Unexpected Partnership Between Chickens & One Insect In Lubbock

With all the recent warm temperatures and rain there have been a few sightings of creepy crawly creatures in and around the Lubbock area. One creature in particular has some local poultry farmers a bit worried but is there actually a bigger issue?

Buzzing Around

Many chicken farmers on the various Lubbock chicken Facebook groups have stated they have seen bees in and around their chickens food. This has made some people worry that the bees are planning on something a little bit more sinister, like flying the coop and invading. While this could be farther from the truth the real reason the little fuzzy bees are out and about is a bit more endearing.

I'm Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee

The reason bees are being seen in various chicken coops isn't because they're trying to steal your eggs or go into business with the chickens. Instead bees are near chicken feed food sources due to the tasty and delicious dust and not the actual grains. This is because chicken feed has a significant amount of protein, pollen, minerals and yeast which is actually used as a substitute for pollen during the winter. Due to it being winter flowers filled with pollen are very hard to come by so the bees make do with what is available to them.

Harmony

The bees use that delicious dust from scratch grains to feed their young during the winter which in turn allows us to have more bees in the spring and summer so we have more honey. So next time you see a bee near your chicken's food do not freak out or try to kill it but instead just the little girl (worker bees are usually all females) do her job and get her bag this winter. It's rough out there so we can all afford to let the bees eat our dust, literally.