Posted: 1/9/2010 12:54:50 PM EDT
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Been researching BKing for a short while and came across the smaller TBH's. I'm not looking to produce massive quantities of honey, but just to get into the hobby and learn. If I get some honey and wax, great. I know there is some debate reguarding removing the comb (TBH's) vs. using an extracter (langsworth style) as to which is better in the long run. Looking for input from any of you that have experience with TBH's, and thoughts overall.
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In the long run,we're all six feet under. so don't worry about the long run. Your first goal is to overwinter a hive of bees. No better way than to make yourself a TBH and GO!!! Oh, well maybe a better way is for someone to GIVE YOU a bunch of "kit" equipment. (very rare to get good used eqpt.)
When you tire of your TBH, you can use it as a swarm trap! So it's hard to lose. Now if you are going to go all out in the carpentry area, build a langstroth hive......but if your time/money/skills are limited, TBH all the way. |
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In the long run,we're all six feet under. so don't worry about the long run. Your first goal is to overwinter a hive of bees. No better way than to make yourself a TBH and GO!!! Oh, well maybe a better way is for someone to GIVE YOU a bunch of "kit" equipment. (very rare to get good used eqpt.) When you tire of your TBH, you can use it as a swarm trap! So it's hard to lose. Now if you are going to go all out in the carpentry area, build a langstroth hive......but if your time/money/skills are limited, TBH all the way. I have to agree with this. When I got into beekeeping 2 years ago I didn't have the money to buy equipment, but I had free lumber and time and tools, so I made some top bar hives. I'm now two years into it, I have a full-time job and a life. Top Bar hives take more management in my opinion and it is a little bit of a hassle. The bees still survive and get along fine. But I haven't had a single hive yet that didn't build cross-combs (combs that cross between bars). And it seems like when they do build cross combs, they build a lot of them. At one point, one of my hives was about 3/4 cross-combs that couldn't be cut apart. So I didn't really get to check in on those bees that well. I didn't see that queen at all for the first season. Things are also more challenging with top bar hives like: you have to hold the comb certain ways so it doesn't break off, there are moisture problems with top bar hives, no widely available equipment (like feeders, winter covers, etc). I could probably go on but the basic message I want to get across is this; If you don't have much money to spend, and you're pretty handy with wood-working, and don't mind a little more hassle with managing, then by all means, build TBHs, they're a great starting place. However, if you can afford it, I would recommend you get Langstroth equipment. If I expand any I won't be building anymore TB hives, I'll be getting commerical equipment just for the ease of it. |
| as far as feeding bees in a TBH, some guys put regular sugar and pile it ona paper plate and put it right on top the top bars. regular dry table sugar and they can eat it but must use water carriers to make it eat-able. Can also do open feeding with a quail waterer full of sugar water. |
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as far as feeding bees in a TBH, some guys put regular sugar and pile it ona paper plate and put it right on top the top bars. regular dry table sugar and they can eat it but must use water carriers to make it eat-able. Can also do open feeding with a quail waterer full of sugar water. Yes, there are ways, but its more challenging. Especially if you need to medicate during early spring, when its too cold for open feeding, or opening the hives often. Entrance feeders are convenient to do this on Lang equipment, but because of the lack of TBH standards, there really aren't any option out there for TBH entrance feeding unless you make it yourself. Last spring, when I had to treat a hive for nosema, I ended up coming up with a solution that trickled treated sugar water in through a hole in the follower board, but then I couldn't get them to take it (likely because they didn't find it all the way in the back of the hive. It was more aggravation than it was worth and I feel that my problems could've been more easily solved with a commercial hive. |
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Thanks for the thoughts guys. I'm still undecided. Been researching the local laws. No inspections in KS, and I'm pretty sure there are no local ordinances against it. Only thing mentioned was farm or exotic animals''. Bee's aren't an animal.  Some localities do consider them livestock. So you may have troubles, but for most hobby beekeepers, 1 or 2 hives in the back yard is not a problem. If you have bad neighbors, try to keep them from finding out. If you have good neighbors, you may want to ask how they feel about having bees first. They may initially say no, but a little education on bees will usually solve those problems with a good neighbor. |
asking how neighbors feel about bees is a guaranteed way to have a neighbor flip out about "killer bees." forgiveness, not permission.  It's your land. Bees won't bother your neighbors. They won't notice - if you don't tell them. Opsec.
besides, if they were ok with bees, don't you think they'd already have gotten some? to most soft skinned cubicle bots, asking if they mind if you get some bees is like asking if you can start a diamondback scorpion farm that doubles as a meth lab. |
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asking how neighbors feel about bees is a guaranteed way to have a neighbor flip out about "killer bees." forgiveness, not permission. It's your land. Bees won't bother your neighbors. They won't notice - if you don't tell them. Opsec.
besides, if they were ok with bees, don't you think they'd already have gotten some? to most soft skinned cubicle bots, asking if they mind if you get some bees is like asking if you can start a diamondback scorpion farm that doubles as a meth lab. Thats not entirely true. I asked my neighbor on each side before I got them and both didn't care. One was a retired farmer who is bored living in town and likes to keep active and enjoys all the help my sons give him. The other has 9 kids and is to busy to care I think. It also helps that he has fruit trees alongside mine. Also the hives are about 100 yards from their houses. I initially told them "a" hive but I got 6 this summer. 3 here and 3 out of town. Went out yesterday and found 1 was dead.  2 of the swarms were August hives and they were vey week.
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| that's great. Each situation will be different. If you are able to educate your neighbors in the process it will be easier. But a beginner often doesn't have answers to questions - questions about allergies, africanized bees, what happens if they swarm into the neibor's house (crazy i know but one asked me that). If you are going to do th permission route, it helps to be equipped to eduate the neighbor in the process. |
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that's great. Each situation will be different. If you are able to educate your neighbors in the process it will be easier. But a beginner often doesn't have answers to questions - questions about allergies, africanized bees, what happens if they swarm into the neibor's house (crazy i know but one asked me that). If you are going to do th permission route, it helps to be equipped to eduate the neighbor in the process. Thats why I specified. If you have a good neighbor, that you get along with, ask and educate them. If you have a bad neighbor, then just do it. |
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No close neighbors at all. Just gonna me a 30 mile round trip drive to tend to them. That could be a good thing or a bad thing. A lot of starters tend to check in on their bees too often because they're curious (learning) and still really enthusiastic. So the distance may keep you from checking them too often. Or, you'll want to make the drive there every weekend, or even twice a week and it'll cost you a lot in gas. Then, after your enthusiasm dies down a little bit you won't want to go check them at all. |
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No close neighbors at all. Just gonna me a 30 mile round trip drive to tend to them. That could be a good thing or a bad thing. A lot of starters tend to check in on their bees too often because they're curious (learning) and still really enthusiastic. So the distance may keep you from checking them too often. Or, you'll want to make the drive there every weekend, or even twice a week and it'll cost you a lot in gas. Then, after your enthusiasm dies down a little bit you won't want to go check them at all. YOu won't learn as much if you can't open the hive. Yes, you can open the hive too much. But there is really no other way to learn. New beekeepers aggravate their bees. It's just the way it is. If you have not looked at Beesource, by the way, there are all kinds of plans there. I don't know if htey have any good TBH plans, but they have darn near everything else. kitties |