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Drone Bee: 10 Weird & Fascinating Facts That Will Blow Your Mind

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A drone bee is born.

Did you know a male honeybee’s ejaculation is so strong, humans can hear it? Or that a drone bee (male honeybee) can’t sting? Or how about that male bees are fatherless…but yet they have a grandfather? Read on for the top 10 weird and utterly fascinating facts about male honeybees.

#1. Drones bee livin’ their best life

  • Male honeybees don’t clean.
  • Male honeybees don’t build honeycomb.
  • Male honeybees don’t forage for food.
  • Male honeybees don’t look after the baby bees.
  • Male honeybees don’t protect the hive from intruders.

Oh no. These incredibly idle insects spend their days buzzing lazily around the hive eating honey hand-fed to them by nurse worker bees. That’s right! Drone bees (male honeybees) can’t even feed themselves. Their main purpose in life is to get. it. on. with a virgin queen. Sounds like a pretty good gig, right? But if you’re thinking of becoming a drone bee in your next life, you may want to read to the end of this post.

Bee yard

#2. A drone bee can have sex in the air

You have to give the male honeybee some credit. He can’t build honeycomb or collect nectar, but he can get a lady pregnant while flying. That’s pretty impressive and perhaps why drone honeybees are endowed with some of the largest genitalia, in proportion to body size, in the animal kingdom, according to the excellent book, QueenSpotting.

Queen bee, drone bee and worker bee
From left to right: Queen bee, drone bee, and worker bee

#3. Drone honeybees baffle beekeepers and scientists alike

Here’s a fun unsolved mystery for you to ponder:

During mating season, roughly 25,000 male honeybees from up to 200 different colonies (hives) will gather together about 10 to 40 meters high in the air. When the virgin queen leaves for her nuptial flight, which lasts only about 30 minutes, her doting lovers are primed and ready to greet her. These males are driven wild by the sight and smell of the queen and it’s a race to be the first to penetrate her. Only the fastest drones (about 1 in 1000) will have the privilege of mating with the queen.

It’s important the queen mate with as many drone bees as possible to ensure genetic diversity in her offspring. In fact, it’s key to her colony surviving. Hives, where queens mated with at least 7 drone bees, were almost 3 times more likely to survive the working season, according to this study.

Now here is the mysterious part of the story. Drone bees only live on average 90 days and none (or very few) survive the winter months. And yet year after year (for up to a decade or more) they will return to the exact same “congregation areas” or mating sites. How does the drone bee know where to go? And how does the secret location get passed down to the drone bees born the following spring? It’s an unsolved mystery.

A drone bee

#4. The male honeybee’s ejaculation is so strong, humans can hear it

A drone bee’s ejaculation is so powerful, you can apparently hear a “popping” sound as his semen is blasted into the queen’s “sting chamber”. Now that’s an orgasm unlike any other. The drone bee contracts his abs so forcefully he is able to “inflate” his endophallus (the bee equivalent of a penis) via this pressure. As he ejaculates, the drone bee becomes paralyzed and performs a sort of backward flip down to the ground. This is all accomplished in 5 seconds or less. I’m not making this up! Check out the Wikipedia page on drones bees or watch this video to see the whole thing in action.

#5. A drone bee’s penis explodes after mating

Life as a male honeybee is bittersweet. You spend every one of your spring afternoons looking for love, watching and waiting for a queen bee to pass by. But when you finally find your beloved and are actually successful in mating with her…you die. A drone bee’s semen is released so forcefully his endophallus (the bee equivalent of a penis) is ripped from his abdomen along with his intestines. The queen, on the other hand, err ” other bee leg”, flies off, with the drone’s genitalia attached to her. Kinda gives new meaning to the saying, “love hurts”.

PS. If you’d like to learn more about queen bees and how to find the queen bee, check out my previous post.

A drone bee is escorted from the hive.
When mating season is over and the drone bees are no longer useful to their colony, worker bees will toss out any remaining drone bees from the hive as summer temperatures drop. The colony just can’t afford to feed and care for these now useless drone bees.

#6. Drone bees are starved and tossed out of the hive

If a drone bee is lucky enough to escape death by intercourse, he may not fare any better than his buddies. When mating season is over and the drone bees are no longer useful to their colony, worker bees will toss out any remaining drone bees from the hive as summer temperatures drop. The colony just can’t afford to feed and care for these now useless drone bees.

Here’s how it’s done: First, the worker bees will refuse to feed them. When the drone bees are weakened, the workers will escort them out of the hive refusing to allow them to reenter. The poor drone bees eventually die from starvation or the elements.

Female and male honeybees
How many drone bees can you spot?

#7. Drone bees are cheerleaders

No, they don’t carry around miniature pom-poms and kick their little bee legs in the air, but studies have shown drone honeybees do mysteriously raise the morale of their entire hive resulting in increased honey production and healthier and more active worker bees, according to the book, QueenSpotting.

Perhaps if we could understand their buzzing, it would sound something like:

“Honeybees! Honeybees! We’re you’re biggest fans. If you can’t gather the nectar, no one can. Goooooooooo bees!”

In fact, these drone bees are so good at cheerleading, they’re allowed to spend time in colonies that are not their own. If a worker bee were to enter another hive, it would instantly be killed by the guard bees, but drone bees (despite being a draw on honey supplies) are allowed to enter other hives.

A drone bee enters the hive.
Can you spot the male honeybee trying to enter the hive?

