Bees and Chickens

[neiltina]

I'm new to this forum (or any), so please forgive me if this has been discussed before. I built the top bar Hive featured in BWH a couple of years ago, and would like to hear from others who built this or any top bar hive. I'm planning to build another one this winter to colonize in the spring> It seemed very slow for the bees to get started building comb, and wondering how to expedite their work.
Also, I need to get rid of some roosters, and wondering if it's worth the effort of butchering for the freezer. They are about 8 months old, and spurs about half developed. My book says that if you wait too long the roosters won't taste good. Since these (Barnevelders) are slow growers, will they still be OK?

[bee_pipes]

Yeah, Storey's says that once they start showing signs of sexual maturity they aren't supposed to taste that good. Had me concerned too, but talked to a few old-timers in the neighborhood and they told stories about eating old roosters when they were kids. The older they are, the tougher the meat. Our first butchering was surplus roosters that were getting a little long in the tooth. They made excellent stewing chickens and were easier to clean because they were bigger than fryers. You go ahead and get them into your freezer. Cold weather is a good time for serving stewed chicken.

I built the same top-bar hive. Didn't have good luck with it last year, but haven't given up yet. Look back in this forum and you'll see posts about it.

Regards,
Pat

[annabella1]

I haven't raised bees myself but I have read that you can get sheets of beeswax that has the shape of the comb etched into it to put in the hive to give the bees something to start with. Helps them get started on making the comb.
The roosters will be fine if you cook them in a stew or pressure cook them. I had fried chicken at White Fence Farm this weekend. They have been rated as the world's best fried chicken. They pressure cook the chicken, then batter it and fry it. It is so flavorful this way.

[neiltina]

Thanks for the encouragement on the roosters. I hate throwing things away, esp living food. I am kind of excited about trying the pressure cooker- then frying method.
Pat, don't give up on that hive, ours did great this (it's 2nd) year. We took about 3 gallons of honey out, and could've taken more but didn't need it. We made the mistake of putting hard foundation on our top bars which made them a little too narrow. Thus when we remove the wider comb, it scrapes the bar next to it, hurting the bees, and we get stung. The bars we let them build on their own are much better. We(my Dad and I) are planning to build a new one for next summer, and hopefully I can talk Dad into letting me take a nuc out of his. I'd love to hear if you found an effective way to help your bees get started that works better than the foundation did. Thanks Tina