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Heather

Queen Bee
Joined
Dec 7, 2008
Messages
4,131
Reaction score
128
Location
Newick, East Sussex
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
6
Is there a bee keeper on the forum who uses Top bar hives and lives within a 20 mile radius of Brighton on the South Coast. I have a new beekeeper friendwho would like to learn about them. Cheers, Heather
 
Hi Heather, a good place to look for information on TopBar Hives, including the Warre hive is the biobees.com website and forum. There is a section on the forum for local contacts, etc.
 
TBH Honey Comb

Additional question on this subject: With a TBH, is there any way that you can guarantee comb with honey only? I realise the queen excluder provides this on the other hive types. I am new as you may see, and there may be an obvious answer that I currently don't see. I have lots of people telling me they like to have some honey in the comb, and I would like to give them some without foundation and wire in, without buying the circular attachments.
Thanks,

Dave.
 
Hi Dave,have a chat with the guys on the TBH forum,no offence but talking top bar hives is a little like asking about a car on a motorbike forum,we are all willing and able to help but the guys over there are experts.

I would like to see more of our members using top bar hives and chatting about them but for the technical stuff it has to be Biobee's for the best advice.
 
Admin, to extend your analogue between cars, bikes and bee hives, I use a car to get from A to B and a bike to get from A to B via C, D and E because it’s good fun.
I’d hate to think we could only talk about ‘cars’ on this forum!!


Dave, I think you will find the first comb of honey acts as a queen excluder, some times called a ‘honey barrier’ as the workers will not let the Queen go passed it. By moving this back you can increase the brood volume. I have had this in my brood boxes after putting bees in from a nuc, they go forward with the brood but not back. Moving the honey barrier frame to the back wall gives them the space they what. I dare say that putting on a super might mean they transfer the honey up and so get to the back frames.

Mike
 
I looked at building and using a TBH, over the past 2 years. I was eventually put off by how on earth you can extract the honey without destoying the colony.
The link with all the info is
http://biobees.com/

If your friend requires plans and more info, i purchased a ebook and am happy to email you it.
 
You and I Admin have to disagree on this topic.

I have very good reasons for not advocating TBH or their adherents.

PH
 
Admin, to extend your analogue between cars, bikes and bee hives, I use a car to get from A to B and a bike to get from A to B via C, D and E because it’s good fun.
I’d hate to think we could only talk about ‘cars’ on this forum!!

Mike
I think you may of got the wrong end of the stick,I am more than happy to have TBH Beekeepers on this forum but am also happy to point them towards the expert's.

Phil Chandler(The guy who owns the biobees froum) is a member on here and often posts.
 
You and I Admin have to disagree on this topic.

I have very good reasons for not advocating TBH or their adherents.

PH

PH I think you will find that on a personal level we agree but as you say,with my Admin hat on we disagree..

I have used the term "Firewood" a few times but have taken some stick for it so now prefere to sit on the fence.

Maybe over time we will pick up a few more members from the Biobee forum that prefere our more relaxed attitude and chat.
 
I just instinctively think the whole rigmarole is contentious, dangerous and will end in serious disease issues.

That is the only comment I can make that is fit to type.

The worst aspect FMPOV is that beginners are being seduced.

PH
 
The worst aspect FMPOV is that beginners are being seduced.

PH

I have noticed that as well, both on the bee forums and at local BKA meetings.
I have nothing against top bar beekeeping but I don't think it is the easiest place to start beekeeping.
Where do you get a test frame from?
How do you move a colony easily if it becomes vicious and a threat to neighbours?
Swarm control while possible is not as easy.
What also worries me a little about top bar beekeeping is the baggage which goes with it such as a total rejection of current best practice with regard to varroa control which is replaced by a dependence on more esoteric forms of treatment with varying degrees of efficiency.

It has also taken on the characteristics of a religion with a reluctance amongst devotees to have any of the basic tenets challenged at all.

There is also an assumption that it is more natural which I have to raise an eyebrow at as most bees prefer to work vertically rather than horizontally.
I think that once you "keep" bees, the natural argument becomes spurious.

Having said that, I think there is a place for it and I think there is a lot of unfair knocking. It has to be said that a lot of this is brought on by the petulant attitude of some of the more vocal top bar people. To some extent I think the movement has been hijacked by people with a more radical agenda.
 
Jon I so agree.

I happen to know one of the mods on B-L and he told me that there were in essence 6 gurus and if ever challenged they quoted each other as "proof"!

However I have a very large axe to grind over the TBH brigade so am putting away my grind stone.

PH
 
I have recently installed two of Mikes packages in TBH's for a new beekeeper,and to be quite honest i can see no more disease issues in this kind of hive any more than any other kind of hive. And these bee's will be treated properly for varroa. So no problems whatsoever. Its all beekeeping,no matter what hive you use.
 
A lot of the seduction is down to price and the ideal of not using as many chemicals. Once you realise that rose hives from thornes can be less than 70 quid and less if you make them yourself (thats all kinds of hives thanks to the internet), then the lure is somewhat reduced as a beginner.
I was all ready for doing a top bar hive and due to having read and seen one in action I decided to get used to bee's before getting a TBH.
Mines a national but I may well do a TBH for a breeding apiary in the future as they naturally produce more drones.
 
But surely if you just put a shallow frame or two into a national brood- you get loads of drone brood.
 
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