#8. A drone bee produces one and half times as much heat as worker bees

One of the most important jobs in the beehive is to regulate its temperature. If it gets too hot or cold, it can affect the developing baby bees. Although I stated at the beginning of this post that male honeybees were simply lazing around the hive all day, it’s not entirely true. Drone bees actually produce 1.5 times more heat than worker bees mostly due to their larger body size, according to this study. Perhaps this is another reason drone bees are allowed to enter other hives.

Male honeybee

#9. A drone bee can’t sting

Don’t be afraid to pick up a drone bee. Without a stinger, they’re great guinea pigs for practicing this beekeeping skill. Although they can’t hurt you, they will attempt to scare you by swinging around their useless tails.

bee puns
Pun from “80+ Bee Puns That Are Un-BEE-lievably Funny“

#10. Drone bees are fatherless…but they have a grandfather

Almost all the eggs in a beehive are fertilized except for…you guessed it…those of the male honeybees. Instead, these drone bees develop from unfertilized eggs. This means that a male honeybee has a mother (the queen bee who laid the egg), but no father. So, how does the drone bee have a grandfather? The queen bee was born from a fertilized egg, which means she has a father. Any drone bees produced by the queen will have a grandfather (the father of the queen).

So, now that you’ve read to the end of this post, do you still think you’d like to be a drone bee in your next life? Probably not, but I hope you were amazed and fascinated by these little creatures who, despite being a little lazy, play a vital role in the hive.

Want to read more about bees and beekeeping? Check out my previous posts…

Drone Honeybees

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Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. Thank you for your support!  You can find the full disclosure here.

“Bee”ware: The real cost of beekeeping & how to save money

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So, you wanna start beekeeping? But first, you need bees. And then you need a house in which they can live. And then you need tools to help you work the bees without getting stung. And then you need equipment to extract the honey from the hives. And then…

The list seems to go on and on until you are left wondering if you should even bother keeping bees at all. What is the real cost of beekeeping?

Is it possible to start beekeeping without spending a massive amount of money?

Yes and no…

You may be able to get started for about $200 if you build your own hive, snag a wild swarm of bees and buy the cheapest bee suit and the bare minimum amount of equipment.

Otherwise, you could spend up to $1,500 if you’re starting with 2 hives as is recommended by many beekeeping associations.

The goods news is there are many ways to cut costs, which I will share later in this post. But before I do so, I have one last warning – bees die.

I lost a hive when the lid on my sugar-water feeder leaked. Then I lost another newly-split hive because the bees would not accept their new queen despite trying twice with two different queens. They just wouldn’t accept either of them…even after ensuring there was plenty of brood.

Since honeybees are tropical/semitropical insects, it is also very easy to lose a hive over the long, cold winter. In the fact, the average annual winter loss in the United States is 38.7%! (This is another reason beginners should invest in more than one hive).

And just like with any other living thing, your bees can get sick. Bees face so many challenges in our polluted world. They have to fight off poisonous pesticides sprayed onto their food sources and they often lack proper nutrition due to field after field of monocrops. “It is estimated that 30 to 40 percent of colonies die from viruses, poor nutrition, and/or pesticides,” according to the book The Backyard Beekeeper, 4th Edition.

Now, I hope I haven’t discouraged you from beekeeping. I just wanted to be upfront about the cost of beekeeping, prepare you for the challenges you’ll face, and hopefully prevent you from beating yourself up if you do lose a hive. It happens to the very best beekeepers.

So, let’s move on to the numbers, shall we?

The Cost of Beekeeping in Canada

As with all things, there is more than one way to get started in beekeeping. I’m going to assume you are a small, backyard beekeeper like me. In this case, you obviously won’t be starting out with a hundred hives. So, let’s look at the cost of one hive.

The cost of bees

If you think you can catch a wild swarm (a large number of bees that leave a hive together to form a new colony elsewhere), your bees could be free. You may be really lucky and snag another local beekeeper’s bees if they happen to swarm in the spring. You can read about my experience catching a swarm here.

But I would recommend beginners purchase a nucleus colony (nuc) versus a package of bees or trying to catch a wild swarm.

A nuc is a small starter colony containing a laying queen and worker bees, as well as open and sealed brood (eggs, larvae, and pupae of honeybees), honey, and pollen. It usually contains four to six frames. 

A nuc is the most expensive option of the three (nuc, package, or swarm), but the colony will have a higher chance of establishing itself the first season and surviving through winter compared to packaged bees. And a nuc is definitely easier than trying to catch a wild swarm especially if you’ve never even handled bees before.

Total cost of bees: $0 (catching a swarm) to $200 (purchasing a nuc)

Two beehives

The cost of a beehive

The costs in this category will fluctuate depending on which type of hive you decide to build/purchase. Here are my six secrets to choosing the best beehive for beginners.

A typical hive including a stand, frames, 3 boxes, roof, inner cover, screened bottom board and a couple of entrance reducers will set you back about $300 if you buy everything.

My hive is slightly more expensive at $377. I recommend you read my post about my beehive setup for an explanation of the hive parts and why I chose this type of hive. Here is the breakdown of the cost of the hive I use:

  • 3 medium boxes ($25.35 each)
  • Pre-assembled frames ($3.50 each)
  • quilt box ($22.00)
  • roof ($54.95)
  • screened bottom board ($39.50)
  • slatted rack ($24.95)
  • hive stand (16.95)
  • 2 entrance reducers ($4.75 each)

Total cost of beehives: $80 (if you build your own) to $327.90 (without tax)

BUYER BEWARE: You may be tempted to save money by buying used hives. But unless you know the beekeeper, are comfortable with their beekeeping practices, and can be sure the equipment is not contaminated with disease, this is not recommended. For example, American foulbrood (AFB), which has no cure, is the most serious and damaging brood disease of honey bees. It is caused by a spore-forming bacteria and it can contaminate beekeeping equipment. In order to prevent the spread to additional colonies, the equipment has to be destroyed.

