My First Apairy!

[Rob den Dekker]

Few drops in the bait hive can help as a swarm lure.
Don't "splash it all over" ... !

Cheers for the reply!

 

[Quigs]

Looks very neat!

Maybe easier for you to work the right hand hive if you move the stand forwards just a little (so you can get behind it, rather than passing in front of the entrances), and maybe a little closer to the path, to leave room for bits of the right hand hive during inspections.

Cheers - The perspective isn't quite right but I did leave enough room to pass behind and also enough room to work from the far side of the right hand hive.

 

[Quigs]

I would have two of your stands with one box in the middle of each.
That way you have room to AS each colony next year.
I like to put the parent colony next to the AS but turn it 90˚ then a week later move it to the other side, this time turning it 180˚.
Looks neat though.

Ooh...thats sounding complicated already!! I know I have alot to learn but I have arranged the apairy for room to expand if necessary, just want to see how my first year goes but thats given me something to think about, thanks!

 

[Quigs]

Depending on the lengh of the garden, i would turn the hives and have them facing towards the chickens. Much less chance of people getting stung,
Your hive stand is made from3 x 2 . A little bit on the light side. for when you have two hives and 3 supers full on each. You should have a extra cross batton on the bottom of the legs to stop them splaying out. Other than that is looks text book.
What type of chickens do you have.

Thanks - I did think about the entrance the other way but there is a public footpath about 10m in that direction so thought better of it. The area where they are located is not used by anyone as like I said it gets a bit boggy. Its also quite elevated above the area where anyone frequents (as below where the gravelled area is), so hopefully they should pass overhead.

Noted about the additional brace on the stand, I'll get additional battens across the legs.

Chickens - I have 8 Lohmans, 2 Marans and 2 Lights Sussex, Lohmans are my favourite, so friendly.

 

[BeeNice]

Have a training session on your hives, is there enough room to take stuff off and put it somewhere, also can you get the varroa boards out of the back. I have my hives on there own stands as when I had them both on one, working one sometimes distrubed the other and they came out looking for trouble. You could still have trouble going to the door by the side of the hives and may need to block the view from the hive entrance so the guard bees can't see you going about the garden.
good luck
Steven

 

[Quigs]

Thanks - I'll have a mess about tonight. I have the open mesh floors so no issues there however I am now concerend about what you said about the side door. Its not used very often but didn't realise they got that territorial, I think Ive been spoilt on my novice course where they dont seem to stress about passers by! Maybe I'll just have to move quicker!

I could quite easily alter the stand, make it into two but I did it so that I could hang frames from the gap in the middle, if that makes sense?

 

[Davelin]

The point about varroa boards is important. You have mesh floors, but you will need to put a board in to check your varroa drop and also when applying apiguard. These slide in from the back so I think you will need more room behind than you have got.

 

[BeeNice]

You should have to only take out one frame and move the rest along, I prop my outside frame, most of the time is empty or has few bees on, in front of the entrance so the bees can walk up and back in. Late in the year even the most calm of bees can get very protective. So beware.
Good luck
Steven

 

[BeeNice]

One other thing I sometimes put the 'removed frame' on top of the other flat which helps keeping the bees down a bit like a clothe.

 

[theeggman]

Lemongrass oil is £2 for 10ml. in our local health food shop, so it's worth looking around for the best price.

Tim

 

[Swarm]

I like to use two pot blocks (heavy concrete blocks with two cavities in them) as hive stands, no chance of them creaking under the weight of honey. I do have one wooden stand, 4"x2" on six 4"x4" legs and had two hives on this, with the gap between being ideal for removed supers. End of July saw three supers on one hive and five on the other. I realised the potential disaster when replacing the fifth super and felt the tower wobbling!!!

 

[Quigs]

Lemongrass oil is £2 for 10ml. in our local health food shop, so it's worth looking around for the best price.

Tim

Ordered today from the bay of fleas...£2.57 inc P&P. Thanks

 

[Quigs]

Just come in from fiddling and been thinking about the hive entrances. As I mentioned there is a public footpath about 10m behind. Its behind the large tree you can see in the background. The hedge along the righthand side stays pretty much green all year with the holly mixed and no public access down that side. There is quite a dense screen of hawthorn behind the bright green shrub to the left which borders my property. As you can see the fence is higher on the chicken side, do you think the bees would rise almost vertically rather than out across the footpath area? I know there's no guarantees but comments appreciated

 

[Davelin]

I wouldn't think they would fly through the hedge much. What I would be inclined to do is put some green mesh (eg greenhouse shading above the fence. This would force them straight up.

 

[Quigs]

I wouldn't think they would fly through the hedge much. What I would be inclined to do is put some green mesh (eg greenhouse shading above the fence. This would force them straight up.

Thanks - How much gap do you think I should leave between the entrances and the fence / screen

 

[Davelin]

Ideally 4-6 feet, but I'm not sure you have that much, difficult to judge from the pics. You need enough space to work behind them and remove varroa board, see how much that leaves in front.

 

[Quigs]

Ideally 4-6 feet, but I'm not sure you have that much, difficult to judge from the pics. You need enough space to work behind them and remove varroa board, see how much that leaves in front.

Thanks - At a squeeze I could get about 4ft with a comfortable space behind.

Interesting point about the Varroa board. Ive just had a look at my floors and dont have a slot for the board. I guess Id better carry out some mods?

 

[rustic-Crafts]

I like to use two pot blocks (heavy concrete blocks with two cavities in them) as hive stands, no chance of them creaking under the weight of honey. I do have one wooden stand, 4"x2" on six 4"x4" legs and had two hives on this, with the gap between being ideal for removed supers. End of July saw three supers on one hive and five on the other. I realised the potential disaster when replacing the fifth super and felt the tower wobbling!!!

Newbee question sorry. If you have five supers on one brood box, one for food and 4 for honey, why don't you harvest 2 of them?

 

[tonybloke]

Newbee question sorry. If you have five supers on one brood box, one for food and 4 for honey, why don't you harvest 2 of them?

perhaps because there needs to be somewhere for all the bees to be? ( some bees are very prolific)

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

The point about varroa boards is important. These slide in from the back so I think you will need more room behind than you have got.

just to note, that my hive making craftsman made me two stands where the varroa board came out at the side, so I could site the hives against a wall and work from the side. He did this without extra cost.

There are good craftsmen around who are willing to go the extra mile.

Peak H*ves, for example.



Dusty.