the reason why mineral licks are needed) is that humans have got it into their heads that the natural diet of sheep is grass - whereas a little observation and thought will tell you that this is completely wrong !

LJ

 

[Ely]

I am taking on board what you are saying. Just my timing is a bit out and I understand that but there is not a lot I can do about it this year apart for treating the bees as soon as possible.
If the human race hadn’t experimented and taken risks we would still be rubbing two sticks together to make fire. There will be a easy solution out there and people will say why didn’t I think of that when it is found.

The human race is still making discoveries but that is the scientific researchers job that are educated in that field. Your job as a new beekeeper is to learn how to keep bees. And the most important thing to do that is to learn how to listen. Listening to advice from experience is going to be far more helpful to you than listening to your own invented ideas sourced from no experience.

 

[Ely]

Have you ever tried them spit-roasted?

What about the teeth?

 

[MuswellMetro]

Nothing wrong with sheep

agree, I have half a hogget in the freezer

 

[theeggman]

agree, I have half a hogget in the freezer

We have 1.5 chest freezers full of local lamb (grown on our ground). We rent our grass out as keep and part of the payment is a lamb turns up in our freezer,(close your eyes JBM).
The trouble is that just the 2 of us don't eat it fast enough.

The same sheep keepers had our ground when we had free range chickens and if the sheep were in the field our birds would always range further with sheep around.

Tim.

PS: For all you free range chicken keepers out there, YES sheep in the field DO draw more birds out to 'forage'.