Beekeeper's toolbox

The cost of beekeeping equipment (one-time costs)

Your one-time costs may be significantly less than what you see below. The majority of the money I spent in this category was on a full-body, bee suit. Why didn’t a buy a much cheaper veil or jacket? Simply because if I didn’t feel safe beekeeping, then I knew I wasn’t going to be keeping bees for very long. I feel completely protected in my suit. I would advise you to choose whatever option you feel safe in.

If you’re wondering what equipment you should purchase, check out my post – 7 must-have beekeeping tools.

– Smoker ($29.95)
– Bee suit ($235.75) or hat and veil combo ($27.95) or a bee jacket ($120)
– Hive tool ($12.95)
– Gloves ($32.95)
– Feeders ($15 each)

Total cost of beekeeping equipment: $118.80 to $326.60 (without tax)

Should you buy a honey extractor?

I didn’t include the price of a honey extractor in my one-time costs. I would suggest delaying this purchase. There is a good chance your bees won’t produce extra honey in your first year. And, even if they do, it likely won’t be enough to justify the cost of spending thousands of dollars on an extractor.

Instead, there are lots of tutorials on how to manually extract honey. You can also use foundationless frames and cut-out honeycomb. You basically cut the honeycomb from its frame and then into smaller pieces. Or you could ask to borrow another beekeeper’s equipment as I did.

The total cost of beekeeping:

The grand total (including a hive, bees, and supplies) is $200 (if you can catch a free swarm of bees and build your own hive) to $854.5 (without tax).

What is the start-up cost of beekeeping?

BUT WAIT! THAT’S NOT ALL!

Now, you probably won’t want to hear this, but I am going to tell you to spend even more money and buy two hives instead of one. Every beekeeping book and website I have ever read or visited has said the same thing and after beekeeping for 5 years, I agree with the experts. It is nice to have a second hive to compare to when you aren’t sure what is normal bee behavior or what the inside of a hive is supposed to look like.

So, if you do decide to purchase two hives, the total cost of beekeeping (if you buy everything) will now be between $1,100 to $1,400 (without tax).

Why you need to budget extra

Finally, with all this in mind, I want to warn you that extra expenses will creep up. For example, you will need to replace parts (frames get damaged). You may need to requeen, you may lose a hive tool in the grass and you will have to feed and at the very minimum treat your bees for those pesky Varroa Mites (tick-sized parasites that feed on bee blood).

Bee prepared and budget extra.

Yikes! That is a lot of money because…

YOUR FIRST YEAR
As mentioned above, your hive will likely not produce enough honey to share in its first year. At least not in my Canadian climate. So, you have just spent roughly $1,000 with no return. Your first year of beekeeping will be a rough one for your bank account.

YOUR SECOND YEAR
In your second year, your bees will likely produce a surplus of honey. In addition, you may be able to split your hives in two, creating nucs that you can keep if you have room in your bee yard and can afford to purchase more hives.

You can also decide to sell the extra nucs and earn a couple of hundred dollars from each. Although you will need to invest in a queen bee for each nuc (about $20 to $40 each).

So, what did I do to save money and lower the cost of beekeeping?

Beekeeping on a budget: Top 10 money-saving tips

The cost of beekeeping in Canada.

Make your own hives

If you’re handy, try making your own hives. My dad made all my hives for me. The cost savings is huge! Instead of spending $300, you may only spend $80. I still buy pre-assembled frames as there is not much savings in making your own and it is a time-consuming job. Here are my actual start-up costs for one hive.

One beehive – $78.23
One nuc – $144.73
My one-time costs (smoker, full-body bee suit, gloves, hive tool, feeders) – $326
TOTAL: $548.96

Start small

You don’t have to invest in dozens of beehives. Start with two and get a feel for beekeeping and whether it will be something you enjoy before investing tonnes of money into it.

Don’t invest in an extractor right away

The first year I started beekeeping, our bees didn’t produce enough excess honey to extract anything. The second year, our two hives each produced a box of honey. Still not enough to warrant the cost of an extractor. A friend was kind enough to let us borrow a hand-crank machine, which did the trick.

There are lots of tutorials on how to manually extract honey. You can also use foundationless frames and cut-out honeycomb. You basically cut the honeycomb from its frame and then into smaller pieces. Or you could ask to borrow another beekeeper’s equipment as I did.

Buy a used extractor

I began my beekeeping adventures with a borrowed, hand crank extractor, and let me tell you…that got pretty unexciting very quickly. It was a sticky, messy job. And with my bee yard expanding every year, I knew I needed a better machine.

In the end, I decided to purchase a 20-frame radial extractor with a bottler. A radial machine extracts honey from both sides of your frames at once so you don’t have to turn them. Yes, I am a bit lazy and you may be thinking: what a waste of money! But trust me, once you’ve tried extracting honey the old-fashioned way, you’ll want to invest in this piece of equipment too.

A new machine would have cost us over $6,000 plus shipping. We scored this used machine on Kijiji for $2,000 from a woman who had only used it twice. It is basically a brand new extractor. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a place prepared to house said machine so it has been sitting in our living room all winter. A honey house is still on the project list. Sigh.

Split your hives

If your bees make it through winter in great numbers, you can split them in the spring! You can either keep them to grow your bee business or sell your newly established nucs for roughly $200 apiece. You will, of course, need to invest in a queen (roughly $20 to $40).

