Work Experience as a Bee Farmer (23 to 27 April)

[snoop]

Interesting week would loved to have done it

 

[Mike a]

Plastic foundation from Th orn es

Available in lang and BS national
deep and shallow sizes

Less than £2 a sheet, perfectly good for years, they will pay for themselves x3 - x4 times over at least.

Use a piece of thin wood to scrap them not your metal hive tool. Even if they have solid osr/ivy simply scrap them back to the plastic and the colony will clean them up and draw them out again nicely.

 

[Chris B]

How do you rate them is one better than the other? I have got some one piece black plastic super frames but haven't tried them yet. Have you tried or will you be trying plastic brood frames?

Black one-piece edges it just because we can get them ready for use so quickly and better value (100 frames waxed per hour, cost about 75p when bought bulk direct from Greece). Snap-ins are tougher and less prone to warping but you still need a normal frame with it's associated time and cost (only 25 frames per hour and total cost > £1).

The bees seem to like both. However, they don't like the ready-waxed snap-ins, probably the wax used is rubbish.

 

[johnandyrob]

Thanks Chris obviously I dont need the same amount you do so prices go up but I still think they look good against the price of frames and foundation.From your experience the bees like them Ill have to give them a try and see how they work for me.

 

[Rachelw]

For anyone considering expanding their beekeeping to a commercial level, you could attend a course or seminar, or you could experience the real thing for a week, warts and all, with me in North Worcestershire.

Dates: 23 to 27 April 2012
Where: based Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.
Cost: £50 donation to forum (I don't want to profit but don't want timewasters either - agreed this solution with Admin.)

I can only take 3 people, so it's first 3 donations secure a place. (Mark can I ask you to make a note in this thread when full?)

I can't provide accomodation but Travelodge is less than a mile away and is £19 a night if booked well ahead. (n.b. Bromsgrove Travelodge NOT Bromsgrove Marlbrook which is 4 miles away). Good real ale pub nextdoor and curry house and fish and chips a few door down.

What will we be doing? General inspections, queen rearing, queen marking and clipping, nuc making, shook swarms/packages, moving bees, disease checks, and anything else that crops up as it's real life not a course. Unlikely to be extracting or kit maintenance but I don't mind setting a couple of hours aside to show the set-up.

And the small print:
You provide your own clean beesuit (or 2 if possible).
I'll provide gloves i.e. marigold and/or latex.
Wet weather gear - please bring some as we might have no choice but to work outside in the wet.
I'll provide lunch and drinks. You take care of own breakfast and evening meal.
You must be comfortable around lots of bees and not fearful of a sting or two.
I'll expect you to participate to some degree, but full on hard slog will be purely voluntary on your part.
Agricultural working hours i.e. some days might be longer than normal, but any casualties can retire early.
I do have an Employers Liability policy although I don't know if it's necessary in this case.

Very happy to answer questions. I might have overlooked things. Please ask.

I've picked this week as it dovetails with the Spring Convention for anyone making a long journey it might help.

Is this fantastic opportunity going to be repeated? If so I would love to take advantage of it.

Rachel

 

[yeogi75]

a brilliant in-site to commercial beekeeping well done
Chris went by your apiary yesterday osr has gone over what do you put your bees on next no pics of BMW no one had a camera well done all

 

[Cefn Eithaf]

Well Chris, how did the year turn out for you and will you be doing it again in 2013 ?

 

[Chris B]

Hi,
overall it's turned out to be an abysmal year with the bad weather. I only had a few apiaries producing anything of note, so approximately 80% down on expected total crop. It's a big loss but not as bad as some I hear. We also had a bit of a battle with EFB - we'll see next year if we've dealt with it adequately.
On the plus side I've picked up some nice new apiaries, bees are generally in good shape now, and I've sorted (for now) one of my big headaches which was limited storage space.
Will I do the work experience again? Yes definitely as the guys who came really pulled their weight. Once I get a chance to take a breather I'll get the calendar out and see where it fits best.

 

[Pete D]

I would advise anybody who wants the experience of working with hundreds of hives and millions of bees for the week to jump at this.
Chris is a nice bloke, patient and kind and will reward your hard work with a wealth of experience and knowledge that he is happy to pass on.
I would do it all again.

Pete D

 

[Pete D]

Aha, just found this again, seems like a while ago. Looking at the dates and counting back means I have not been keeping bees 4 years yet, not until next month. Got my first bees end of March 2011 and still remember the excitement of waiting for them to arrive, got stung when they did !
When David who I got them from drove off I went and sat by the hive and watched them doing their orientation flights, dawned on me then that I was responsible for them as I was now a beekeeper.
Made some cock ups since then but also had a lot of good experiences, learnt a lot and really enjoy it.
Particularly enjoy helping and mentoring new beekeepers, only this week I have been out 2 evenings with the associations beginners (22 this year) and the 2nd year beekeepers helping them get to grips with their new hobby.
I know how I felt that first day and helping others get to that stage can be very rewarding.
There are lots of different ways to keep bees but the basics I was taught on my beginners course 4 years back seem to hold true. Happy bees have plenty of food, free from disease and live in a 'house' that they would choose themselves. Those 3 main criteria can be achieved in many different ways, none are right or wrong if the end goal of the colony survival is achieved.

Since doing my basic last year I am doing the general husbandry and the first module this year so plenty of theory and classroom sessions over the winter, now just the practical and the exams themselves.

Busy year again this year as chair of the local association, AGM this week with a talk from Ged Marshall, BIBBA day next week on improving your bees, courses, demonstrations and workshops all across the coming season including a full day on bee health delivered by APHA inspectorate and partly funded by BDI.
Yep busy days, happy days.

Little bit of self indulgent reminiscing, what did I do before bees !

 

[BeeJayBee]

It does seem a long time ago.

 

[Erichalfbee]

As part of a reply elsewhere........
BUMP!