Tbh

[xanthemara]

Hi I have just joined the forum and am new to beekeeping. I have a top bar hive, so am looking to get bees next year hopefully. Would appreciate any advice that might be out there.

 

[Luminos]

 

[drex]

Best way to start a tbh is with a prime swarm. Still swarms about, and still time to build up to decent colony ready for this winter. I would not usually recommend starting out on your beekeeping journey with a tbh. The learning curve tends to be even steeper than with "conventional", but have fun and enjoy. Read as much as you can in the meantime. Joining an association can teach you a lot about beekeeping and you may meet a few fellow TBH owners ( I do have two Kenyans and a Warre as well as my nationals)

 

[Little John]

Would appreciate any advice that might be out there.

Yes - as others have said - get some swarm boxes out there ! They needn't be anything elaborate. Or ask around for swarms - and get some bees in your hive this year - planning and reading-up is all very useful, but nothing beats the real thing.

If it feels a bit scary at first - don't worry - we've all been there (even if some of us are a bit too old now to remember all the fine details ...).

Then you can come back here and ask "Hey - what do I do next ?" etc - for which you'll undoubtedly get conflicting answers - but you'll get used to that.

Oh - and by the way - Welcome ...

LJ

 

[madasafish]

I agree: join your local Association and learn to handle bees. It makes a TBH much easier...

 

[Steved6530]

Best way to start a tbh is with a prime swarm. Still swarms about, and still time to build up to decent colony ready for this winter.

A prime swarm is no doubt the cheapest option, but as a new beekeeper you might lack confidence in collecting a swarm. Some commercial beekeepers offer TBH nucs although these can be expensive.

I would not usually recommend starting out on your beekeeping journey with a tbh. The learning curve tends to be even steeper than with "conventional", but have fun and enjoy.

I tend to disagree, 'conventional' methods of beekeeping can be off putting not least the sheer expense of starting out. TBH's are cheap to make and easy to work with(no heavy lifting, no making up of frames and other brood boxes/supers) I wish I knew about TBH's 25 years ago when I started beekeeping. If anything the learning curve is less steep than with conventional hives. Bee life cycle, pests and diseases needs to be learnt regardless of hive style.

Read as much as you can in the meantime. Joining an association can teach you a lot about beekeeping and you may meet a few fellow TBH owners ( I do have two Kenyans and a Warre as well as my nationals)

I agree with the sentiments above. TBH beekeeping is growing in popularity and some associations will no doubt be more welcoming than others. There are other forums on the 'net which might prove useful - Yabeep and Biobees to name but two.

Whichever way you decide to go, learn from your mistakes, don't be shy about asking for help/advice and enjoy your bees.

Steve

 

[xanthemara]

new to beekeeping

Thanks for the advice, I have joined the local association as well as the SBKA. Not many swarms around here at the present time and what there is the local BKA collect for their members who have lost bees. I am happy to go collect swarm myself if I get a call, from any of the people I have left my number with. Not expecting some this year, so will see what next year brings, hopefully some bees to get me going.

 

[Koadklae]

I live in Brittany and have a sloping sided TBH, which is working well, but I decided to build a parallel sided Tanzanian TBH, so that I could use the standard Dadant Frames. This has been over successful and has a very large colony in. I then came across a site referring to Dartington long hives and decided that the only difference between that and a TBH is that the Dartington has supers to collect the honey, so I have decided to create two supers, my hive is 4 ft. Tese supers will be std Dadant, but if you make your TBH to take National frames you could use supers from a National hive. all pretty basic stuff but it has taken me nearly 6 months to work ythis out. taking a super from an horizontal hive is easier than from a vertical one. If it is successful then I shall make half sized supers, which will be even easier to handle. The principle is the same s the beehaus, but considerably cheaper.

 

[Tom Bick]

I live in Brittany and have a sloping sided TBH, which is working well, but I decided to build a parallel sided Tanzanian TBH, so that I could use the standard Dadant Frames. This has been over successful and has a very large colony in. I then came across a site referring to Dartington long hives and decided that the only difference between that and a TBH is that the Dartington has supers to collect the honey, so I have decided to create two supers, my hive is 4 ft. Tese supers will be std Dadant, but if you make your TBH to take National frames you could use supers from a National hive. all pretty basic stuff but it has taken me nearly 6 months to work ythis out. taking a super from an horizontal hive is easier than from a vertical one. If it is successful then I shall make half sized supers, which will be even easier to handle. The principle is the same s the beehaus, but considerably cheaper.

Always happy to learn something new but I will need a bit of explanation to work that out.