Buying Hives in the UK

[LeoFraser]

Hi all,

As I am starting out on my Bee keeping journey I wondered if anyone could give me advice on where to buy hives in the UK? I am looking for normal hives as well as an observation hive.

Thanks in advance

Leo

 

[Boston Bees]

Hi all,

As I am starting out on my Bee keeping journey I wondered if anyone could give me advice on where to buy hives in the UK? I am looking for normal hives as well as an observation hive.

Thanks in advance

Leo

Welcome to Abelo - Beekeeping Supplies since 2011
Beekeeping Equipment | EH Thorne (Beehives) Ltd
Paynes Beefarm Ltd - beekeeping equipment
Maisemore Apiaries beekeeping equipment made by beekeeping professionals (bees-online.co.uk)
Simon the Beekeeper

and Google will provide many more!

 

[The Poot]

For poly I‘ve found Abelo really good - the. Mk1 hive with deep roof.
For cedar I can recommend Exmoor bees - excellent quality hives from a family firm.
Good luck in your search.

 

[ericbeaumont]

starting out on my Bee keeping journey I wondered if anyone could give me advice

Hives are the easy part. More to the point, how have you planned to use them effectively?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

depends how much you want to spend, unfortunately you've just missed a round of mail order sales of cheaper but just as good 'second quality' British cedar hive components, but Maisemore's will probably have another mail order sale around mid June, they are flat pack but both suppliers will sell their second quality (or budget) hives at the normal price throughout the year and for a bit extra will supply them ready built.
Loads of companies out there that supply hives at reasonable prices, most have been mentioned - I can only vouch for the ones I've had personal experience such as Maisemores, Thorne, Abelo, Old Castle Farm. I won't mention the others that I can't (or won't from experience)
The next big round of sales will be at the time of the National Honey Show

 

[LeoFraser]

Welcome to Abelo - Beekeeping Supplies since 2011
Beekeeping Equipment | EH Thorne (Beehives) Ltd
Paynes Beefarm Ltd - beekeeping equipment
Maisemore Apiaries beekeeping equipment made by beekeeping professionals (bees-online.co.uk)
Simon the Beekeeper

and Google will provide many more!

Thank you

 

[LeoFraser]

For poly I‘ve found Abelo really good - the. Mk1 hive with deep roof.
For cedar I can recommend Exmoor bees - excellent quality hives from a family firm.
Good luck in your search.

Thank you

 

[LeoFraser]

Hives are the easy part. More to the point, how have you planned to use them effectively?

Good question, right now I am doing lots of bee keeping reading and gathering equipment costs etc.

Any help and guidance is welcomed and gratefully received

 

[LeoFraser]

depends how much you want to spend, unfortunately you've just missed a round of mail order sales of cheaper but just as good 'second quality' British cedar hive components, but Maisemore's will probably have another mail order sale around mid June, they are flat pack but both suppliers will sell their second quality (or budget) hives at the normal price throughout the year and for a bit extra will supply them ready built.
Loads of companies out there that supply hives at reasonable prices, most have been mentioned - I can only vouch for the ones I've had personal experience such as Maisemores, Thorne, Abelo, Old Castle Farm. I won't mention the others that I can't (or won't from experience)
The next big round of sales will be at the time of the National Honey Show
[/QUOT
Thank you

depends how much you want to spend, unfortunately you've just missed a round of mail order sales of cheaper but just as good 'second quality' British cedar hive components, but Maisemore's will probably have another mail order sale around mid June, they are flat pack but both suppliers will sell their second quality (or budget) hives at the normal price throughout the year and for a bit extra will supply them ready built.
Loads of companies out there that supply hives at reasonable prices, most have been mentioned - I can only vouch for the ones I've had personal experience such as Maisemores, Thorne, Abelo, Old Castle Farm. I won't mention the others that I can't (or won't from experience)
The next big round of sales will be at the time of the National Honey Show

Thank you

 

[pargyle]

Good question, right now I am doing lots of bee keeping reading and gathering equipment costs etc.

Any help and guidance is welcomed and gratefully received

t
I would forget the observation hive until you've got a couple of years and hives under your belt. If you are thinking it would be nice for you to observe bee behaviour ...it's unecessary at this stage of your beekeeping. They require a lot of maintenance and attention - they are not normally full size colonies and you need to be constantly fiddling with them - beyond the scope of a beginner I would suggest.

Concentrate your efforts on a conventional hive, equip it with a clear polycarbonate crown board and watch the bees on the landing board. Keep it as simple as you can in the first year. There's enough to contend with in the first couple of years without making life more difficult.

 

[E&MBees]

Maisemore have a sale this weekend, Saturday and Sunday only. Seconds of cedar and also poly hives.

 

[Wilco]

Maisemore have a sale this weekend, Saturday and Sunday only. Seconds of cedar and also poly hives.

My wallet thought it was safe until June and thus curses you.

