Who has BEES?

[Eggs4Sale]

I'm going to have to check that site out tomorrow when my eyes are awake. Thanks for linking us all!

Does anyone know...... how far away should the hive be from kiddos and cows? I don't know if our property is large enough. Though bees could replace my moat idea.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

They are actually really very docile.

You can walk in and around the hives and not bother them in the least. As for cows, I think most people run a single strand of electric fence just to keep the cows from accidently knocking them over.

 

[Eggs4Sale]

Quote:
Well how far would you want to have them from a swingset or front door? I have one acre, but there's stuff everywhere. And when we had them at our faucets, they didn't sting anyone, but they did create a 'no-walk' zone.

 

[ksalvagno]

What about finding a local bee keeping association? That is what we did. They had a festival that offered seminars. We went to them and found that we will still keep bee keeping in the back of our minds but don't have the time right now. But the bee keeping association offers seminars at different times of the year. Maybe one in your area would.

 

[Badhbh]

Good points and suggestions ya'll.
As far as TOO MUCH info, pick up a simple book- I have 3, and it seems to be enough for now. Beekeeping for Dummies, Backyard Beekeeper, and A Book Of Bees. Yes, there's a lot of info, but at the same time there's a lot to know (I think). I don't think you need an overwhelming amount to start, but you will accumulate it quickly.

I decided on a beginner kit from http://www.kelleybees.com
Still trying to find someone locally that can sell me a nuc tho. I'd rather have one local than have to ship one in. I'm looking at Italians or All Americans.

I only have an acre too, but with one hive in a back corner of the yard, i don't think it'll be an issue. I'm pointing the entrance AWAY from the yard, planting a shrub to make the flight path go up mostly, and keeping a source of water close by them. The more you give them what they need close to their home, the less need they'll have to come invade yours

 

[protodon]

I just started keeping bees this past spring. I did some research and settled on top bar hives. Because of their simplicity. Essentially you just need the hive body then you lay sticks of wood of an appropriate width(about 1 and 1/2") across the top and cover wit ha roof. It's all very easy to build.

I built two 4' long hives for my two bee packages. They were in the kenyan style which means the sides are slanted so the whole hive is kind of triangular. I also built a small 18" long nucleus hive and put bees and an extra queen in it to keep in case of emergencies but that one ended up failing.

My main hives did pretty well this year though. I didn't get any honey out of them but I hope they make it through the winter so they can get an early start collecting nectar. I started a bit late in the season and I think that had a lot to do with it. But it is amazing how the bees will just build the combs out of seemingly nothing and you will have a hive full of combs in just a few short weeks.

To harvest honey in a a top bar hive you take the entire comb and crush it through a strainer, minus the bees of course. So you don't need spinning. equipment. The traditional langstroth hives do produce more honey though because the comb is already built for them and you are not destroying it each time you harvest. But with top bar hives, you do end up with a lot of beeswax which you can use for candles, soap, lip balm, etc.

But whether you go with the langstroth hive or the top bar hive, you need to make sure your bee order is in early. Like start looking in january at different apiaries because bees sell out fast! Not to mention the bee population is still declining, so they are a commodity.

I am happy mine have done so well and considering the recent honeybee situation I am glad to give them a home and let them do what they do even if I get no honey out of them. Because those hives create new queens that will start new wild hives elsewhere and we can always use more bees.

Even if someone didn't want the bees for honey it would be neat to just have a small 18" nucleus top bar hive. Pour a package of bees in there and let them do their thing. They will pollinate your garden flowers and vegetables. They will spin off new swarms due to the small space you initially give them and you'd be doing something good for all of beekind! Think of it the way people might feed wild birds.

If anyone is interested in top bar hives, as a stepping stone or a main way to keep bees all you have to do is do a search in google. Also there are many plans to build a top bar hive. And no way is the right way so find what you like and feel free to adapt it to your needs.

 

[cutiepieacres]

Just got some bees we got 2 hives from a person selling them already started. Those were a pain. Both hives were Africanized and extremely aggressive though they were supposed to be established both hives were weak and produced scattered brood and not much honey(though that is a trait of the Africanized bees).

We ordered a new box and 3 lbs of bees of Russians along with 2 new queens for the other hives. We put the bees in their boxes.

The new box of Russians has done wonderful. They have tons of honey and we even were able to harvest some, its soooo good!

The other two boxes continued with issues. One eventually died, the other while they are now nice docile little bees still dont produce very well and still dont layer their hive quite right as far as where brood honey etc should be placed.

We plan to get another new hive and another 3lbs of Russians next year.

Start with a new kit and new everything it almost seems counter productive and that an established hive would give you the better start but its what all the books tell you and in the end what worked the best.

Otherwise bee-keeping hasnt been really all that difficult just expensive to get all the equipment you need, with bee keeping you really cant survive without the essentials.

 

[ky chicks]

We're getting bees in the spring too! We're planning on ordering a starter kit and taking a bee-keeping class at our local extension office.

 

[ksalvagno]

You may want to consider having 2 hives. The seminars we attended suggested at least 2 hives in case one doesn't do well.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Quote:
Well how far would you want to have them from a swingset or front door? I have one acre, but there's stuff everywhere. And when we had them at our faucets, they didn't sting anyone, but they did create a 'no-walk' zone.

Well, honestly, I would put them as far away from the house as I could, just so they were out of the way. Go ahead and check your local laws, some dictate that bees have to be 50ft from the property line(or was it the neighbors house?) or something along those lines.

So after you find out where you can place the bees legally. Make sure that their nearest water source isn't catching your house or your neighbors in the middle.

Being a newbie on the subject, that's just a bit I've learned. Not sure how credible it is, not having experience myself.