Buy only what you need

Don’t be lured into purchasing 10,000 extra beekeeping “essentials”. Know the items you will really need and use. Check out my list of essential equipment here.

DIY beehive insulation

DIY Beehive Insulation

Last year, we saved money on insulating our hives by using free maple leaves to keep our bees toasty warm throughout the winter. Check out my post here.

Make money from your bees

Many commercial beekeepers make a profit by selling not only honey but other bee products: propolis, royal jelly, wax, pollen, and even venom, or by renting out their bee colonies for crop pollination. Still, others specialize in the breeding and sale of queens and replacement stock. Eventually, you could also offer beekeeping classes or educational tours.

Hint: If you’re looking to make money from your bees, there is likely more profit in selling bees, queens, and nucleus colonies, as opposed to selling honey.

Read, read, and then read some more

Learn as much as you can about bees and beekeeping. You can save yourself hundreds of dollars by learning from other people’s mistakes. So read the beekeeping catalogs, several of which are free, as well as the many great beekeeping books available at your library.

Out of all the beekeeping books I’ve read, Kim Flottom’s are my favourites. No, not because we share the same first name. Because he is not only incredibly knowledgeable, but he includes the wisdom of many, many other beekeepers making his books a real treasure trove of information. Check out his many titles starting with “The Backyard Beekeeper” if you are a beginner. I also own “The Beekeeper’s Journal” and I just bought “In Business with Bees“.

But don’t just read…

Join your local beekeeping association/club and find a bee buddy

What are you going to do when your hive swarms (this can happen in your first year as it did to me)? Are you going to be able to identify a queen bee from a drone bee? Who are you are going to call to walk you through your first hive inspection? This is where your local beekeeping association and mentor step in. They will help you become successful!

You can learn so much more from beekeepers who have been keeping bees much longer than I have and who have hundreds of more colonies. Offer to help them in the bee yard in exchange for some mentoring. Just like any other farming endeavor, the knowledge, experience, and assistance of an experienced beekeeper will save you from making many mistakes.

So, now that you know the cost of beekeeping, will you still take up the craft? Let me know what you think and if you found this helpful.

PIN IT FOR LATER – THE REAL COST OF BEEKEEPING

What is the cost of beekeeping?

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Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. Thank you for your support!  You can find the full disclosure here.

The best FREE DIY Beehive Insulation for Winter

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Using leaves as beehive insulation for winter

There must be a better way! That is my husband’s motto.

Sounds great, right? But this kind of thinking usually ends with our projects taking five million times longer to complete and me pulling my hair out exasperatedly and wondering…why the heck can’t we just do things the way everyone else does?

But today I’m eating my words. Because this cheap, DIY beehive insulation for winter is genius – leaves. Last year, we used free maple leaves to keep our bees toasty warm throughout the winter and they SURVIVED.

This will be the second winter we will be trialing leaves as our beehive insulation and we will update this page as we continue our test. If you’re interested in more ways to save money beekeeping, check out “BEE”WARE: THE REAL COST OF BEEKEEPING & HOW TO SAVE MONEY“.

Why do honeybees need protection from the cold?

Not all do. It depends on where you live. Honeybees originate from Africa. Although they spread north over time to some of the colder regions of Europe and Asia, they have not genetically adapted to the long, cold Canadian -40 degree C winters. So, as their caretakers, it is our solemn duty to protect them and I take this seriously.  

Except for last year. I failed two of my newly split hives that I kept at my parent’s house. I still feel guilty and ashamed. Although I protected the outsides like all the rest of my hives, I forgot to place the insulation in the top cover. I couldn’t understand why two brand new hives with plenty of winter stores would perish in the cold. Until I looked inside the cover. Stupid! Yup, still kicking myself in the butt.

Three beehives and bags of leaves

Do leaves really insulate?

What does Mother Nature use to insulate? Leaves. A thick blanket of leaves protects plants from the winter cold. But what you may not have realized is that they can also be used to protect your bees from the frigid winter temperatures. Last year, we experimented with using leaves around four of our beehives with excellent results.  

The R-Value of fresh leaves (I couldn’t find one for dried) is about 0.54 (per inch) using the calculations from this study. To increase the thermal resistance, we made a thick, 1.5-foot wall of leaves, which results in an R-Value of about 9.65.

But leaves have an even greater superpower. They have a high heat capacity or thermal mass (similar to that of water), according to this study from the Journal of Biotechnology. This means they are able to buffer the bees from extreme temperature changes. Leaves hold onto heat, whether generated by the sun or from the bees flexing their wing muscles inside the hive to keep warm throughout the winter. The leaves hold onto this heat and slowly release it. Some heat may also be generated from the ground where we observed some decomposition.

Although there are many other methods you can use to successfully insulate your hives, we are really impressed with leaves for two reasons:

1. They are free.
2. They are compostable and sustainable.

How to use leaves as beehive insulation for winter

Step 1

Ensure you don’t have any open cracks and crevices in your hives and that they are properly ventilated. If warm, moist air can’t escape from your hive, it will condense on the bottom side of the inner cover and drip cold water onto your bees. We use both an upper entrance and a quilt box on all our hives. You can read more about our beehive set up here.

It’s also beneficial to have some sort of windbreak – this could be a fence, bushes, or plastic sheet.

Using leaves as beehive insulation for winter

Step 2

Surround your hives with several wooden stakes. Hammer them into the ground about 1.5 feet from the hives.

Step 3

Staple Tyvek building wrap to the stakes.

