We’ve been keeping bees in our Wallingford backyard for close to a decade now. About 18 months ago, we became parents to a very curious little boy. As it turns out, bees and very curious little boys make for a tricky mix.
Our solution: install a giant rack system to lift the bee hives off the ground and out of harm’s way (or, more accurately, out of Baby Z’s way). Well, there we were staring at that big space under the bee hives, wondering what exactly to do with it when it struck us: chickens! If you’re interesting in checking out our solution, come on by this Saturday.
The Wallingford Walks, guided walking tours of interesting things around the ‘hood, are kicking off again this Saturday, May 15 at 10 am, with a tour of some urban homesteads. The tour starts at Tully’s on 45th St and will wend through the neighborhood, stopping at a few chicken coops, and, if they can arrange it, a local goat.
Like last year, Wallyhood will be playing host to the apiary section of the trip, showing off our hives and telling what we know about the art of beekeeping (and what very little we know about the art of chickenkeeping). We’ll have some of our famous honey on hand for tasting, and it’s the last stop in the tour, so don’t be a stranger.
How cool! And your neighbors with kids must love all those loveable bees and I am sure the possibility of histoplasmosis has everyone smiling! Oh, the sound of chickens clucking away at 4am is magic.
You want fresh honey and eggs? Why not move to a farm somewhere that your selfish decisions wont affect your neighbors? Bored? Have extra space? Goats? Selfish?
@Getoutside: Wow, that’s harsh. Do you actually have chickens next door that are a problem? My neighbor has chickens and they seem pretty quiet to me. For a while there was a rooster which was not so great but the chickens are pretty peaceful.
Watch out for Blue Meanies in Wallingford! The ultimate in gig harshers. Jordan shares a bit and the pouncers pounce, revealing and sad. Chickens, goats and bees are regulated within Seattle Municipal Code. Perhaps the anti-urban farmer (1.) picked the wrong zip code when looking for Wallingford Estates. . .
Word. I’d tell you how excited all of my neighbors, who I know well, have been that I’ve gotten chickens (as excited as they were about my bees, asking for tours), about how the sound isn’t noticeable against the din of crows and sparrows and other wildlife, etc., but something tells me this isn’t really about chickens and bees, you just sound angry. I’m sorry you’re angry. I hope you feel better, because life is too short to be angry all the time.
Please don’t take it out here. This is a place where neighbors are getting together to chat and get to know each other. If that’s not what you’re here for, please don’t come back.
Iwas about to make some snarky/clever/tongue-in-cheek comment about whether jordan will be asking to see my immigration papers on the tour, and then I read the first comment and have decided to out #getoutside as lame-o instead. I am pretty sure that jordan has tied all this off with his neighbors – unless of course #getoutside is one of them – in which case the “uptight seattle-it” passive aggressiveness of anonymous complaining via a blog is *perfect* in tone! #sparky is 100% right – all of this is regulated and approved by the city. I actually think that activties such as Jordan’s are the complete opposite of selfish
Is this comment at risk because of name calling?
But, seriously, after reading #getoutside I now realize it’s a clever, funny, satire! good job – you got me.
I may just see you Saturday, Jordan! Looking forward to meeting the bees!
Wow, harsh much GetOutside? I feel bad that your life is so miserable you have to troll forums and be an ass to people you don’t even know. Instead of “GetOutside” maybe you should change your name to “GetaLife”. I have lived with and lived next to chickens and they cause very little noise. Roosters are another thing entirely but Jordan didn’t mention any of those. Now, if there was a rooster, I’d probably be whacking it off after about three mornings of torture.
As for bees, have you checked out the bushes and flowers lining every street in Wallingford? My neighbors across the street have flowering bushes that are infested with bees and nobody gives a damn. Bees sting when you piss them off, honeybees rarely get pissed off unless you do something stupid to them repeatedly. My mother raised honeybees for years and not once did any of us kids get stung by them even though they were right outside in our yard and we played feet away from the hives.
Obvious troll is obvious.
You’re gonna whack it off, FreGirl?? You been watching Tina Fey or something?
Damnit Chris W. Indeed, it is Tina Fey’s fault. I saw Date Night just a couple of days ago!
I will also add that having bee hives in your neighborhood are an *endless* source of visual entertainment.
