bee hives

[jessejames]

i would really like to make a beehive or two this winter my DM has wanted to get bees for years so i think a homemade beehive would be the perfect christmas gift. aswell iam interested in maybe raising some bees too, seeing as alot of my gardening is going to be flowers for my wedding business i would think that bees would be a natural move for me.
are there some good designs out there for the DIYer
any bee info for a beginer would be great really
thanks alot

 

[keljonma]

The book, Beekeeping For Dummies is an excellent book to get.

Join your local beekeeping club. Sometimes you will find someone in the club that will mentor you and help get you started.

John over at beemaster.com is a great help. He has videos:
http://www.beemaster.com/site/honeybee/beehome.htm

and a forum: http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php

 

[Beekissed]

Try Beemaster.com forum for tons of info and some nice folks. Ann is one of our resident bee experts and I was just about to ask her some questions about varroa mites by reviving an old thread.....

 

[me&thegals]

I got plans for topbar hives from backyardhive.com. We built 4, dumped bees into 2 of them and then made a split to form a third hive. They're doing great! You really can do this with minimal $ investment if you can build things, already have tools and scrap wood.

The bees have been the most fascinating things I have ever had the privilege to enjoy! I love our chickens, turkeys and garden, of course, but these bees have our whole family absolutely in awe.

Good luck! The online forums like beesource.com, biobees.com and beemaster.com have been tremendous lifesavers.

 

[dragonlaurel]

I got plans for topbar hives from backyardhive.com. We built 4, dumped bees into 2 of them and then made a split to form a third hive. They're doing great! You really can do this with minimal $ investment if you can build things, already have tools and scrap wood.

The bees have been the most fascinating things I have ever had the privilege to enjoy! I love our chickens, turkeys and garden, of course, but these bees have our whole family absolutely in awe.

Good luck! The online forums like beesource.com, biobees.com and beemaster.com have been tremendous lifesavers.

I saved an article on top bar hives and want to try them. Seems like it would be so much easier on the back than the normal hives and the extra wax would be a huge plus to me. One hives worth would supply the household and a few hives could be some spare $

 

[me&thegals]

I just made my second batch of bees wax lip balm from a minimal amount of wax. I LOVE this stuff!