Today, I walked by the several beehives and I saw them bringing pollen into the hives.
It wasn't a nice day, mostly cloudy with lots of light rain in the area. Not the best day to open a bee hive but I thought if they can work in the weather so can I. Last year we had 7 hives going into the winter. I am a hands off bee keeper in the fall. I close up the entrances (look at picture above) and walk away. I call this the sink or swim test on our homestead. I found no bees in 2 of the hives and 1 hive/colony was dead in the hive still in a ball around the frames. Not sure what happened but you can see them still all huddled together. I bet the queen is in the middle!
On a positive side we still have 4 hives and I want to make sure they have extra space for the upcoming brooding and honey season. We use 10 frames in hives that we make on the homestead out of cedar. The plastic piece on the left side if filled with mineral oil and helps rid pests from the box.
We were told that cedar would make the honey taste funny, I can assure you this is not the case. Since we had 3 hive open from last year I installed a mixture of frames with pulled comb and new sheets.
Picture of frames with pulled comb. This will attract the bees into the new box plus save a lot of energy (honey) since they don't have to pull the comb. It takes at least 8 pounds of honey to make 1 pound of wax.
This is a frame with a new wax foundation. Nothing special but you can see it has the pattern of comb stamped into the wax.
Once I had good frames in 4 boxes I was ready to make quick work of the installation since I didn't want to disturb the hives very much. The first 3 installed without any issue, then the 4th hive came alone. When I opened it 2 of the frames stuck on the lids and lifted up from the box. This really aggravated the bees and they hit me from all angles. Thankfully I had my bee suit on but they did manage to sting me on my left knee cap and on my right index finger. I didn't realize I had a very small hole on the tip of this finger. Smart little things, they know how to make you get away.
As always, thanks for reading and commenting!
We are really looking forward to keeping bees. Maybe in a year or so we will start. Have you ever heard of keeping bees in gums (hollow logs) or baskets? It is the way that we are looking at doing it when we start.
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@slhomestead - I have heard of people keeping them in hollow logs. I believe it is similar to a top bar hive. Several friends enjoy them and feel they are easy and the bees stay healthier. If you make in known you want a hive someone in the area may contact you with bees in a tree. If they let you cut the tree down that would be a good start. Once people know you keep bees you will get calls from people every year! I am hoping we get another 3-4 hives this summer. As you know bees are an excellent way to ensure good pollination.
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We had 20 hives and now we are no longer bee keepers. After my husband got stung we realized he is allergic to bees. Turns into some kind of sci-fi looking character. Sold them all to an orchard who uses them to pollinate their trees. So sad:(
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That is sad but I am glad they found a good home and your husband is safe!
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Would love to have bees...not so sure my city neighbors would like them! Keep us up to date on the progress Chris!
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Will do! Sounds like it is time to install a privacy fence?
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Thought of that YEARS ago but just never did it!
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Every time I read a post about bees I learn something new. I don't know that I am brave enough to be a bee keeper myself, but I would gladly donate space on our land to a bee keeper for a little bit of honey. My grandparents always had a ton of honey for sharing their property, and just recently someone approached my in-laws to do the same. When we finally move to our property, I will miss the copious amounts of honey always given to us. 🤣 -Aimee
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I think your approach is smart based on your resent move, in a few years you may decide you want some them you will know what your property/area is capable of producing. Great news on your move!!
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