A friend of mine used to keep hives on the slopes behind his West Seattle house. We’d sit on the deck and watch the aerial traffic depart and arrive from the hives. It’s like having a tiny Seatac in your back yard.
(My friend and his bees moved out to Indianola. Only changes are different pollen (so different (but still great) honey), and the need for anti-bear measures around the hives.)
What a neat event! Thanks for the information. I’m going to go on the walk and then hit up the yard sales.
Yay! Can’t wait to taste the honey and check out all the creative homesteads.
@wallyhood – this should be a forum for neighbors to get together and express their opinions – if everyone is like minded, it would be an incredibly boring and sedate world. The message here should not be “Please don’t come back because I do not agree with you.” When I first moved to a house in Wallingford, our neighbor did have chickens and I admit (apparently much to the chagrin of everyone who reads this blog) that I found it disgusting – they constantly wandered into my yard and I was picking up after them. The message should be to respect your neighbors and understand where they are coming from. It’s okay for me to state that Chickens and cities do not go together for me. If I was looking to nest next to a farm, I would move to Eastern Washington.
I really miss Wallingford of old . . .
Your right, Sunnygrl. I just much prefer the way you put it: “chickens and cities do not go together for ME”. It’s the part where he name calls (“selfish”) that bothers me. If you and I were chatting in front of our houses and you said to me “I wish you didn’t have chickens, I don’t want them wandering into my yard”, I’d say “legit, sorry about that, I’ll do what I can to make sure they don’t bother you.” If you said what Getoutside said (i.e., started accusing me of being “selfish”, suggesting without basis that all the other neighbors feel the way he does, using a nasty tone, etc.), I’d say…something equally disrespectful.
It’s all about tone. In this arena, at least, respectful speech is required.
I am not angry. I don’t think a dense city neighborhood needs bee and chickens. It just makes no sense. If you want 4 dogs, or 6 old cars or chickens or bees, goats or cows. Please move to Ellensburg or maybe Vashon Island. This is getting crazy.
@Trev, I just don’t get why I should move just because you don’t think a neighborhood needs bees and chickens. It’s not impacting you, why do you care?
What if everyone in Wallyford read the same book and the first one was Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. He eloquently makes the case for the benefits of fresh eggs from hand-raised, carefully nurtured and organically fed chickens, what most of the big deal is about (which has nothing to do with 6 old cars or 4 dogs . . .). Bees and goats too. Perhaps @Trev would like to try some of said eggs and reconsider.
Trev and GetOutside just hate our freedom 😉
We have 3 chickens, 2 dogs, and an awesome garden, and I couldn’t be happier. Sure it takes work, but that’s our choice and it doesn’t affect anyone else. Seattle has one of the best urban farming resources – Seattle Tilth, as well as a very strong urban farming/self-sufficiency community. If you don’t like that this exists, I would suggest you move to another city.
Good for you, Jordan. I think the elevated hives and the creative use of space are fantastic ideas. I’m sure I get some of your bees over on my block and I’ll plant extra flowers to attract them.
Hey Jordan — how far do your bees travel? (Or any bees for that matter?) There’s been a whole bunch of them at this bush near my bus stop @ 35th & Wallingford for a while now. I always wonder if they could be yours…
Bees will travel “as far as they have to”. Typically, it’s 1 – 2 mile radius, but they’ve been known to fly up to 10 miles if the food source requires. So yeah, if you’re in Wallingford, good bet that my bees have paid you a visit.
That said, if there’s a bush full of bees, I’ll bet they’re bumblebees, not honey bees. Purplish flower?
Yup. Purple flowers that could almost look like bees on sticks if you had poor vision. 😉
Hey, to anyone considering taking one of these Wallingford backyard walks sponsored by the Wallingford Neighborhood Office, they’re a ton of fun! I went to this one yesterday & enjoyed the chickens, bees, and best of all — meeting some cool neighbors.
Hi neighbors,
I am not in the Seattle area (actually Mesa AZ) but I do agree with the concept that we need to get along. I have 2 natural bee hives on my property. Would like to convert them to something I manage. My neighbors have chickens that I would enjoy having. We are civil at this point and I am working on keeping it that way.. That is the way it should be.
