Raising Honey Bees

[ladyhk13]

Don't know if this is the right place for this...If not, feel free to move it.

Do any of you raise honey bees? This is something that I would love to do and thought that maybe if I planned throught the winter I could get organized enough to start up in the spring. Advice, thoughts, ideas, info....all would be appreciated!

[bacpacker]

Check with your local library. or county Ext agent. Around here the local beekeepers have an organization and have monthly meetings at our library. They welcome in new folks to try and get the hobby more widespread. I'll bet there is something similar around you.
My grandpa and uncle used to raise bees when I was a kid. Best honey I ever had and I love honey.
Since you have a large orchard it's probably the one biggest thing you can do to benifit the pollination of your fruit.

[mollypup]

Great topic ladyhk13! Hubby and I want to raise bees and will do so right when the S starts to HTF. He's scared too right now because we're not zoned for beekeeping. I'm willing to break stupid rules like that but he isn't. I bought. "Bee Keeping For Dummies" a couple of months ago but haven't read it yet. I would LOVE to raise honeybees!!! Someone on the other site (the one that shall remain unnamed) said to put signs out if SHTF warning "Africanized Bees! Stay Away!"

I might do that anyway even if I don't have any bees. I can always build bee-hive looking boxes and post warning signs. Anything to help keep looters away.

[ladyhk13]

Molly, I know there are some areas in neighborhoods where you can keep bees with no problems. Can you check with your HOA and see? A lot of places are doing backyard chickens too (just no roosters).

[izzyscout21]

I'm gonn ahave to stay away from the bees. I don't have enough epi pens to ward off the nasty after affects of me getting caught in an angry swarm.

[Taz Baby]

I am raising this thread from the dead. I am getting ready to start the beekeeping world. When I was young I tried to learn about them with my uncle. He raised the bees and was teaching me how. I found out then that bees love me as in love me more than making honey. They would not stay off me. My uncle didn't need smoke to keep the bees away as long as I was there. I would just walk away from the hive and they would follow me. Of course I was in a full armor bee suit. So now I am going to try it again. Does anyone raise bees? If so where is the best reasonable place to buy your equipment? Also what do you have to do from start to finish? I have the books but I would rather learn from someone who has already done bees and knows the do's and don'ts. what are the best kind get get? or do you just put up a hive and see what comes to it?

[ladyhk13]

Taz look and see if there is a local chapter up there. We have a group here that meets the first Monday of each month and they teach all about them, they even give out a grant each year for someone to start up their hives...all equipment, bees, hives, everything you need. It might be a little late to qualify for that but the group would still be there. Look online.

[vukic]

Online is your easiest bet, for bee keeping.knowledge... I put.loads of time.into.researching top bar hives.. Which produce higher amounts of beeswax, ideal in a shtf situation, for candles etc..

[ladyhk13]

I was thinking Top Bar as well. They seem to be a really good design and user friendly.

[vukic]

I was thinking Top Bar as well. They seem to be a really good design and user friendly.

Not only that but they are better for the bee's in general.. It's less invasive too.. The bees can design what the want/need... And if you build your own you can design it so a super fits on top to increase honey production too.. Best of both then..

[Echo2]

My brother and SIL just got their first hive set up.

Kinda blew me away when I heard there was a 40% failure rate....ouch.

But so far so good.

My friend down the road from me I had been getting honey from.....just lost 12 hives to bears. He's gonna rebuild....but that hurt. I see a very large electric fence in his future....of the buffalo variety.

[ladyhk13]

I agree about the Top bar... from my research they do seem to be the best all the way around.

Buffalo fencing.... ah don't even want to think about that. We'll be putting that all around our whole property and it's not going to be cheap.

[Taz Baby]

plywood part for jar comb honey
Lauri over on Bee Source forums shared her homemade set up for jar honeycomb. This is pretty cool. They set it up so the bees actually make the honey right in the jars.

http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/pp340/tweety4926/DSC05952.jpg




http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?266848-Made-plywood-part-for-jar-comb-honey

[vukic]

Does it actually work???

[Taz Baby]

That link has pics of it working but I have never heard much less seen this. But I will be giving it a try as soon as I get my hives