Bee farming advice wanted

[bjosephd]

crikey...

...and trying to move/manipulate with any kind of finesse.

Tricky not to crush a ton of bees with each heavy shift. And unlike a bag of coal, this is full of thousands of potentially angry critters ready to go batsh#t crazy if you end up letting it slip.


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[Poly Hive]

I well remember having to return to my heather site to collect a Langstroth which had leaked from the floor so went back with a fresh floor to secure them and it took me all my time to get the damn thing up and make the change.

I was working offshore at the time as a Roustie/roughneck so was in pretty good nick physically.

Brood box only... think carefully as day by day we all get older.....

PH

 

[madasafish]

I had a look at past years' sales prices and could only see Langstroth Jumbo frames and hive parts available on sale in 2015, nothing much last year.
I'm sticking with Nationals for now with DN4 (double brood if I have to, not going to faff around with brood and a half any more) and Manley in supers.
Might consider 14 x 12, but need to check they can fit in the extractor.

I run jumbo langs and shallow supers . The supers weigh approx 17-20 Kg full so are manageable. I don't move jumbo brood boxes very often. Just as well.. full of bees +brood +honey = 50-60Kg.

I used to weightlift as a student 50 years ago... so lifting is not really an issue.. It's moving them!

(I do daily yoga now to keep my back in condition...)

 

[B+.]

crikey...

...and trying to move/manipulate with any kind of finesse.

Tricky not to crush a ton of bees with each heavy shift. And unlike a bag of coal, this is full of thousands of potentially angry critters ready to go batsh#t crazy if you end up letting it slip.

My bees don't go "batsh#t crazy" - ask scammell, daroco or chriszog. They've been to one of my test apiaries and seen my stock. However, there is real danger of hurting your back by lifting that amount of weight

 

[seaknight]

You can say that again.
This is one of mine in mid-July (http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/album.php?albumid=751&pictureid=3744). It went on to make a total of 132Kg of honey for the year.
It isn't just lifting a 35Kg box you have to think of, its the height of the stack. This stack was taller than me.....lifting gear would be much safer!

Blimey, that's a great yield!
I only had 23kg between 4 hives last year (not each) and the year before, got to get on top of this swarming problem.

 

[bjosephd]

My bees don't go "batsh#t crazy" - ask scammell, daroco or chriszog. They've been to one of my test apiaries and seen my stock. However, there is real danger of hurting your back by lifting that amount of weight

I'm very envious of folk like you with such cuddly bees. My 'stock' is mostly what I can get/get mated/survive T the moment so selective breeding very much in it's infancy.

Are you one of those youtube types who inspects in flipflips, cargo shorts, vest and a baseball cap?

I'm certainly a long way off the 'drop the brood box' test! Although as you rightly say, my back might choose to take the test without my permission!


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[bjosephd]

I run jumbo langs and shallow supers . The supers weigh approx 17-20 Kg full so are manageable. I don't move jumbo brood boxes very often. Just as well.. full of bees +brood +honey = 50-60Kg.



I used to weightlift as a student 50 years ago... so lifting is not really an issue.. It's moving them!



(I do daily yoga now to keep my back in condition...)

Yep, I used to lift silly heavy weights in my dancing days, but a big heavy BB is bloody awkward compared to a barbell, or dance partner!

What yoga do you do? I've literally just walked out of a Bikram class.

TOTALLY off topic now. Sorry.


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[B+.]

I'm very envious of folk like you with such cuddly bees. My 'stock' is mostly what I can get/get mated/survive T the moment so selective breeding very much in it's infancy.

Are you one of those youtube types who inspects in flipflips, cargo shorts, vest and a baseball cap?

Shorts and t-shirt - yes, flipflops - no (http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=34671)

 

[Millet]

Shorts and t-shirt - yes, flipflops - no (http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=34671)

I have seen that picture before, it is a brilliant picture which shows your success in breeding calm bees, i have to dress up like the Michelin man when the weather warms up, please sell me a Nuc come spring time if you have any spare.

 

[B+.]

I have seen that picture before, it is a brilliant picture which shows your success in breeding calm bees, i have to dress up like the Michelin man when the weather warms up, please sell me a Nuc come spring time if you have any spare.

Sorry Millet, I don't sell nucs. I always end up with a few extra open mated queens if that's any use to you. PM me if interested.
Don't get me wrong, I do wear a bee suit sometimes. Sometimes there are just so many bees in the air that it would be stupid not to. In fact...funny story time: Pim walked straight infront of a stream of bees returning to that hive on my left. One flew straight into his cheek. His instinctive reaction was to swat it and it stung him on the cheek. They're good, but, they aren't perfect (if such a thing exists). I'll keep trying to improve them though.

