Hatchery trip and our local Bee Man....

Today we made way to the Meyer Hatchery in Polk Ohio. Since it is not that far away, we were able to do a pick up order. No shipping fees and no minimum amount. We picked up 1 day old- 5 Delaware hens, 4 buff silkies-unsexed, and 2 broad breasted bronze turkey's. The turkey's are a tom and hen which were promptly named Tommy Lee and Pamela. One of the turkey's are pictured (to the left) with a bit of grass greenery in its beak. The tiny one in front is a silkie and the taller yellows are the Delawares. So far all are doing well but soon the turkey's will need to be on their own, away from the chickens. These will be butchered in the fall (turkeys) for Thanksgiving and Winter Solstice. If there are any rooster silkies, they will go to the auction house. Captain feather sword is the only silkie roo allowed here.
While at the hatchery, we spied a few of their chicken tractors. This was our favorite out of the selection they had sitting out front.You can see through the front door clear through the back door. The "school house" roof top has vents on the sides and the bottom larger roof has hinges for opening. On the right side are 3 sliding little doors to collect eggs from nests you place there. The Run is about 5 feetX5 feet and 3 1/2 feet tall (estimating) -which also has hinges to open the top cage portion. The Captain has volunteered to help me build one like this, but I will not make the school house roof top. Not my style. I am hoping for one to house Mr. & Mrs. Turken. I would like to put the Broad breasted Bronze turkeys in the pen I have on the upper hilltop, where the Turkens currently are. This will also keep Mrs. Turkens eggs pure from other roosters.
Later in the afternoon, The Local Bee man stopped by. He is scouting for more territory to place hives and had placed an ad on the local craigslist. I promptly called to see if our place would be acceptable. So while in the area, he stopped by and seemed pretty stoked about our hill and its GREAT southeast sunny location. It will be within 50 feet of the gardens and the apple trees. There are flower trees, roses,various other flowers and gardens abound in the neighborhood).
I asked if he had a lot at local farms and he shared his experience. He had a bad one with some farmers who started using chemicals that killed off 8 of the 9 hives he had there. He is looking for more friendly grounds such as our neighborhood/land.
We also spoke of the bee shortages and he informed me that all the Bee keeper people he knows have seen a drastic 70-80% DECREASE in the swarms. One Bee man in Medina county had 89 hives last year. This year he is left with 11! That is a massive hit.
We hope to have our very own hive setup on the hill, within the next few months. He will also come out 1x a week to mow a circle around the hive in his suit, since the bees do not like mowing. we will get 10% of the honey our bees make after the first establishing. So as soon as the swarms start up( which are late since they usually begin in early May), he will be out and we will have our very own beehive! Well, not OURS, but kinda ours. Our very own Foster Bees!
I would like to take this moment to encourage all of you to reach out to your local "Bee men/Women" and inquire if you too would be a good candidate to house a beehive or two on your bit of Homestead. Maybe if there are more sites in SAFE environments we can help at least a little with the bee population.
Honey dreams,
~Tammie