Backyard Bee Keeping at SleepyDogTraining/NJ Dog Trainer/NY Dog Trainer/Pa Dog Trainer

sleepydog llc dba sleepydogtraining.com ♦ June 29, 2014 ♦ 2 Comments

Meet our dogs… Bear, Little, MayMay, Cozy and Sampa.

Last year, I became a Certified Beginner Bee Keeper. And, this spring we welcomed our newest pets, about 16,000 gentle Italian honey bees, into our family of dogs, and birds. Here is a video welcoming our new bees…

Keeping honey bees is a very hands on  endeavor, especially during the first year. We need to make food for them and feed them, do daily checks of food levels and weekly checks and maintenance of the hives…and we love it. 

Here is what the delicious bee food that I make for my bees looks like…

It did not take long for our bees to grow out of their one box hives. So, with the help of our curious dogs, we put together and painted a second “large brood super” for each hive.

painting new hive bodies for our bees

Here are the hives in June 2014. The bees seem to really like the extra room…

This is one of my assistants, Bear, a german shepherd helping me with feedings, inspections and general maintenance of the hives.

And here is our beautiful backyard, which would not be complete without our amazing bees.

our beautiful backyard

NB – Bee informed – Fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides are all toxic for honey bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, ladybugs, your pets, your children, wildlife, our planet, you and everyone around you.

When you buy plants or seeds, make sure they  have not been sprayed with any of the above. And, whenever possible, buy organically grown.