I think chickens and bees belong away from congested city homes. What about your neighbors rights? What if they’re allergic to bee stings? What if they have an infant they are concerned about? Chickens also carry diseases and almost always have mites. Mites bite and can affect adults and infants. So consider your neighbors and their health. Better to use co-op chicken coops. Chickens are dirty and if you don’t know how to raise them appropriately you shouldn’t have them. Also if there is not enough room for a coop and you place it up against your home, all those mites will be attacking you soon. Dirty, nasty! Think of the infants and children or people that are immunosuppressed before taking up having chickens in your yard. I think you are inconsiderate and selfish too!!! You have too much time on your hands. Donate your chickens and bees to those in need who don’t live in the city.
You’re right, Megan! Also, they shouldn’t sell peanut butter in stores, because some people are allergic. Think of their rights! And dirt has germs and diseases in it. People shouldn’t have gardens in the city, because they could be dirty. Dirty, nasty! I am glad you used three exclamation points, because one would not have been enough for the selfishness of these people.
Someone needs common sense to make those decisions. I stay away from anything I’m allergic to. I don’t eat dirt or play around in it. But if your chickens have mites I can’t control not getting bitten by them and i can’t protect my kids from getting attacked by mites. I can however, not give them peanut butter or let them play in dirt if I know it is unsanitary or contaminated with mites or full of ant hills, etc.. My kids don’t eat dirt. They could get ring worm from it but at least I know I can treat them and the lawn. Do you know how hard it is to get rid of red mites? They’re worse than fleas. Also, do you have an infant being attacked by mites and/or bees? How would you feel if it was your baby? All I’m saying is think about your fellow man because living in close proximity to each-other should make you think about how your actions might affect your neighbor.
Daily dust baths in clean soil keeps chicken feathers clean and mite-free; good coop care dictates changing that top dressing that soil frequently (and keeping a clean coop in general). I humbly suggest that some contemporary information about chicken raising would help you, megan trophy, feel better about chickens in the urban environment. (That information would extend to THEORIES about how human immunity builds by childhood contact with dirt, how lawn chemicals may cause childhood diseases, how nutrition-lacking store eggs, even coop eggs are (and most are soaked in a bleach bath for your “safety”), and how to ingest local honey to ameliorate bee sting allergy, to name a few. I suggest starting with writings by Michael Pollan.)
The worst bugs I ever experienced were from little humans – head lice – and they came home from a children’s museum dress up area. From the firefighter hats. Horrible, but easy to eliminate by drowning them in olive oil (which probably works for red mites . . . suffocate and comb).
Newly passed Municipal Code in Seattle addresses many “urban farm” contingencies, roosters are not allowed, and the chicken/duck/goat people I know are all dedicated to good neighbor relations. Organizations like seattlefarmcoop.com, a yahoo group, function like online grad school for relevant information. As a group, we have materials to hand out, politely, if some newbie chicken owners are not heeding good neighbor practices.
In good community spirit, neighbors are folded into this mix. All of us were babies at one time, many of us have successfully raised babies into good neighbor adults.
You sound worried about red mites and bee stings. My list is longer, though having neighbors who are in accord with me and me with them tops the list. I am not suggesting that you move to Clyde Hill, but that community appears to be in accord with your feelings on this. My chickens give me a lot of joy and healthy eggs to spare; you aren’t my neighbor because I checked with all of mine before the girls moved in. If your concerns are specific to a household adjacent to yours, I suggest you talk it over with them specifically; involve a mediator if that seems overwhelming.
that should read “even co-op” (like grocery co-op) eggs” are soaked in bleach . . .
Wow. Lots of mellow harshers. The purple bumble bee bushes are ceanothus or California lilac. It’s kind of funny to watch the fuzzy bees get cold when a cloud comes over and lose their momentum. Sleepy bees..so cute.
We have neighbors who have chickens, and I hear them during the day when they’re laying eggs. That’s it. They’ve gotten out a couple of times and we’ve herded them back and alerted the keepers that they’ve escaped. No biggie.
All of these allergies and dirty issues will be better served by people being exposed to bees, dust, mites..etc. If you think one of your neighbors is mistreating chickens or goats (WANT!) or whatever, call animal control. If they make noise at 4 am for a week or two of the year, so what? I live next to Bandolero and they are ALWAYS noisy until 11pm or later on weekends. I’d rather have chickens than them, let me tell you.
I’m thinking about installing a bat house, so…if you see bats around, they’re probably mine.