Recent content by Pennyfold Bees

Our club certainly doesn’t extol it’s virtues. We try to present a balanced perspective of all hives types and generally steer newbees to a traditional Langstroth (most common here). However some people are set on getting a particular hive be that Warre, Top bar or Flow. If you slam people...

It’s not hype it’s just easier at least for a single frame to have honey in a jar. Sure you could extract a single frame from traditional frame but extracting one frame in a three frame extractor is pretty unbalanced [emoji23] I won’t be buying a flow, but for some people the (perceived) easier...

I kept bees in UK then 5 years ago I moved to Sydney, Australia and I’m an active member of a beekeeping club on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. I was strongly against Flow hives due to their early marketing message “less invasive” and therefore “better for bees” however refusing to talk about...

Thanks for your quick reponse, no problem regarding the QX as I did remove those on my 16 September inspection when I was back in the UK. I just didn't make any notes as I was fairly short on time. Next question: Should I still open up on a warm(ish) day to check the stores? I have hefted the...

OMF, Insulation & Number of Supers I'm new to beekeeping this year too, so just want to ask some clarification on this topic. I read early in this thread that 2 or 3 people said they have an Open Mesh Floor (OMF) all year round. I have an OMF on both my hives, but was thinking that I'd need to...

Thanks for the feedback Thanks for everyone's feedback. I'm feeling better about leaving my bees with my friend, while I go on another business trip away to the sun! :icon_204-2: I first thought you meant survival food for the bees and couldn't work out what sort of Beans bees would like...

Hi everyone, I have a question, similar one which has been asked before (2 years ago on this post: http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=14027). However I just wanted to ask for advice regarding my specific situation to confirm if all is 'normal'. I have 2 hives, located in...

Great to see your queen!! Not seen mine yet :( but have seen eggs/larvae so need to improve my spotting skills! No idea about the small bees, I'm new.

Beginners conversion rate I'm a beginner this year and there were around 25 people at our beginner training classes. I was one of 2 people that already had a hive and planned to get bees this year. I have mine now, but I'm pushed for time with my family so I've not made it back to the...

The answers I needed Very pleased I spotted this thread, as I had the same question. I was going to keep this quite as I have the answers, but I'll let you in on what happened. This week my smoker stopped smoking during my second inspection, so I blew on the burning embers with my hood up... I...

Excellent Customer Service Thanks to everyone that commented on this thread. It helped me to be clear that the state of the frames were no acceptable and I should ask for a replacement. Paul at EH Thorne has been great about resolving this situation. He agreed the nuc was not acceptable and...

Update from OP I'm am in ongoing positive dialog with the supplier and I'll post and full update on the forum when we've come to an agreement on the resolution. I'd not intended to be so explicit regarding the possible supplier, at least until the situation has been concluded, I'd meant to...

:thanks: for the info on rights regarding distance buying, I'd not been fully aware of those. Given the supplier has advised that "I wait a week or so" and then send him more photos, I'd have thought it would mean those rights are extended in time. Still I'll check that out. My wife has read...

Feedback to supplier Another point I raised with the supplier is that they should contact their other customers that received this batch of nucs from the same breeder. If they are also new beekeepers they may not have noticed the queen cells and could end up with a swarm before they have...

Thanks for the feedback Thanks everyone for your feedback. That makes me feel more strongly towards insisting on a replacement nuc from this supplier. I am bitterly disappointed as I'd gone to a very reputable national company and paid their premium price, with the expectation that I'd get a...