So... We decided to start a bee farm. We plan on building it one hive at a time. We can't wait to see how this goes. Come along on the journey with us. We are absolutely sure there will be some challenges along the way, but We're sure it will be a whole lot of fun as well. We are going to post whether its a success or not. I will be reaching out to people for help and advise as I start this journey.
Hi from central Otago southern New Zealand 👋 🥝 👍 Nice timing 👍😄 i was just thinking about making something like this today for a few single deeps a hobbyist has that im helping. have to feed pollen and syrup or a fondant block so i can pull the honey super and Queen excluder he still has on the hive off without setting off robbing ( its mid winter here in southern New Zealand) didn't think about reinforced corners though thats a good idea👍
Hey there. Always nice to hear from other parts of the world. We got 100 degree temps (Fahrenheit) here is north Louisiana. 😁 Glad you fond this helpful. Thank you so much for the comment.
Nice Video, you gained a subscriber... When I bought my land years ago, I thought about bees but got goats instead. And I'm from the Honey Capital of the world(two cities claim it if you look it up)
I've watched other beekeeper content that using an insulated hive is great in a cold region. I would think that a highly insulated bee barn would work great in a hot area as well, but always try to have noon to afternoon shade on the bees, early daytime seems just fine.
They say direct sunlight is better for hive beetle prevention. the hives get shade around four o'clock. usually direct sunlight around 8. I might insulate during the winter months. Thanks for the comment/
If I may ask what state are you from What month did you put the bees in those boxes,And did all three of those boxes stay in that configuration all year, i sent a email request I am just another bees keeper from west of Dallas tx thanks by the way great vid.
I had trouble with BEES getting in the cow tank and drowning, I had some old trampoline net laying around, draped it over the edge with 2 clamps no more DROWNING
Something I love asking and that is how you became a beekeeper ? I bought my property and it had an established hive in an outside wall of the machine shop . I never knew of it swarming but I had bought a hive and the equipment to move the hive into . Well this spring the hive swarmed , a small swarm but a swarm which I caught and put into the hive I had bought . I called a friend who was a beekeeper and had equipment . I brought over another hive just in case and sure enough it swarmed again about a week later then twice the following week which I missed because I had no more hives . The following week it swarmed again and it was huge and other than a few robber bees the hive in the wall was gone . And now I am a beekeeper .
Mine wasn't quite that dramatic..lol. my wife started watching bee content on you tube ( on the TV in the living room) and I got interested. So I bought equipment and a nuc the next spring.
I'm not sure why you would do this without testing for mites before and after the powdered sugar treatment unless its well supported by peer reviewed research.
When you pulled out the slats, how many did you squash laying it flat? I'm sure I heard a few screaming 😂 Oc I have no idea what I am talking about as I don't have bees.. was just an observation while watching... GL to you and the bees.. 🇬🇧
I have totally been in your shoes boss. What I learned was to cut the top and the bottom off a big can of beans so it makes a tin-tube to hold a pack of straw and some kindling to light my smoker and keep it lit. Just drop the tube into the smoker and can even have one or two ready in reserve. Or maybe a fat juicy cigar - bees love that. Smoke 'em till they hum.
I no that your kinda new with bees I noticed when you pulled your inner cover off you didn’t look underneath to make sure your queen wasn’t on the board sure hate to see you loose your queen
Great to see new Beekeepers! 🎉🐝💚 ...keep going and take your time...another poster mentioned losing the gloves...id agree...i use nothing or rubber washing up gloves if i feel its necessary....if you can do without your bees will learn your scent faster & can be more settled knowing it's you!..they also tickle wonderously when they walk on your hands & you can feel where they are more sensitively...or thin nitrile gloves if you feel you need them.....another treatment alongside sugar dusting is an eco-floor....its a living floor that mimics the floor of a woodland...so when the bees groom the varroa off each other after sugar dusting then they get dropped on the eco floor and the woodland critters dispatch the varroa and disappear into the food chain...look up eco floor for top bar hives on a guy called phil chandler www.biobees.com ....great info for more natural beekeeping...look for his book, the barefoot beekeeper, he worked for years at Buckfast Abbey which is a centre of excellence here in the uk 🇬🇧 did a course 10 years ago...font of info & an all round advocate for naturally treating bee diseases. Liked & subbed...will be following your journey & great that i learned something new today too !🎉🐝💚🐝💚🐝
Humm. Didnt even think about that. Time will tell I suppose. Ill let you know if you are right or not. Might Go check on them next week end and find out. Thanks for the comment.
first year beekeeper. thanks for the video (subscribed) and yes as a newbee I dont pretend to know anything better than anybody else but my teachers are the bees, not the veteran beekeepers. Lots of ignorant practices accepted as conventional wisdom like feeding white sugar, moving hyves around and placing 10+ hyves close together. the jury is not out on anything if you adk me.
I like your video, I am an even newer beekeeper than you, lol. I vape when handling them and they dont mind. I use flavorless 100% VG 16mg nic. I think they dont like the flavoring or the PG. Just a thought
Beekeeping is a continuous learning process. Even the so called bee masters don’t have all the answers. But they do have valuable information. Tailor your needs for your bees. The so called generic information doesn’t apply to every area. Your honesty is a fresh nice perspective. My advice, learn all you can and don’t give up. I’ve been keeping bees on and off for 30 years. Have I made mistakes? YES. I try to learn from them and not repeat them. Will I make more mistakes? Yep. But I’m still going to keep at it. Excellent video sir. Keep making them. I’m subscribing to your channel.
