Why do my bees play in cow manure ?

[Stander]

My bees crawl around in cow manure alot. My local weather has been good and the bees have a pond for water, I dont have any idea why.

 

[mandabow]

My bees crawl around in cow manure alot. My local weather has been good and the bees have a pond for water, I dont have any idea why.

i would hazard a guess at salts/minerals

cows like a fair bit of salt lick the pond water may not have so much of whatever they feel they are deficient in esp if it is rainwater.
could also be something like sweetness of breakdown in carbohydrates in the grass the cows have eaten, depite three stomachs and lots of bacteria cows only get a fraction of the energy out of the food they eat and bacteria will still be working in the pat to digest, before the bacteria of decay overtake them, so may be releasing some sugars, or macro nutrients, enzymes, proteins. or even one of the many strains of the bacteria themselves may be somehow beneficial to the bees, cowpats are certianly teaming with them.

 

[davemacdon]

Let us know how the honey tastes!

 

[Ed Woods]

My bees like gathering on fresh chicken poo - strange creatures

 

[tonybloke]

probably collecting water, anything that's dark in colour will warm up more than the surrounding environment, perhaps they like warm water?

 

[Winker]

mine love horse crap, and it makes the honey stink

 

[susbees]

mine love horse crap, and it makes the honey stink

You serious?

Lucky mine AFAIK find the mud by the apiary stream to their taste. Next door farm does cows

 

[milkermel]

come on have you guys never tried playing in cow poo?? its so much fun! Even better if you try and wash your hair with it!! (tried it a couple of times its a b to was out!!)

 

[victor meldrew]

come on have you guys never tried playing in cow poo?? its so much fun! Even better if you try and wash your hair with it!! (tried it a couple of times its a b to was out!!)

As a kid I Ran down an aisle of stalls behind the cows just in off the grass, one of which decided to pin me against the wall with it's tail and spray me with scalding hot pea soup .
My mates' mum (farmers wife) hosed me down outside the farmhouse kitchen , then removed my togs and put them in a copper to wash and then left me there trying to cover my dangley bits whilst she hunted out some gear from one of her other sons of a similar size to me !
I never got over the embarrassment (I was 27 ) No but 11 actually ,and all my mates rolling around in tucks

John Wilkinson

 

[Dishmop]

My bees crawl around in cow manure alot.

and some people panic about a "use by date"

 

[moby]

come on have you guys never tried playing in cow poo?? its so much fun! Even better if you try and wash your hair with it!! (tried it a couple of times its a b to was out!!)

bare foot on cold winter days the steaming cow pats used to make great foot warmers... once apon a time 'When we' diddn't have to wear shoes to school

 

[huntsman666]

Bees will take what we consier dirty water before clean.

 

[Winker]

As a kid I Ran down an aisle of stalls behind the cows just in off the grass, one of which decided to pin me against the wall with it's tail and spray me with scalding hot pea soup .
My mates' mum (farmers wife) hosed me down outside the farmhouse kitchen , then removed my togs and put them in a copper to wash and then left me there trying to cover my dangley bits whilst she hunted out some gear from one of her other sons of a similar size to me !
I never got over the embarrassment (I was 27 ) No but 11 actually ,and all my mates rolling around in tucks

John Wilkinson

when i was about 8-9 my father took me to see the cows at Hillside farm, by Montrose. I will never forget that day as long as i live.

They were in a cow shed, my father opened the door and told me it was ok to walk over to pet them.

When i took a step into the room i fell into the slurry pit I was up to me knees in Runny Cow crap.

I started to cry and my mother went ballistic at my father

We had to drive home with the car stinking of Crap and my mother and father still going at it, about the mess i was in.

Happy days

 

[RoseCottage]

Ahhh yes...how it was in our yoof....

It was 1976 the sun was beating down, water was hard to come by. The good life was on telly.

We used to share baths, showers, and the like. All mates together. Then when the earth began to crack it was time to get serious...cow pee showers, cow poo face packs, and the like. Oh how we young kids laughed and frolicked in the summer evening sun as we took our daily shower from old daisy...

How sad we were when daisy died and we had to go through the rest of summer dirty.

An old neighbour with failing eyesight offered us his cow but no-one was really confident that his stout old bull would be quite the same...a different shaped shower head for one...

Oh how we miss the days of our yoof...



Sam

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

The joys of planting a banger in a steaming cowpat

 

[Ed Woods]

bare foot on cold winter days the steaming cow pats used to make great foot warmers... once apon a time 'When we' diddn't have to wear shoes to school

Is Yorkshire more civilised these days?

 

[Dishmop]

If you dry them out and then put them in water they create a flamable gas...

 

[Stander]

I think think that this link has provided me with some comfort http://www.jiventure.info/Varroa_Predators

 

[madasafish]

when i was about 8-9 my father took me to see the cows at Hillside farm, by Montrose.

Happy days

I remember it ....

 

[moby]

Is Yorkshire more civilised these days?

LOL not sure how civilised it was back then the inlaws G'dad (Yorkshireman) has some harrowing stories, I was refering to childhood days back in Zim (Rhodesia for those that can remember)