With the extremely warm fall and winter in the North Carolina mountains, the bees are remaining active - but with a strange twist - in our yard.  We have 5 chickens that we are feeding cracked corn and layer mash.  One day this week my son(owner of the bees) reported finding bees in the chicken feeder.  I went out thinking that he was mistaken and that there were yellow jackets making a nest in the chicken yard.  Indeed, both my bees(midnight bees) and others(Italians) were in the feeder and the surrounding area grubbing(for lack of a better word) in the layer mash.  I looked up the ingredients of the layer mash and found that they contain soy beans, amongst many other fine scientific words(vitamins, nothing else).  
        I don't think that my bees are in danger, as I think that they probably know what to feed on most of the time, but wonder if any of you have any experience with this.
 
BTW - the weather has finally turned cold in the last two days, and rained also.  The bees are staying at home more now.
 
Tim Rich