Wrapping beehives for winter

Step 4

Fill the area between the hives and the Tyvek wrap with dry leaves (you do not want to use wet leaves that will mat together). Although we used whole leaves, shredded leaves may work even better to create fluffier, air-filled layers.

WARNING: The leaves will settle over time so make sure to add about a foot extra and then check on the hives every so often to ensure they remain covered.

Step 5

Ensure the bees can get in and out of the hive by extending the bee’s entrance. We used a piece of wood as the base and then covered it with wire mesh to make a tunnel.

Using leaves as beehive insulation for winter
We experimented with insulating three of our 6 hives with leaves last year.

Step 6

Cover the top of the hives with a plastic sheet to ensure the leaves don’t get wet. We used a clear, plastic sheet, but would like to try a black plastic to help absorb more of the sun’s heat.

Don’t forget about spring feedings

If you have to emergency feed in early spring, you have to be able to take your insulation apart. Be prepared for this by ensuring you can easily remove the plastic sheet on top of the hives and remove your hive rooves.

So, what do you think of this idea? Will you try using leaves as your beehive insulation for winter? Let me know in the comments.

Want to save more money beekeeping?

If you’re interested in more ways to save money beekeeping, check out my post: “BEE”WARE: THE REAL COST OF BEEKEEPING & HOW TO SAVE MONEY“.

Read more about bees:

“BEE”WARE: THE REAL COST OF BEEKEEPING & HOW TO SAVE MONEY
Six Secrets to Choosing the Best Beehive for Beginners
The Bees are Coming…
Why You’d Make a Great Beekeeper (and the benefits of beekeeping)
How to Catch a Swarm of Honeybees…
How to Find the Queen Bee…
Healing Honey Hand Salve (and how to render beeswax)
The 7 Must-Have Hive Tools

PIN IT FOR LATER

A thick layer of leaves not only protects plants from the winter cold but bees too. Here's how to use free leaves as your beehive insulation.

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Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. Thank you for your support!  You can find the full disclosure here.

A woolly great lambing guide: Your top 20 questions answered

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prepaing for lambing

A beginner’s guide to preparing for your first lambing season

Have you ever read a blog and thought: Wow, this person really has it together! Well, this is not that blog. 

This is the blog of a homesteader…

  • who doesn’t know for certain if her two ewes are pregnant.
  • who doesn’t have a clue how to actually deliver a lamb.
  • who is not even sure she can actually get her hands up in there and assist.
  • And who is now wondering how the heck she got into a predicament in which this is what she has to fret about!!!

So, in case you’re wondering, yes, I may be slightly panicking about the impending lambing season. But, as with most things on the homestead, I can usually find someone much more experienced than I who is willing to share their hard-earned, homesteading wisdom. Enter Michelle Schubert.

Interview with lambing expert, Michelle Schubert

A few weeks ago, I interviewed Michelle, owner of Bergamascos’ Babydoll Brigade in northern Scott County, Kentucky, about preparing for lambing season. Michelle has witnessed the birth of more than 123 lambs on her 15-acre farm where she and her husband sell sheep, lambs, and fleece including beautiful, hand-spun, and custom-dyed yarn.

Michelle’s adventures in lambing began with one ewe who was “maybe” pregnant. She still fondly remembers the afternoon Haven was born. She rushed to get a pair of binoculars and watched in awe and anticipation as Pop gave birth to a healthy lamb on pasture on March 30, 2012, at 2:31 p.m. without any issues.

Michelle Schubert with her flock of Babydoll Southdown Sheep on her farm in Kentucky.

So, how did Michelle become a shepherdess? Her tractor died.  

“Our second summer here, our tractor quit running and we spent many hours every day pushing a lawn mower trying desperately to keep up with the fast-growing grass,” she recounts. “A friend suggested we get sheep.”

“After a bit of contemplation and research, I said to myself, ‘Sounds like a plan.’ Initially, I was just going to get the sheep to mow the grass, but quickly decided I would turn it into a business since I prefer to work for myself and from home.”

Michelle hasn’t looked back since. Every day starts with a smile.

“Their smile is contagious. If you’re having a bad day, just get outside and spend a few minutes watching and interacting with your Babydolls. Your mood can’t help but improve. I find myself looking out my windows several times a day and sitting outside just to watch them as they meander the hills and valleys of my small piece of tranquility.”

Although Michelle is not a vet or a medical professional, as you can imagine, she has learned a lot about preparing for lambing season over the past nine years raising Babydoll Southdown Sheep.  

“Lambing season is typically exhausting but so worth it,” she exclaims. 

The only downside is that those sweet, smiling Babydoll lambs wind up leaving the farm much sooner than she would like.    

So, are you ready? Let’s start preparing for lambing season together.

How can I tell if my ewe is pregnant?

I feel a lot better about not being able to tell if my ewes are pregnant after confirming with Michelle that it is indeed difficult to determine until they are getting close to labor.

“It is tough,” says Michelle. “I go by when I put them together and when I separated them.  And, of course, a lot of them, I witness the breeding happening so I use that date.  If most of mine have lambed and I have stragglers, I’ll draw blood for a pregnancy test.” 

Sheep have a gestation period of about five months. So, if Hunter and Henley (my two rams) did their job this summer, my ewes will be ready to give birth in about a week. 

Within days of the birthing, you may notice the ewe’s udder fill out, which is a sure sign that your ewe is pregnant and will soon be giving birth.

preparing for lambing

Should I be feeding my ewes anything special during pregnancy?

Michelle cautions against overfeeding your ewes. “You don’t want them getting too fat, which can cause bigger lambs and possible birthing issues,” she warns. “I don’t change what I do as far as feeding unless a ewe is feeling too thin. Then I sneak her extra palmfuls of grain.” 

