My new Kenyan top bar beehive with observation window!

[big brown horse]

I chose the Kenyan style beehive b/c it is very natural for the bees and I won't need a honey extractor. To extract the honey I cut a piece of hive and let it drop into the jars, then I crush the rest and strain it with a special strainer (a paint strainer from sherwin williams). There are a few downsides that I'm willing to overlook. One is that you don't get quite as much honey, the other is that you really have to know a lot about bees and their habits. Luckily with the purchase of this handmade hive I also get a full year of support from the maker. I can call or email him anytime.

These are very easy to make and don't have to be as ellaborate as this one. Just do some googling and you will get a variety of plans on how to build one yourself.


The man who made this for me made it out of cypress wood (I put a candle into the hive so you could see the observation window...)

It is really BIG! (But I can still lift it.)

This one also came with a feeder that fits perfectly into the trough shape. I just need to add a mason jar.

Here is an upclose of the feeder.

 

[big brown horse]

A little info about Kenyan beehives: http://www.ccdemo.info/GardenBees/KTBH.html

 

[big brown horse]

http://outdoorplace.org/beekeeping/kenya.htm

Advantages of a Kenyan top bar hive:

Only one critical dimension for construction (1 & 3/8")

No extractor needed

No foundation

No frames

Cheap

Less area exposed when handling bees. Great when working mean bees or when there is no flow!

No storage of supers

Less heavy lifting

More beeswax, since the honey comb is crushed to extract the honey. Comb honey production is also an option.

Disadvantages of top bar hives

Lower honey production

Harder to get advice from experienced beekeepers, since their advice is typically geared towards standard hives.

Less flexibility in swapping combs between colonies, since the combs are not built uniformly straight.

Combs are more fragile, especially in cooler weather. The fragile combs can make transporting hives difficult when they have a lot of honey in them.

Requires a higher level of knowledge about bees to be an effective beekeeper.

 

[big brown horse]

More info with a video. http://www.bees-on-the-net.com/kenya-top-bar-hive.html

Kenya Top Bar Hive | KTBH | Top Bar Hive
The Kenya top bar hive (KTBH), was developed for beekeepers in Kenya and has also been used in Uganda. The KTBH or TBH combines simplicity, economy and efficiency. Go here to see a real KTBH built by an enterprising Kenyan Eddie Muigai in Nairobi.

Unlike most common designs of modern hive, it does not use frames, rather it uses slats of wood called top bars, which is of course how the hive received it's name. Instead of filling out frames, the bees build comb from the top bars down. The bar is the only means of support that combs have in this type of hive.

Because of the simplicity of the Kenyan Top Bar Hive's design, one can be built from readily available salvaged materials. In fact the design of a TBH is so adaptable that boxes, 55-gallon-drums, old crates and even dilapidated refrigerators can be used to keep bees. In essence, nearly any large container can be modified to produce a productive honeybee hive.

Unlike most other hive designs, the KTBH does not impose artificial segregation of the colony by physically dividing honey from brood by use of separate hive bodies, rather the entire hive is made of a single chamber.

It's said, by the converts, that Kenya top bar hive beekeeping is a more healthy and sustainable method of beekeeping, it allows bees to make their own pure, natural beeswax which means they can make it in the way that suits them best. They make the honeycomb cells the size that they need them to be. In a top bar hive, they do it by building their comb straight down from the bars which rest across the top of the interior cavity of the Kenya Top Bar Beehive.

 

[Beekissed]

I'm so pleased you are going with the TBH, Sally! I think it is the best way to perpetuate the honey bees in these times when reusing wired comb frames just increases/compounds the pollutant/pesticides deposited with each new honey season.

I also love the observation window....if I ever did bees again, I would be putting one of these in my TBH as well.

I'll be expecting a journal with plenty of pics when you finally get your bees....I can't wait to see how it does for you! It's hard to find any books about this type of hive and the methods that go along with it, though I found one I like called The Barefoot Beekeeper...they have a website.

Good luck!!

 

[big brown horse]

I'm so pleased you are going with the TBH, Sally! I think it is the best way to perpetuate the honey bees in these times when reusing wired comb frames just increases/compounds the pollutant/pesticides deposited with each new honey season.

I also love the observation window....if I ever did bees again, I would be putting one of these in my TBH as well.

I'll be expecting a journal with plenty of pics when you finally get your bees....I can't wait to see how it does for you! It's hard to find any books about this type of hive and the methods that go along with it, though I found one I like called The Barefoot Beekeeper...they have a website.

Good luck!!

Thanks Bee! I'll check out the Barefoot Beekeeper right now.

 

[pinkfox]

if i ever get into bees (im currently debating the bees since im allergic but realy want them lol) ill be going top-bar.
its the kind of hive i saw most growing up in the UK, i definatly prefer them...(especially since i LOVE honey with the comb) and also hope to harvest wax for candle making too!

 

[2dream]

I am planning on bees next spring. I am really leaning towards top bar hives Thanks for posting this.

 

[Boogity]

Thanks for starting this thread bbh. We have not had bees for about 15 years and have been talking about starting over again. I would like to try a TBH design.

 

[SSDreamin]

I think the design is great and would make things easier to deal with.

Like Pinkfox, I am allergic (highly - must carry an epi at all times) but really would like to have a small colony(is that what it's called? that's what my Grama C always called hers).