 

[Millet]

Sorry Millet, I don't sell nucs. I always end up with a few extra open mated queens if that's any use to you. PM me if interested.
Don't get me wrong, I do wear a bee suit sometimes. Sometimes there are just so many bees in the air that it would be stupid not to. In fact...funny story time: Pim walked straight infront of a stream of bees returning to that hive on my left. One flew straight into his cheek. His instinctive reaction was to swat it and it stung him on the cheek. They're good, but, they aren't perfect (if such a thing exists). I'll keep trying to improve them though.

Thank you for your reply i will be in touch no doubt some where down the line, however will the open mated queens be mated with your calm drones or rouges from elsewhere, or is it a case of 50/50 i have no idea so to speak.

 

[B+.]

Thank you for your reply i will be in touch no doubt some where down the line, however will the open mated queens be mated with your calm drones or rouges from elsewhere, or is it a case of 50/50 i have no idea so to speak.

I have apiaries every mile or so apart. They contain 20-30 daughters of my best queens from the previous test run. These act as drone mothers and production colonies. They put a lot of drones into the air from good, healthy stock. Some of them provide drones for II too.
This idea of "drone flooding" is essentially the same a commercial queen rearers will do (unless someone wants to correct me on this) and it depends on the probability that a virgin queen will mate with a larger number of drones from the preferred background than any other queen. Personally, I don't subscribe to this view and a lot of work in Germany has proven that land-based mating sites are unreliable for pure mating, no matter how isolated we think they are. This is why breeders will only use island mated or instrumentally inseminated queens.
If anyone tries to tell you that these are as good as the breeders own stock, you should walk away. They can't be.

 

[seaknight]

This is really interesting, thanks - I haven't got the time to get involved in queen rearing right now but it's something I would like to look into for my own use.

 

[tidymeup]

I have gone into winter with 100 colonies this year and for the first time I have been able to negotiate any reasonable discount on equipment that I will need this coming season.

I was able to buy boxes, frames and foundation cheap but I have made all the floors and roofs my self. I have a radial arm saw, table saw and portable thicknesses.

Finding a good source of timber is important and I made all my stuff from Douglass fir so it should offer some degree of resistance but perhaps not that of western red cedar but for allot less money.

As for management I am still learning but i find it useful to make sure all of your queens are marked a clipped which I check in the spring when duties are a little lighter. And do the same when you get another mated.

The enormities of making the kit up is massive though you don't realise until you start how long it will take to assemble 2000 frames and 100's of boxes. It payed to have as much ready as you can because at the moment working 4 days a week with one day and some time at the weekends in bees it needs to be as easy as possible.

I try my best to get around 70 stocks in one day if I can. This will be an interesting year growing by probably a further 80 ish by winter.

Best of luck with it, good accounts and registering for VAT is a must if your doing honey.

 

[seaknight]

I have gone into winter with 100 colonies this year and for the first time I have been able to negotiate any reasonable discount on equipment that I will need this coming season.

I was able to buy boxes, frames and foundation cheap but I have made all the floors and roofs my self. I have a radial arm saw, table saw and portable thicknesses.

Finding a good source of timber is important and I made all my stuff from Douglass fir so it should offer some degree of resistance but perhaps not that of western red cedar but for allot less money.

As for management I am still learning but i find it useful to make sure all of your queens are marked a clipped which I check in the spring when duties are a little lighter. And do the same when you get another mated.

The enormities of making the kit up is massive though you don't realise until you start how long it will take to assemble 2000 frames and 100's of boxes. It payed to have as much ready as you can because at the moment working 4 days a week with one day and some time at the weekends in bees it needs to be as easy as possible.

I try my best to get around 70 stocks in one day if I can. This will be an interesting year growing by probably a further 80 ish by winter.

Best of luck with it, good accounts and registering for VAT is a must if your doing honey.

Thanks, I'll pm you the details of my local sawmill who provide CNC cut cedar (they supply Maisemore).

 

[mazzamazda]

As Noel (plenty of honey) said I do get wood very cheap, and I can make a hive similar to 12x14 for around €15. The work required to do it is something else, I have not worked as hard in my life. Cutting wood for many hives in one go is nothing but mental torture and I won't be doing it again. I did cut 300 mini nuc frames over 2 days at Christmas and will repair and make a few mini nucs and still make frames but that's it, buying hives from now on.

 

[Finman]

As Noel (plenty of honey) said I do get wood very cheap, and I can make a hive similar to 12x14 for around €15. on.

On Honey Paw company poly Langstroth is 17€ and medium super 14€.

Weight of langstroth box is 1.0 kg. That is meaningful in working.
.

 

[mazzamazda]

Sorry that's for the whole hive with floor, box, coverboard, roof and frames.

Good price for langstroth though.

 

[Finman]

Sorry that's for the whole hive with floor, box, coverboard, roof and frames.

Good price for langstroth though.

OK, amazing prize 15€. A miracle, I would say.

 

[mazzamazda]

OK, amazing prize 15€. A miracle, I would say.

Very very hard work though, especially when I can buy them in bulk ready made and assembled and treated for €30. Moving to poly this year due to the weight of the hive.