What supplies should I have on hand for lambing?

Initially, Michelle bought many of the recommended supplies for preparing for lambing season, but she has never used them and, of course, they quickly expired.  The only items she now brings with her are gloves and a pair of scissors.

“Other than trimming a couple of cords, I’ve never needed to do anything else during lambing,” she says. If there is an emergency, Michelle will bring her ewe to the vet.

Gloves come in handy if you need to help the ewe and can prevent “bottle babies”. Ewes identify and bond with their lambs through the scent that is produced within the placenta and contained in the amniotic fluid.  

“I wear rubber gloves (sometimes even fresh clothing) to keep my scent off of the lamb,” she explains. “Even for the first couple of days, I wear gloves if doing anything with the lamb, especially if there are more lambs being born around the same time that I’ll be handling.”

preparing for lambing

If all goes well, these are all the supplies you really need when preparing for lambing:

  • A lambing book to keep records such as the date, sex and number of lambs born.  
  • Latex gloves
  • Scissors to cut cords 
  • And, if you’re like me, a copy of Storey’s Guide to Raising Sheep. If something goes wrong. I’m hoping I can read and assist at the same time. Sounds doable, right?

You may also want to have on hand:

  • Milk bottle and lamb nipple as well as colostrum and lamb milk replacer 
  • Lube 
  • A digital veterinary thermometer
  • Dental floss (may be needed to tie off a bleeding umbilical cord)  

Should I bring my ewes indoors to lamb?

Although every shepherd will be preparing for lambing season a little differently, Michelle has never locked a ewe in a pen/jug when she feels lambing is close or even during lambing. Instead, her ewes can come and go from the barn as they see fit. In the evenings, she says, they decide on their own to make their way closer to the barn where they usually sleep.

“Often, in the middle of the night, they’ll go out for a couple of grazing sessions,” she explains. “Hence, come lambing time, I don’t change their routine and they are still free to come and go as they please.” As a result, Michelle has had lambs born on pasture and in the barn without any issues.

If she does see a ewe in active labor in the barn and it is late at night, she will go ahead and close the gates to the pen until the ewe lambs.  

Do I need a special birthing pen for ewes?

Yes, you may want to consider sectioning your barn into smaller pens, encourages Michelle. “I have noticed many of my ewes will go to the furthest corner pen when it is time to lamb. We now call it the maternity ward and have it ready with fresh straw when lambing time arrives.”

Usually, the ewe keeps herself and her lambs inside, or away from the flock for a few hours, says Michelle. “By afternoon, mom and lamb(s) are venturing outside and within 24-hours, the lambs are checking out the grass and doing a little nibbling alongside their dams.” 

Can ewes share a pen during lambing?

They need to have enough room to be able to get away from each other, cautions Michelle. You don’t want a lamb wandering over to the wrong ewe or a ewe stealing someone else’s lamb.  

“My barn is set up with five roughly 10 x 10 areas and one larger area,” says Michelle. “The ewes tend to separate themselves from the others when they are getting ready to lamb.”   

Do I have to be present during lambing?

Not necessarily, says Michelle. “Many, many lambs are born without any intervention from humans. Most of my lambs wind up being born in the early morning between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. Of course, when it’s lambing time, I’m checking on them to see if any ewes are in labor. If I see a ewe in labor, I pull up a chair and have my camera ready. I have managed to witness the birth of almost every lamb born here.”

Will I have to help deliver the lamb? 

Michelle doesn’t intervene unless she feels the ewe or lamb are having issues. “I, personally, feel it is best to reign in our desire to “help” and rush the birth,” she cautions. “Don’t interfere unless absolutely necessary.”

How long do I wait before assisting in the lamb’s birth?

How long labor lasts varies and is largely influenced by age, according to Storey’s Guide to Raising Sheep. “First-time ewes usually take significantly longer than older ewes. A good rule of thumb is to allow half an hour to an hour after the water bag breaks, or up to 2 hours of labor, before you jump in. Wait a little while longer for first-time ewes: up to 3 hours.”

As a general rule, according to Storey’s Guide to Raising Sheep, let the ewe do her job until any of the following:

  • The lamb’s one front leg and nose are both showing but the other front leg is nowhere in sight.
  • There are two right or two left legs showing (indicating twins are trying to come out at the same time)
  • The lamb is showing but the ewe isn’t making progress.
  • The ewe is obviously becoming weak and tired, and nothing seems to be changing.
  • She has been in obvious labor for a couple of hours with no sign of change.
preparing for lambing

Do I need to dry off the lamb and iodize its navel?

“No,” says Michelle. “Instead of using a towel to dry off the lamb and wipe the membranes from the lamb’s mouth and nose, she lets the mother clean her lamb.  “I feel it is part of the bonding process,” she explains. 

If the ewe doesn’t start to clean her lamb, Michelle will move the baby to her nose so she sees it.

“That is usually all that is needed,” she says. “If she’s had twins, she may get confused and pay more attention to one over the other. I’ve had situations where the second one slides right out and mom is so busy cleaning the first, she doesn’t even realize she had another. This is an instance when I would move the lamb to her nose. Or, if you’ve had to help with the birth, best to put the lamb by her nose right away.”

Michelle has also never iodized the lamb’s navel. “Maybe I’m lucky,” she points out. “But I’ve never had any issues with a lamb’s naval.”

Will I have to cut the cord?

