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Old 08-19-2015, 04:08 PM
 
Location: Prescott Valley, AZ
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I haven't had the chance to read the city local ordinance, but what are some peoples thoughts about raising backyard chickens (not roosters) and owning harvesting honey bee hives? This trend is growing popularity around the country and could Prescott/PV catch on?
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Old 08-19-2015, 04:22 PM
 
Location: prescott az
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My daughter and s i l did it. Very messy. Had an expensive coop. Had to keep the dogs from chasing them. Alot more care than they wanted to do. Gave it up.
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Old 08-19-2015, 11:59 PM
 
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Given the projected price of eggs, it might not be a bad idea...

As for bee hives - very interesting idea but I'd be terribly concerned about liability given our litigious society. All you need is kids playing nearby to accidentally run into it and set the swarm a-buzzin'...

There are a few apiarists in the area - I listened to a presentation by one that was informative if a bit self-serving and uncouth. According to this person, keeping bees is a code violation in PV, but not in Prescott/Yavapai County. Might have more restrictions in an HOA subdivision...

A few friends and co-workers have commented that eating local honey in the spring helps to alleviate allergy symptoms. I'm going to try it next spring, since this spring was really bad.

Good luck if you do either/both - I think it would be interesting and hard work. If you have kids it might be a great educational opportunity.
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Old 08-20-2015, 07:19 AM
 
Location: Boydton, VA
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Bees are wonderful creatures, without them, we would likely be extinct...but keeping them as a hobby is a lot of work, and can be expensive to get set up. Whatever you do, do not place a hive close to the chickens...as the bees fly low to enter the hive, they make a tasty target for a foraging chicken. We always had free range chickens on the farm, they did a great job of ridding the yard of pesky bugs. The greatest chore was building a secure place for them to roost...(they like to be up and away from predators), and building the nest boxes. 10 years ago, we could sell all the eggs they would produce for $2/dozen....largest profit margin by far than any other farm venture we had. Murray McMurray Hatchery is a good source for birds, they ship by overnight mail.

Regards
Gemstone1
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Old 08-20-2015, 10:42 AM
 
Location: out standing in my field
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Good information from gemstone1, except for the bees. Bees come in to collect pollen/dust off my chickens' feeders and while they're there the chickens avoid them. I can't imagine having to eat factory produced eggs. My kids learned about the value of a dollar by caring for the poultry here and selling eggs.
They ARE messy. I have to chuckle when I see people spending money on "nice looking" henhouses. I tell them your birds don't care how cute their house is, they're going to poop all over it anyhow.
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Old 08-20-2015, 11:01 AM
 
404 posts, read 765,248 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chaparrito View Post
Good information from gemstone1, except for the bees. Bees come in to collect pollen/dust off my chickens' feeders and while they're there the chickens avoid them. I can't imagine having to eat factory produced eggs. My kids learned about the value of a dollar by caring for the poultry here and selling eggs.
They ARE messy. I have to chuckle when I see people spending money on "nice looking" henhouses. I tell them your birds don't care how cute their house is, they're going to poop all over it anyhow.
Is there an easy way to harvest the poop? It's supposed to be a pretty good fertilizer source for gardening, isn't it? (I think it's fairly high in nitrogen content and possibly some other nutrients.)
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Old 09-01-2015, 12:32 PM
 
Location: Prescott Valley, AZ
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The other thing you may wish to consider is that many areas are now controlled by HOA agreements and they can limit what you put in your yard like this.
Just my thoughts.
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Old 09-02-2015, 09:50 AM
 
Location: out standing in my field
1,077 posts, read 2,083,692 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by like-2-hike View Post
Is there an easy way to harvest the poop? It's supposed to be a pretty good fertilizer source for gardening, isn't it? (I think it's fairly high in nitrogen content and possibly some other nutrients.)
Chicken manure needs to be composted. It's very hot and will burn garden plants if applied straight. Henhouse clean-outs; feathers and all will light up a compost heap right quick. Cleaning the henhouse every week or two will keep a compost heap cooking nicely. The manure dust isn't good to breathe. Wear a mask during cleaning and shoveling the manure into a wheelbarrow for transport to your compost pile.
Chickens are a bit of trouble, but worth it.
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