Hatching Eggs In BEE-HIVES

I do not keep Bees.  Do not have Chickens.  Found this news article a few years back, thought it might interest some people.

Wow!
wonder if it continues to this day?
I have not heard of it before, but that does not mean much. I will look around.

I looked around as saw some beekeepers hatch queen bees in incubators.
One comment from a traditional chicken hatcher spoke of the need to turn the eggs so the chickens do not stick to the inside of the shell.

I've printed this out and will send it around at our upcoming Beekeepers meeting to see if anyone has any knowledge of this.

It sounds like a winner for hatching, however HOW do you manage the chicks that hatch versus those that are late in cracking their shells open? You'll be opening that hive every day and losing the heat that the bees need to maintain THEIR environment.

super interesting.  i wonder if the humidity or hum of the hive helps with the chicks not sticking to the shells in some way...  i have also heard that its critical to turn them and have hand turned them when incubating until i got an auto egg turner.  I will say that i hand turned them usually only once per day and didn't have any issues that jumped out so maybe its less critical than its made out to be...

One of the things I like about having a broody hen hatch the eggs, that is missing in this marvelous innovation is that you have to hand raise the chicks, and you have the process of introducing the half grown chicks to the existing flock.  Chickens maintain a closed group, and new comers are tormented, driven away or killed …. though there are ways to protect newcomers until they are known by the resident chickens.  It’s just a lot more work than having the mama trail her babies into the group where they have instant insider status.

According to a short search, bee strive to have a temperature between 33°C and 36°C, which is a bit lower than the optimal in an chicken egg incubator.

So, I don't know if it was an april fools day thing, if the egg internal heating helped, or any other aspect was playing a role. But I would love to also stick a thermometer in a beehive!

https://account.futurecitiesandenvironment.com/index.php/up-j-fce/article/view/fce.81

This might have been something done before there was electricity.

Sounds to me like a scary lot of work.

As in the picture, some folks don't need to rely on smoke and bee suits.

And picking up all those heavy hives.

Newish beekeeper here (about 13 months).
If you build a slotted tray of some sort to hold the eggs aloft AND a barrier underneath, you could check on the eggs without disturbing the bees - you'd have to be able to approach from a side without their entrance or ventilation where they can see you and go on high alert which is stressful.
If you have to turn the eggs every day or similar, this would only make sense if the hive were super close to your house.
Interesting low-tech idea though!

Suzie Park wrote:Newish beekeeper here (about 13 months).
If you build a slotted tray of some sort to hold the eggs aloft AND a barrier underneath, you could check on the eggs without disturbing the bees - you'd have to be able to approach from a side without their entrance or ventilation where they can see you and go on high alert which is stressful.
If you have to turn the eggs every day or similar, this would only make sense if the hive were super close to your house.
Interesting low-tech idea though!

I was thinking similar - a tray that could be fitted between the hives and could be slid in and out without opening the hive or disrupting the bees! seems it wouldn't be too hard to be able to do that!

Just a thought on the tray and bee barrier:  if you lift the eggs up out of the milieu, where they are surrounded by bee warmth and activity, the eggs may be in a cooler location, they may also not get the same airflow around them or the same humidity.  All critical factors.  

The eggs are no longer being turned, their measured “optimum “ temperature has been modified, their mama is not talking to them, they don’t hear the other hens bustling and clucking…

I think it’s worth experimenting, because it would be good to know how reliably it works.  What makes it better, and what makes it worse…  There might need to be a layer of insulation over the top of the eggs, or outside the hive.    And so on.  

Im really curious about it, and intend to follow along all reports!