“The cord breaks when the ewe moves away from the lamb or the ewe chews the cord,” explains Michelle. “Occasionally, they will leave it too long and it drags on the ground. In this case, I shorten it. It can be done with any scissors you’ve cleaned well with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol.

What happens if a lamb does not immediately get colostrum?

“Don’t panic,” says Michelle. “I’ve had three children. I know from personal experience, labor and delivery are a ton of work for both mom and baby. Sometimes, in my opinion, the lambs are tired after making their way into the world and need time to get it together. I do not feel a lamb is going to die if it doesn’t make it to the teat five seconds after it is born. I think that as long as they are up and nursing at some point within the first six hours (the absolute longest), they’ll be fine.”

Should I strip the waxy plug from the udders?

“No, I don’t,” says Michelle. “I think letting the lamb do this helps them gain strength.” 

What happens if a ewe rejects her lamb?

“I HATE having bottle babies,” she exclaims. In fact, Michelle has only had one lamb be rejected by his mom and it was several hours after he was born.  “The mother cleaned him, the lamb nursed and then what the heck happened, I have no idea,” she recounts. “He became a bottle baby but did continue to live full time with his mom and his sister. His mom just refused to let him nurse.”

Here are some common reasons for lamb rejection, according to Storey’s Guide to Raising Sheep:

  • The ewe has a painful or sensitive udder from mastitis or an overabundance of milk.
  • She has delivered one lamb in one location, then moved and delivered the other, forgetting about the first.
  • Some ewes cannot count to two; they may be willing to accept twins, but as long as they have one, they are happy and do not seek out the other.
  • The lamb has wandered away before the ewe has had a chance to lick it off and become bonded to it.
  • The ewe has sore or chapped teats, or the lamb has sharp teeth.
  • Because of a difficult lambing, the ewe is exhausted and not interested in her lamb.
  • The lamb is chilled and abandoned as dead.
  • The ewe has new-mother syndrome: young, first-time moms may be nervous, flighty, confused, or just frightened by their lambs.
  • The lambs have been swapped: if two ewes lamb near each other at the same time, one ewe occasionally adopts and bonds to the other’s lamb, but the other ewe does not accept the first ewe’s lamb….”

 “I really do wonder if a lot of the rejections are due to too much human interference during the first 24 hours or so,” says Michelle. “There is plenty of time after the first couple of days to snuggle newborn lambs.”       

What is the best advice you would give to someone preparing for their first lambing season?

“Let the ewes do their jobs,” emphasizes Michelle. “When humans get impatient and interfere with the process it can cause problems with ewes rejecting lambs, etc. My personal opinion is that all of this suggested human intervention may be the cause of so many instances of abandoned/bum lambs.” 

She also suggests reading as much as you can about preparing for lambing including what to expect, what may go wrong and how others tackle lambing season.

“Then do what feels right for you, your ewes, and your lambs. I prefer a more” natural” way of doing things here at the Bergamascos’ Babydoll Brigade Farm.” 

Are there any books you recommend reading?

Storey’s Guide to Raising Sheep is an excellent book to read while you are preparing for lambing season.

Note: “Keep in mind,” she says. “Not all the advice in regards to quantities would apply to smaller breeds such as Babydolls.”  

Tails, castration and tagging

Now, you may be wondering about the exciting topics of tail docking, castration and ear tagging. Due to the fact that this post is already getting rather long, I will link to those posts here once I have them finished.  

Ready, set…lambs

So, who is ready to kiss and snuggle adorable newborn lambs? Me!!! Now, excuse me while I once again go check on my ewes’ lady parts to see if we are getting any closer to that terrifying and exciting day. 

Share your tips!

Are you preparing for lambing season or do you have any tips for preparing for lambing season? I would love to hear them! Please leave them in the comments below.

Want to read more about raising sheep? Check out my previous posts:

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Top 10 Surprising Benefits of Beekeeping: Why You’d Make a Great Beekeeper

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Benefits of beekeeping

Benefits of beekeeping

Do you like to eat?

Yes? I knew it. You were meant to be a beekeeper. Loving food is a sure sign that you should keep bees.

What? You don’t agree? Well, without bees to pollinate our crops, a third of our food would disappear.

And let’s be honest. Who wants to eat nachos without salsa or toast without jam? That would be tragic, right? And that’s why we desperately need bees and people who love food to be beekeepers.

Still not convinced? Here are my top 10 benefits of beekeeping and why you should keep bees or have a beekeeper like myself install a hive in your backyard.

Top 10 Benefits of Beekeeping

Benefits of beekeeping

Happiness

Do you like to be happy? Aha! I’ve found another reason you’d be a great beekeeper. We’ve all heard that “more stuff” doesn’t bring happiness (at least after you’ve met your basic needs). So, what will really make you smile? Experiences. Interesting experiences will boost your happiness and bring more meaning to your life. That’s right. Bees will do all this for you. Because I can’t think of a more amazing and mind-expanding experience than opening a hive of bees and watching thousands of these important pollinators at work. I can guarantee it will be an experience unlike any you’ve had before.

Stress Relief

Feeling a little stressed out? It seems that every time I turn around someone is touting the benefits of mediation from reducing stress to improving sleep and increasing happiness.  So, of course, I tried it. And guess what? It doesn’t work for me. But that’s ok. I can do something just as good for my health – open a hive. If that doesn’t force you to live in the moment, I don’t know what will. So, you want to be more mindful? You want to focus? You want to achieve mental clarity and stay calm? Open a hive containing 60,000 bees. Trust me. You won’t be able to focus on anything except your every movement, the busy hum of the bees and the intoxicating smell of honey and beeswax.

