A newbie Beek and her adventures

[dragonlaurel]

Bee- Here's a link for you about building hives:
http://www.acresusa.com/toolbox/reprints/June04_beehive.pdf
The magazine is really good too.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

That is pretty cool, didn't know you could do TBHs out of 55 gallon barrels. I have a spare barrel in the barn, that was used as a waterbarrel, but has lost it's plug... Hmmm...

I wouldn't mind a couple of topbars along with my langstroths.

Can you paint a barrel? This one is blue, throw on a piece of scrap sheet metal and it would look pretty thrown together. These hives are in the backyard, particularly the garden, I am going to put copper top A-frame hives in the garden, so I'd like to make the barrels look nice. Ya know what I mean?

 

[Farmfresh]

Couldn't a person build the normal (Langstroth) hives too? They just look like simple boxes. If you had the right dimensions to fit the frames it should work, right?

 

[reinbeau]

You can, but they're not very expensive to buy - knocked down, of course. I forget, but they don't cost much more than the wood they're made of, as long as you're prepared to nail and glue them together yourself. I know people who have purchased them all put together and painted, that's expensive!! Plus when you do it yourself you know they're well built. Hubby put them all together, frames included (I helped with the wax foundation and painting).

Best if you can buy them when the company is offering free shipping, however, it's the freight costs that'll bust your budget to pieces!

 

[Farmfresh]

Good advice!

 

[me&thegals]

You can, but they're not very expensive to buy - knocked down, of course. I forget, but they don't cost much more than the wood they're made of, as long as you're prepared to nail and glue them together yourself. I know people who have purchased them all put together and painted, that's expensive!! Plus when you do it yourself you know they're well built. Hubby put them all together, frames included (I helped with the wax foundation and painting).

Best if you can buy them when the company is offering free shipping, however, it's the freight costs that'll bust your budget to pieces!

Yes, that would make a HUGE difference in cost!

Ann, I think you have pointed out before that Brushy Mountain has free shipping in Dec, right? I imagine that would also be an enormous savings!

I would like to try foundationless Langstroths someday I'm having fantasies of 150-lb harvests per hive

 

[reinbeau]

Brushy Mountain usually offers free shipping, I'll keep my eyes peeled when the new issues of Bee Culture and ABJ come out - there will be a coupon code in one or the other that needs to be used, I'll post it here when it comes up - if it does! Times are tough all around, but the bee industry is doing ok, I think, because of all of the new beeks coming on board

 

[noobiechickenlady]

I'm just enjoying reading all this information.

 

[Iceblink]

I ordered my hive from Brushy Mountain, they had free shipping in Dec, but only east of the Mississippi. Bummer.

Reinbeau, and all you others, is there a breed you prefer? I have been reading a lot of bee books, and it seems that Russians would probably do best in my climate, but then there are types and hybrids that only have letters or numbers, not a name, how do I know what they are like?

Also, if I buy Russians now, and add another hive next year, can I, for example, add Buckfasts?

Oh, and is it a big deal if supers have external handles? Instead of the inset 'smile' handles? I saw a picture of the hives that are on top of the Paris Opera House, and one of them had external handles, but other than that...........

 

[reinbeau]

I don't think you're going to find hive bodies here that have external handles - you could always add them yourself, if you really want them.

There is no one 'breed' of bee that's best for you, it depends on your local situation. If possible, find someone local who sells bees and work with them to build up your stock. Bees that have been grown in your climate will do the best for you.