Moving hives out to fields

[Jeff Buzz]

End of last year I moved some hives into my garden from some subject to flooding over winter and so I could feed and generally keep an eye on them.

I am planning to site them in a field surrounded by rape bounded by 3 different farms hoping that as they may possibly be using different varieties of rape and using different husbandry the bees will have a choice of rape to collect from.

When would be the best time to move to move them out please????

 

[drstitson]

aside from difference blooming time depending upon when sown (ie spring vs winter OSR) i'd have thought that UK arable farming was so standardised that there are very few commercial varieties used and that "husbandry" would be fairly standardised too.

Not sure how much organic OSR there is grown in UK - presumably some for "premium" oils for cooking.

 

[Finman]

.
rape needs a good fertilization that it gives nectar and abundant blooming.

I have only bad experiences about "organic rape blooming". It is waste of bees.

 

[burren]

i wonder if anyone can advise the poster on the best time (of year) to move the bees as his question has not been fully answered. I would imagine sometime very soon, but am not qualified to answer this yet!

 

[Heather]

Am moving house so I am moving mine within next 3 weeks before they get any supers involved.
Lovely vendor is allowing them to be there before I move to the new place, as that may be in June.
The weight is the only problem I can envisage. Prepare the ground to ensure hive totally level, and preferably with a slab base to avoid any stand sinkage or mole disturbance (and you can monitor hive behaviour from the drop underneath).

You can move any time. I will be giving each 1 litre of 1:1 syrup after the move to keep them happy whilst they reorientate.

 

[justme]

i wonder if anyone can advise the poster on the best time (of year) to move the bees as his question has not been fully answered. I would imagine sometime very soon, but am not qualified to answer this yet!

I'm also not experienced enough really to answer but would think as long as they are there as soon as it starts to flower then that wouldn't be too late.

Just athought, are you placing them on farms land? Is it already arranged? You dont want to turn up and find someone has already placed hives on your chosen site and not have an alternative.
Hope this helps for now until the big boys/girls come along:.)

sorry, slow typer:.)

 

[drstitson]

without having the detailed experience re midlands expected blooming times (where's rab) the simple answer is anytime before they start blooming (to maximise yield/benefit to hives; anytime while they are blooming is better than nothing).

obviously exact time wrt now would depend upon local forage in the run up to OSR - the large open fields are probably fairly sterile at present whilst gardens are productive. again - depends upon your exact locale (both present and intended).

 

[Jeff Buzz]

There are over 20 different variates of Rape available to UK farmers.

Over many years of crop rotation and different soil husbandry I would guess there could be quite significant differences in flowing and nectar offerings from the 3 farms.

I can put my hive where I like on the 1200 acre farm why not put my hives were the bees can choose where they would like to forage I am sure they will be able to work it out better than me.

At the end of the day I have nothing to lose.

Still dont know when best to move my hives though

aside from difference blooming time depending upon when sown (ie spring vs winter OSR) i'd have thought that UK arable farming was so standardised that there are very few commercial varieties used and that "husbandry" would be fairly standardised too.

Not sure how much organic OSR there is grown in UK - presumably some for "premium" oils for cooking.

 

[Jeff Buzz]

Thanks for reply doc

They are in a village garden so it may be best perhaps to leave them there until the rape is coming into flower do you think??

 

[Jeff Buzz]

Hi Justme

No one else putting hives on farm so no problem there.

Thanks for reply

Jeff

 

[drstitson]

i'm sure others will have opinions but that's what i'd do - leave them to build up (perhaps with a bit of hands on brood manipulation as per PH!) on the back of (relatively) "rich" village forage then move out onto the OSR fields when needed. IMHO much better than letting them struggle out in the prairie like vast nothingness of large scale modern arable farms.

 

[Bob Bee]

i wonder if anyone can advise the poster on the best time (of year) to move the bees as his question has not been fully answered. I would imagine sometime very soon, but am not qualified to answer this yet!

 

[Winker]

Thanks for reply doc

They are in a village garden so it may be best perhaps to leave them there until the rape is coming into flower do you think??

Your bees need a good source of pollen around 5-6 weeks prior to going to the OSR this will help them build the brood needed to forage the OSR. The best place for them to get the pollen is in town due to all the gardens with snowdrops etc. There is no point in moving your hives before the OSR is in bloom. If you want to place them on the OSR before its comes into flower I would suggest feeding with pollen patties until the OSR is ready.

 

[Winker]

i wonder if anyone can advise the poster on the best time (of year) to move the bees as his question has not been fully answered. I would imagine sometime very soon, but am not qualified to answer this yet!

Time is a man made thing that mother nature pays no attention to. You cant say that the OSR will be ready on the 15 of April every year. You need to learn to watch what's going on around you and make a judgment call.

 

[Russel]

End of last year I moved some hives into my garden from some subject to flooding over winter and so I could feed and generally keep an eye on them.

I am planning to site them in a field surrounded by rape bounded by 3 different farms hoping that as they may possibly be using different varieties of rape and using different husbandry the bees will have a choice of rape to collect from.

When would be the best time to move to move them out please????

Have you spoken to the 3 farmers as they will tell you what, when etc re. their crop and that in turn will enable you to plan your move.

 

[ashleybee]

I'm in bedfodshire and will be moving hives around the 3rd week of March. I'd prefer to wait a bit longer but as I have alot to move I'm getting the difficult to get to spots out of the way first. AB

 

[Jeff Buzz]

Thanks for your reply winker

It helps to have a little advise and what you say makes perfect sense.

I will leave them were they are until the rape starts to turn this makes it easier to feed if need be and manipulate frames and brood.

Although a little help on manipulation would be appreciated.


Cheers Jeff

Your bees need a good source of pollen around 5-6 weeks prior to going to the OSR this will help them build the brood needed to forage the OSR. The best place for them to get the pollen is in town due to all the gardens with snowdrops etc. There is no point in moving your hives before the OSR is in bloom. If you want to place them on the OSR before its comes into flower I would suggest feeding with pollen patties until the OSR is ready.

 

[Jeff Buzz]

Hi Russel

I spend a lot of time on the farm so I can see when the rape is loking to come into flower.

Have you spoken to the 3 farmers as they will tell you what, when etc re. their crop and that in turn will enable you to plan your move.

 

[oliver90owner]

Posts #6,7,11 and 14 seem to cover most things.

It is your decision - so apart from your considerations, no point in involving others to make your simple choices for you. There is no universal answer, for you, in your particular circumstances.

My ideas:

Set them close to a field, not equidistant (but, nevertheless, more distant) from each.

Pre-flow build up is important.

Forage availability before the flow is important

Feeding regime for you may be a factor, if the colonies are too big for the available forage before the OSR flow.

Physical requirements to move them may need to be considerered.

There may be other points I have not listed.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

without having the detailed experience re midlands expected blooming times

It's been close to the beginning of May this way for the past two years