 

[ericbeaumont]

bee keeping reading and gathering equipment costs

Good start.

Youtube? Check out Norfolk Honey Company and Black Mountain Honey, both straightforward sources of practical beekeeping. Avoid watching methods from far-away places such as Texas, which will have little relevance to UK beekeeping.

Best beginner book is the Haynes Bee Manual.

Have you handled bees? If not, do so before making any other decision. You may like the idea but the reality may make you walk away. Consider paying to attend a beginer beekeeping course at your local Beekeeping Association. Membership will gain you automatic beekeeping PLI of £10m.

Beware buying cheap kit unless you're really skint. Saving a fiver here and there is a waste of money: buy the best beesuit, smoker, hive tool and hives that you can.

For example, a suit could cost you £9.99 at Simon the Beekeeper or £189.99 at BBWear. The STB will probably have been made down to a price in Pakistan and repairs and new hoods are unlikely to be available. Bear in mind that cheap zips are unreliable, cheap hoods collapse and thicker suits are uncomfortable.

At the other end of the scale the BBWear is the best you can buy, is lightweight, will last you fifteen years and more, is made in the UK and you can send it back for repairs or buy a new hood.

Cedar or poly? English cedar has knots but is perfectly good and cheaper than knot-free Western red cedar. Both are the most thermally-efficient wood, so best avoid heavier ply and pine. Unless you're wood-savvy and have tools, buy assembled hives, at least for the first couple, so you can copy the correct layout for flat-pack if you wish.

Poly is the most thermally-efficient hive material and will last 40 years. Make sure to buy one with a standard 460 x 460mm National footprint, to allow compatibility with wood should you pick up wood boxes on your travels.

Most poly makers have variable footprints; avoid locking yourself into a unique model by using Abelo, which matches wood National in all respects, is assembled and painted and ready to go.

Nuc boxes: buy at least one for each of the two hives you run: BS are the best and Maisemore up there with them. Paint boxes with masonry or gloss paint.

Frames are best bought as seconds; you won't really notice the difference between them and the more expensive firsts. For example, Maisemore DN4 seconds are 0.61p/frame + delivery while Maisemore firsts are £1.68/frame + delivery.

Best wax in the UK is either made by your own bees - that is to say, you go foundationless after a while - or as foundation from KBS in Sussex. Other suppliers are variable and you must decide whether cheaper and perhaps impure foundation is a road down which you wish to travel.

Dadant is an expensive smoker but will last a lifetime and stay alight when cheapies go out. You may pick up a poor copy on eBay that will do a similar job, but whichever you buy, avoid those with a small firebox.

Hive tool? Stainless are variable and the best are those with a thin blade. A lot of both cheap and expensive tools are made in China, and sometimes the cheap are better than the other! Best I've found is from Jero, a Portugese knife manufacturer, but no longer available in the UK since Park Beekeeping closed last year.

Concentrate your efforts on a conventional hive

Sound advice: forget the obs. hive until you have more experience: it will take you a minimum of 2-3 seasons to be remotely competent.

What is on your shopping list so far?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Maisemore have a sale this weekend, Saturday and Sunday only. Seconds of cedar and also poly hives.

forgotten it was the spring convention this weekend. Maisemores are gearing up more towards mail order from now on, only having a stand at the Welsh convention and NHS

 

[Erichalfbee]

Maybe they will be at the new Trade Show?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Maybe they will be at the new Trade Show?

we'll see

 

[polymath]

Hi all,

As I am starting out on my Bee keeping journey I wondered if anyone could give me advice on where to buy hives in the UK? I am looking for normal hives as well as an observation hive.

Thanks in advance

Leo

Ask a local beekeeper when the next local auction is, you may not get an observation hive, but everything else is sure to be there much cheaper. Have a look at last months BeeCraft, i wrote an article about how to buy stuff at auctions This coming month it is about selling.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Ask a local beekeeper when the next local auction is, you may not get an observation hive, but everything else is sure to be there much cheaper

Not always the case, at one local auction I frequent all the outcomers turn up at the viewing, Thorne's catalogue firmly clutched in hand they use the catalogue as a guide to how much each item is worth - then pay Thornes brand new 'first quality' prices for old worm riddled kit only fit for stuffing in a smoker.

 

[ericbeaumont]

buy stuff at auctions

where to buy hives

If you buy at auction, Leo, beware the risk of disease: scrape & scorch wood and bleach poly according to BeeBase guidelines in the pdf Hive Cleaning & Sterilisation.

While you're there, sign up to BeeBase: it's confidential and helps the inspectorate manage local disease outbreaks.

 

[rossbyjove]

Hi all,

As I am starting out on my Bee keeping journey I wondered if anyone could give me advice on where to buy hives in the UK? I am looking for normal hives as well as an observation hive.

Thanks in advance

Leo

Beekeeping Equipment | EH Thorne (Beehives) Ltd