A family member would bring weak bee hives to my cabin in Manitoba Canada. This area is all bush with awesome blueberry. Chokecherry, and Saskatoon bushes plus many other wild flowers. (Awesome honey) No farmers fields around for 10 miles. Which means no chemicals for these bees to make them sick. He has neglected them a bit so i bought them from him this year. For winter i wrap them with moving blankets. I think that wicks the moisture away . Cold wong kill them but if its damp in the hive it will be a problem . Yes, i to have lots to learn. Thanks for your input.
I would wax foundations around the drawn stuff and reuse all your resources. Comb is gold for the bees.Bees will clean up about anything if its usable a little bit.
I use rhubarb leaves for the mites. They have oxcilic acid in them...I just lay one on top of frames, the bees chew them up and carry them out ,that kills the mites and doesn't harm them or the honey.
I actually just called my local farmers market. I have phone numbers to 4 farmers who grow rhubarb in my area. Maybe I might be able to keep a few hives on their property, a win win deal for both.
RU-vid recommended this video. I'm gonna follow along. My only "advice" is slow down. Focus on making videos about what YOU want to do and what you are doing. Not what you think everyone else needs to do.
Thanks for sharing, nice to see new bee keepers! That fancy hive tool is like a Swiss army knife, tons of gadgets that get in the way of the tool. Try the standard red one, I personally prefer the one that's like a flat roof prybar, the one with the j-hook is ok, but used much less. Bananas, hmm.
I have one of the other hive tools as well. I'm sort of stuck using this one for a while, since it was given to me as a Christmas gift...know what I mean. lol
You can also tell you have a Queen from bee behavior. When the bees are calm the Queen is in. If they are browsing around a little aggressive there might be no queen in the hive. You also can hear it, when no queen is in, they sound louder and different, not the usual humming you know.
Couple things, just as feedback to your comments. 1) Yes nectar/honey and pollen is what they call bee bread or bee food. 2) Typically, the queen is found where there is the most eggs standing straight up in the cells. If she is laying, she is looking for the next closest empty hole, so them standing eggs give a good starting point. 3) I have been keeping bees since 94, and can honestly say I haven't heard about putting banana for them to eat. I know their alarm pheromones, smell like bananas. 4) Propolis aka bee glue. Thanks!
Thank you for the comments, I really do appreciate it. I found lot of people checking out the banana thing but, This guy here, www.youtube.com/@southflbeekeepingwithrich is the one I got the most infor about it from. His video on it is the one that made me decide to give it a try.
ok. That is the first time I have heard of the skunks. Makes sense though. Thanks for the advise. I worry more about wild hogs out where I have my hives.
Yeah, I think that's old pollen that has mildewed. The bees will clean that up. Nectarizing is a word, now, you made it so. Drawn comb is gold! Yes, you can use it if there was no other issues. I wouldn't use someone else's that had been sitting in a barn for years, though. That is new and will give your next colony a great head start. I keep my brood in the bottom deep because bees work their way up in a hive, all the while insuring the queen has comb to lay in. When a brood chamber gets to 70% full, (7 of 10 frames), I add another hive body, above. Here that means a second deep, farther south it could be a medium. The second body is for the bees to put honey and pollen in for their own use overwinter. Best to move any brood to the bottom chamber during inspections, I'm told. All that is for the bees to overwinter with. Wait until both chambers are 70% before adding a honey super for yourself. If the honey super gets to 70% you can add another super for your honey harvest. There are many things that can cause deadouts; starvation, mites and poisoning are tops. Given my experience of many losses I'm guessing your bees starved. If you didn't do mite tests, it's very possible it was mites. Hope this helps. I'm by no means an expert so, take it with a grain of salt. Thanks.
Howdy, 6 year beekeeper here. Enjoyed watching your video. And, subscribed. You're right, there's plenty to learn. Three things to watch: 1. Varroa destructor, Mites. They can sneak up on you so, you need to learn about and test for them. 2. Starvation. I lost 80% of my hives last winter to starvation. 3. Swarm cells. If your hive swarms you lose half your colony. Unless you capture the swarm yourself. Bonus #4 Don't grow too fast. The bees can easily out grow your experience. I'm by no means a know it all. Yes, I have lost most of my bees overwinter, twice. I think that comes under #4 above. This year I have about 25 colonies down from about 65 at one point. It's cost me some serious money. There is something else if you want to be successful, don't quit! That goes for RU-vid, too. Don't quit! Thanks.
Thank you for the encouragement. That is one of the reasons I'm putting my stuff out here like this, for some feed back and maybe to encourage others to give it a try. Thank you for the comment and the subscribe.
@@deesbeeshoneybeefarm-ds7yk Your welcome. I do it for the fun of it and hope others enjoy my ramblings. And, hope someday RU-vid will support me in my retirement.
I've just started my 3yr beekeeping. I've been through an infestation of mites where I had to buy all new bees and the swarming. So definitely a trial and error hobby and expensive. The you tube videos I go to for info is David Burns I have also bought his classes. He is a wealth of info and been a big help to me just getting started. One thing I've learned is learning the different stages of larvae that way you can see if your queen is laying without actually seeing the queen and when was the last time she laid. I am interested to see how the banana works.
I have watched some of his content as well. He does know a lot. Yea I cant wait to see if they actually ate the whole banana, peels and all. we will see this weekend.
If you as a 3 Year “beekeeper” thinks a banana will work you probably own a flow hive . They make wax by consuming extra energy from an abundance of nectar/feed . A banana will do nothing.
Hi There! This video was on my FYP, so I'll keep watching. I also wanted to say as a 4th year beek, I respectfully disagree that you're not a beekeeper from day one. Colony management includes to inevitable loss of bees.
Don't really know. Trying to figure that out myself. I think the black widow was in here before we put the bees in the hive and the bees had pushed her over to the last frame.
