Birds and Bees

Chickens and bees are two categories of “livestock” that don’t take a lot of space or time to raise – which makes them perfect for many who want to live a more sustainable, simple life. Here, you’ll find everything you need to care for these incredible creatures, from nurturing a thriving beehive to providing a healthy, happy home for your chickens.

Discover the joys and benefits of beekeeping, including tips on hive management, honey harvesting, and supporting pollinators in your garden. Learn how to raise chickens for fresh eggs, natural pest control, and companionship, all while creating a harmonious balance with the environment.

Whether you’re a seasoned keeper or just starting your journey, this category is designed to guide you in fostering a deeper connection with nature while adding value to your homestead. Ready to get started? Explore our articles and discover how birds and bees can make a meaningful impact on your simple living life.

Are Automatic Chicken Doors Worth It?

white rooster coming out of a hen house through an automatic chicken door

We’ve been keeping chickens for about 15 years and over the years I’ve thought about getting an automatic chicken coop door. But, honestly, it didn’t need like the right thing for us until recently. If you’re a backyard chicken keeper, you know that caring for your feathered friends can be both rewarding and time-consuming. One … Read more

Using Honey for Allergies – breaking down the evidence

image of a jar of honey with a honey dipper being pulled out

As a family who keeps bees I’m often asked about using honey for allergies – mainly, does it work? The simple answer is “it depends.” There are a lot of variables to consider when deciding to use local raw honey as part of your seasonal allergy protocol. The basic thought process of using honey for … Read more

Spring Honey Harvest

Our first honey harvest of the year. We harvest from both a top bar hive and two Langsthroth hives. We got about 6 gallons of honey plus some honey comb.

On Monday, Gabriel woke up and said, “Today is the day to check the bee hives.” We’ve had so much rain that there really hasn’t been a good time to get into the hives to check them. So, I did what any good mom would do, I put on a long sleeve shirt, long pants … Read more

What’s Up With the Bees?

Image of a wooden beehive with several bees on and around it. A sign on the hive reads "Bee Update" with the website name "SchneiderPeeps.com" below it.

The bees are doing so much better this year than they did last year. I’m chalking it up to cooler weather and some rain. Also, Gabriel was able to buy several packages of bees this spring and they are happy campers, yes they are. When I came home from town on Saturday, I found Carl … Read more

Relocating Bees

A large swarm of bees clustered together on a surface. Overlay text reads, "Catching a swarm of Bees" with the website SchneiderPeeps.com.

In case you don’t already know, Gabriel is our resident beekeeper. He’s 16 and is building quite a business for himself. It’s really exciting to watch. Every week we get calls from people who are looking for someone to come remove bees from their property. In addition to raising his own bees, Gabriel also does … Read more

Cold Weather Animal Care

A close-up of a chicken with black and white feathers standing near a dish. Text on a pink background reads, "Homesteading in the Winter: Cold Weather Animal Care.

I am taking part in a posting series related to the topic of “Homesteading in the Winter.” Each Thursday there will be a new post on a different issue associated with the needs and unique challenges of living on a homestead (big or small, urban or rural) during the winter. I am a teaming up … Read more

Bees {an update}

A wooden table filled with various cooking items: a pot of fried food, a strainer with liquid, a colander, an empty metal bowl, and a spice container. Kitchen utensils are scattered around, suggesting a cooking process is underway.

We lost one hive over the winter to carpenter ants and we made plans this spring to order packaged bees to replace it and replace a hive that is more aggressive than our other ones. We waited and waited for the bees and a few days before we were expecting them, Gabriel got a call saying … Read more

chicken coop expansion

A person is working on constructing a wooden shed outdoors. The shed has a white door and red walls, with a newly added plywood wall. Surrounding the area are trees and various tools and materials.

The chicks are getting bigger and it’s time to put them with the big hens. We’ve put them in the run during the day and the hens have gotten along well. I’m not sure if it’s because the “flocks” are pretty even in numbers (28 hens, 28 chicks) or if it’s because there’s quite a … Read more

spring bees

It’s been a while since I’ve posted about the bees. The winter is pretty slow for them but since our winters are so mild they don’t just completely shut down like they do in a colder climate. Gabriel continues to learn a lot and has actually done several bee removals. Benjamin is becoming fascinated with bees … Read more

swarm

A beekeeper wearing gloves inspects a wooden frame from a beehive, covered with bees. The background shows greenery, suggesting an outdoor setting.

Bees have somewhat taken over the lives of a few of us. I’ve been impressed with how much Gabriel has learned and is constantly teaching us and others about bees. He and Carl have become somewhat obsessed. Another cool thing is that occasionally he needs help and Carl is unavailable. Benjamin has been a very … Read more

Wild Honey

Four jars of honey in different sizes sit on a wooden table. The honey has a rich, amber color and the jars have metal lids. The background is a softly lit room with a ceiling fan visible.

I’m not sure if it happens with all beekeepers or not, but ever since people have found out that Gabriel is keeping bees he’s had several request to come get bees that are living where people don’t want them. This was one of those adventures. There were some bees living in a old propane tank … Read more

bee experiment

…or maybe I should title this “the bee experiment that every beekeeper we’ve talked to has said is a really, really dumb idea.” But you know, we are just kind of like that. We get an idea in our heads and can’t seem to get it out. We know it probably won’t end well but we want … Read more

{bees}

This weekend Carl and Gabriel went and picked up some bees. We have a friend who is a beekeeper and has let Gabriel help with extracting honey and most recenly re-queening some of his hives. He has a few too many and so he so very graciously gave Gabriel a hive to start him out. … Read more

chicken yard

A fenced outdoor area with several chickens and feeding containers on the ground. The ground is covered with dry leaves, and tall trees can be seen in the background.

Our chickens finally have their own yard. They haven’t minded having free run of the whole back yard, but Rascal hasn’t enjoyed being tied and, of course, we can’t start planting the garden until they are confined. Although, I think they would like us to go ahead with it. We mainly used T-posts but on the corner we used a short telephone pole. … Read more

chicken "family"…

Fluffy chicks of varying colors gather around a water dispenser and sit on straw bedding. A feeder with grain is partially visible in the foreground.

We now have 3 different kinds of chickens, we have a mama and a daddy chicken, 17 “teenage” chickens and 12 new baby chickens. We gave our two small ones to a friend who doesn’t have a rooster. And lost a couple of the Red ones we bought. So we got 6 Orppingtons and 6 Barred Rocks. We … Read more

::peep, peep::

A group of fluffy brown chicks huddles together in a clear container filled with wood shavings. They are surrounded by a small amount of food and water in bowls. The setting appears to be indoors.

The chicks are here! Friday, Phoebe and Benjamin became the proud “parents” of 25 baby hens. We spent the weekend working outside, enlarging the chicken coop and making some pens for these little girls to be in after they leave our mudroom but before they go into the chicken yard. The older boys have decided … Read more

::meet the ladies::

Three chickens, including a black one and two with brown and white plumage, are standing on dry grass near a wire fence.

Remember when I said that Phoebe and Benjamin wanted to start an egg business. Well, some friends wanted to tidy up their back yard and so they gave us their hens. These were really more like pets than livestock, and came with cute names, such as “Fluffy, Tweetie and Blackie”. They are fitting in just … Read more

Bees

Last Friday night a friend called and asked if we wanted to come over and help harvest “a little bit of honey.” Do we???? Of course we do!! Gabriel has been entralled with bees forever and has wanted a hive for several years. Our friends have offered him bees, but until now we really didn’t … Read more