?? ﾁbout bees

[AlbertC]

Am thinking about learning about and possibly getting into beekeeping. Does anybody here have knowledge of beekeeping?

How much time does beekeeping take? Do you have to do anything daily, weekly, etc?
Do you have to worry about varmints, racoons, skunks, foxes, destroying the hive.
Do you enjoy keeping bees?

Thanks

 

[Utopia Texas]

The best/largest forum on the Internet for Bee Keeping information is Bee Source.
Beesource.com - Beekeeping resources for beekeepers since 1997!
See if your local area has a County sponsored Bee Club. Mine in Texas has about 110 full time members and we help each other out a lot..
Get free catalogs from Dadant,Brushy Mountain and Mann Lake to read up on supplies.
I have 4 hives and check them 5-6 times a year and really enjoy the hobby.
Generally get 12-15 gallons of honey a year. Can be a lot of work depending on how you set things up. Just like gardening for food you can go small to mega large.

 

[Xfaxman]

Here is more Bee info: Robo's World

 

[troutsqueezer]

The answer to many of your questions is "Yes", but not all of them. There is too much to explain here. I have a page on my website, setup to introduce newbees to the art. There is a PowerPoint there you can also download.

Beekeeping

 

[BeezFun]

We let a guy put his hives on our property, that might be an option for you to get started depending on your goal. If you just want the honey, he gives us all we want because he just does this for a hobby and doesn't need the money. You can pick the guys brain and learn how to do things before you make any investment to see if you like it.

 

[forgeblast]

I run a warre hive. I can say that beesource and biobees are the two places that have answered any/all of my questions.

 

[RobertBrown]

Am thinking about learning about and possibly getting into beekeeping. Does anybody here have knowledge of beekeeping?

How much time does beekeeping take? Do you have to do anything daily, weekly, etc?
Do you have to worry about varmints, racoons, skunks, foxes, destroying the hive.
Do you enjoy keeping bees?

Thanks

The questions you are asking are area specific. if your not willing to tell us what corner of the globe you reside in, I for one have no interest in assisting you.
Hope this helps

 

[Utopia Texas]

The questions you are asking are area specific. if your not willing to tell us what corner of the globe you reside in, I for one have no interest in assisting you.
Hope this helps

OUCH!

 

[Dr_Zinj]

I'd make a guess that AlbertC is from Alberta, Canada and base any responses on that assumption.

 

[forgeblast]

Beekeeping depends on what kind of keeper you will bee. There are hands on and "bee"havers which run systems that do not disturb the bees. I open my hive up twice a year, once in the spring (in a couple of weeks) to add boxes under the main hive (nadir) and then after the first frost I will put in an excluder and pull two boxes of honey off the hive. Not every hive is run like a warre though.
My biggest pain is bear. I had one rip though fencing, crush three hives on me and rip out the other side of my fence. (The electric was shorted by blackberries). I then finished by fieldstone garden shed, added a second floor and put my hive in there. I was lucky that a swam decided to enter the hive since I told my wife I was not going to buy anymore bees. (I used lemongrass oil as a lure). I have bees again, I just want one hive atm to give us honey. I like bees but I only mess with mine twice a year, so as far as "pets" "livestock" they take no/little work.

 

[7879fordman]

Haven't got any advice since I'm new myself and jumped off the deep end . I bought 12 new hives last year but never could get any bees . I have 12 nucs bought that I'm waiting on to be ready . I just build me some hive stands yesterday . Going to run 3 hives per stand but can run 5 on them later if needed . There going to be on 4" concrete blocks at there final location .












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[vabiker23518]

Have you tried a google search for "bee keepers in XXXX(your area)? Here in Virginia there are many clubs that have monthly meetings, and offer courses for new and wantabee keepers!

 

[AlbertC]

The questions you are asking are area specific. if your not willing to tell us what corner of the globe you reside in, I for one have no interest in assisting you.
Hope this helps

Robert brown - I guess every web site has to have their resident smart A and that would be you. I am relatively new to this web site and every question I have asked has had someone respond who has tried to be genuinely helpful. Why don't you not respond at all since you have nothing constructive to say.

 

[troutsqueezer]

Haven't got any advice since I'm new myself and jumped off the deep end . I bought 12 new hives last year but never could get any bees . I have 12 nucs bought that I'm waiting on to be ready . I just build me some hive stands yesterday . Going to run 3 hives per stand but can run 5 on them later if needed . There going to be on 4" concrete blocks at there final location .

You are ambitious. Starting with that many is better than starting with one. More expensive, but you'll go up the learning curve faster.

 

[7879fordman]

You are ambitious. Starting with that many is better than starting with one. More expensive, but you'll go up the learning curve faster.

Ya thats what I was told .

I wanted to start with 20 but everyone thought I was super crazy .

But my Motto is go big or go home . Get rich or go broke try'n .

I always do it big !!!

Started to set my yard up







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[troutsqueezer]

Do you plan to start with an empty deep and an empty super on each hive? I would probably give them time to fill out the deep first, then add a second deep. Depending on your area, the supers may not be needed until next Spring. You want them to have two full deeps going into Winter and the population to match. If not, be sure to feed them so they don't starve.

 

[7879fordman]

Do you plan to start with an empty deep and an empty super on each hive? I would probably give them time to fill out the deep first, then add a second deep. Depending on your area, the supers may not be needed until next Spring. You want them to have two full deeps going into Winter and the population to match. If not, be sure to feed them so they don't starve.

I bought 5 frame nucs and am running 8 frame hives . And only plan to run only what they need .
And ya I plan to feed as needed .

The mediums are on in the pics just to play with . And will be used with a feeder inside if I don't build a feeder box .

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[woodlandfarms]

Just as an aside

We keep Mason Bees. We wanted to go Honey but in the end for what purpose. We don't really consume that much honey and our friends do not as well, and from what I understand bees are a bit more maintanence than I have time for..

Anyway, the Mason line of bees are native to the US (I do not believe Honey are) and are pretty hardy. And they are fantastic pollinators which is why we raise them. OF course it would be fun to have honey but I travel too much to raise bees. Heck, the dogs are enough trouble as it is.

 

[2458n]

The bees will take as much or as little time as you have available - with the cold winter of 13 many beekeepers lost all their hives. Bees need our help getting started again. I am a diabetic and still enjoy working with them. Give it a try.