A Very Sad Kid
One thing about having animals—life is never dull.
We recently went to pick up some new beehives. We used to have quite a few, but when varroa mite made its way into Australia, an outbreak occurred just a few miles from us. As a result, every hive in the area was euthanised. Now that authorities have given up on eradication, we’re finally able to keep bees again.
We collected our new hives from an older gentleman who was… let’s say, set in his ways. As he’s gotten older and lifting frames has become harder, he’s adapted his own methods—methods that required some patience on our part! He insisted on screwing the bases together and adding extra wood across the front, which made things more complicated than necessary.
When we got the hives home, the bees were understandably unhappy after being disturbed so much. Despite wearing suits, we all ended up with a few stings—some right through the fabric, and a few bees managed to sneak in through gaps where we hadn’t taped the bottoms of our suits properly.
Another problem beekeepers face is hive beetle. These little pests can invade a stressed hive and quickly kill off a colony if not controlled. One way to fight them is to place traps inside the hive and set up an oil tray underneath. The bees will push the beetles out, and they’ll fall into the oil and drown.
To do this, Missy needed to install a new base on one of the hives to support the tray. While she was working, Guacamole—our mischievous, bottle-raised goat—got curious. He’s learned that the wheelbarrow often means food, so he trotted over to investigate.
Missy’s first clue that something was wrong was a sudden, distressed bleating. Guacamole had gotten too close to the hive and was now covered in bees. But what could she do? She was already surrounded by bees, crawling angrily all over her suit as she worked. She did her best to brush them off and ran after the panicked goat, who had taken off into the chicken coop.
Still in her gloves and unable to take off her suit or call for help—since none of us were suited up—she managed to catch Guacamole and get him secured. But his sad, bleating cries echoed every few seconds as she finished the job.
When she was done, Missy rang our vet (who luckily lives just up the road) and took Guacamole in. Together, they carefully removed the many stings from his ears, eyelids, lips, and everywhere else those bees had landed.
He got to spend the night in the house so we could monitor him for any reaction. Thankfully, by the next morning he was much brighter and ready to rejoin his herd—as cheeky as ever.