In my opinion, there is no better way to be in the here and now, fully engaged in the activity at hand. And it all ends with honey. Now that is my kind of meditation. We homesteaders don’t have time to waste. We like our meditation to be productive. So, take a deep breath, centre yourself and get a hive of bees.

Benefits of beekeeping

Fun

Can you think of anything more fun and exciting than dressing up like an alien and watching bees dance? Ok, maybe you can. But beekeeping is a lot of fun. Really! Once you get over the fear of being stung, you will realize that bees are actually very gentle, curious and fascinating creatures. In fact, the more I study them, the more I am amazed. In case you are curious, yes, bees can dance. This is one of the ways they communicate to other bees where and how far a source of nectar is located.

Honey

Honey…and lots of friends

You thought this was going to be first on my list of the benefits of beekeeping, didn’t you? But here’s a little secret of mine. I actually don’t like honey. That’s right. I have seven hives with plans to expand even more this spring and I’m not crazy about honey. But I do like to bake with it. Honey is the special ingredient that makes the most delicious and moist breads, cakes, muffins, pies and jam.

But it turns out that most people do love this liquid gold and are eager to get their hands on a jar of local, raw honey. In fact, you will be excited to discover that honey from your own hives actually tastes different and much more delicious in my humble opinion than what you can buy in the store. Just like the veggies that come from your own garden. So, don’t be surprised when your extended family, friends and neighbours suddenly take new interest in you.

Bonus: This sweet treat is one of the only foods that never spoils. A pot of honey found in an ancient Egyptian tomb was proved to be as wholesome as fresh honey.

Of course, honey has many other uses than just as a food, which brings us to the next benefit of beekeeping:

Your Health

Having local, raw honey is like having your own secret superpower. Do you have a cough or sore throat? Honey can help treat it. Do you have a cut? Honey can help heal it faster. Do you suffer from seasonal allergy symptoms? Honey can help reduce your symptoms.  Honey is a powerful remedy.

That being said, I wouldn’t advise eating jars of it unless you are Winnie the Pooh. Honey is still sugar. But it is healthier and easier to digest than cane sugar. It contains high levels of antioxidants that fight oxidative stress and inflammation as well as trace amounts of vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, enzymes, amino acids and flavonoids. To be honest, I have no idea what a flavonoid is, but apparently honey has it, and it’s good for you. So, go ahead and add a heaping spoonful to your cup of tea.

Caution: Honey is not suitable for children under the age of one.

Honey Wine (Mead)

Did you know you can ferment your own sweet honey-based wine using raw honey? I didn’t. I had never even heard of mead until I went to speak at a Mother Earth News Fair. Jereme Zimmerman gave a talk on using wild yeast to create wild-fermented mead and my mind was blown. Check out his book, Make Mead Like a Viking. Or better yet, visit him at one of the upcoming fairs and try your hand at making mead during one of his workshops.

Beeswax

Beeswax

Forget about commercial products! You can make your own cosmetics, salves, creams, lotions and lip balms with wax from your own bees. Of course, you can also make candles, beeswax wraps, deodorant, soap and so much more. If you are a DIY like me, having your own source of beeswax is a must and a huge benefit of beekeeping.

A Productive Garden

Are you a gardener? Then raise your hand if you like having a productive vegetable garden? A backyard beehive is your answer to a great harvest. Bees pollinate blooms within a five-mile radius of their hive. Without them, your garden may look healthy and lush, but you won’t be harvesting basketfuls of your favourite veggies. And if you happen to have a fruit tree or a berry patch, the more bees that visit your plants, the better the size and amount of fruit they will produce.

Bees are the easiest livestock to keep

So far, my bees have been the easiest livestock to care for on the homestead. I don’t have to feed and water them every day. I don’t have to clean up after them. I don’t have to trim their hooves or keep them contained. And for several months of the year, I don’t have to do anything at all. Most of the work is done in the early spring when you are first getting set up or splitting hives and requeening. During the summer, most of the work is simply ensuring the bees have enough room to expand and that there are no diseases in the hive. Work picks up again in the fall when it is time to harvest honey and close up the hives for the winter.

Bees are a great conversation starter

Beekeeping is the most popular topic on my blog. It is also a fascinating topic for discussion whenever I first meet people. Let’s be honest. Most people think I’m crazy but they are always eager to learn more about bees and the benefits of beekeeping. And, of course, if I have honey for sale.

There are many, many more benefits of beekeeping. But I’m wrapping this post up because I’m now eager to go outside and check on my own busy bees. How about you? Do you want to venture into the heart of a hive? Are you eager to try beekeeping? Let me know in the comments below or feel free to ask me questions. I’m sure you’d make a great beekeeper!

PS. Beekeeping is not dangerous (unless you have an allergy)

If you have an allergy to bee stings, beekeeping can be dangerous. Fatal reactions are rare but it can happen. One of the first things I suggest you do before getting into beekeeping is to ensure you are not allergic

Otherwise, you will discover that honeybees are not aggressive. They are actually very passive creatures. But they will defend themselves if they feel threatened. So far, I have only been stung twice in four years. Stay tuned for another article on “how not to get stung”.  

Want to read more about bees and the benefits of beekeeping?
Check out some of my previous posts…

The Bees are Coming…
How to Catch a Swarm of Honeybees…
How to Find the Queen Bee…
Healing Honey Hand Salve (and how to render beeswax)

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Why should you keep bees? What are the benefits of beekeeping? Here are the top ten benefits of having a hive in your backyard. You may be surprised - there are many more benefits than just honey!

Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. Thank you for your support!  You can find the full disclosure here.

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