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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2015 22:04:00 GMT
Nice job! I bet that does weigh a ton. You won't have to worry about it toppling in high wind!
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Post by hobbitlady on Jul 17, 2015 1:45:06 GMT
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Post by hobbitlady on Jul 19, 2015 20:10:35 GMT
Painting will be Done tonight! yay. Here's the lid sitting on the stand. Doesn't matter if it's dark since this hive only gets full morning and dappled later sun.
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Post by nbc3mom on Jul 20, 2015 18:28:18 GMT
Wow, these are amazing! We are thinking of bees for DS's place in the future. Lots of helpful information here.
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Post by hobbitlady on Jul 27, 2015 21:18:40 GMT
Bunker Hive in place! Can hardly believe we "got er done"!!! Here are pics of the the nuc I set on the card table beside the hive, that I'll transfer from this early evening ....And the space in the new long hive waiting!
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Post by manygoatsnmore on Jul 27, 2015 22:28:53 GMT
Awesome, hobbitlady! Can't wait to hear that the bees have made the move and are settling in nicely.
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Post by hobbitlady on Jul 28, 2015 21:22:00 GMT
OK. Got it done last night with just two unforeseen problems....which considering how bees Are, wasn't so bad. 4 of the 5 bars transferred perfect but the 5th was a big oversize honey comb they attached partly to the back as well as one side. That caused a cutting mess and loss of some drown bees,but considering the big population,it was sad, but not a terrible loss. They also had a hole above the bars in the nuc I didn't know about,and over 100 bees were hanging out up there and got very mad at me when I first took the lid off,and got all over my suit as soon as I started. I hadn't foreseen stirring them up before I even started,especially near dark,so I had to go fire up my smoker and use it. Then I got to go knock on the door and get DH to bring me a bowl because I had to take off some of the over-wide honey comb to fit in the new space properly. That resulted in drips all over, that the bees covered to drink outside where I didn't want them,but I assumed that the queen was in the new hive and they'd go in before it got too cold for them. I was fully suited and it's a good thing, since I faced a lot more chaos than I thought I would. I only got one tip-of-a-sting through my glove-mesh(there's a mesh strip for flexability on big bee gloves I usually brush bees off of but I was too busy to keep an eye out last evening.It didn't even hurt by the time I got in the house and was the tiny tip of a stinger broken off,not a whole one that would have let all the venom in. I get those nick-stings every once in awhile and wasn't disturbed by it at all. I got off easy since a lot of those bees got plenty mad. DH inspected my suit by flashlight when I was finally ready to come in and backed off quick when he saw one still on me. He turned the flashlight off and when I shook my suit the bee went straight to the porch light instead of back on me. Gee I didn't know a porch light could be a bee lure,but it was easy to hustle inside safe then. The best news is that it's done and that nuc had a Beautiful big colony in it ,very full. Lots of brood and pollen and honey and just a third of a comb empty which means that queen did indeed need more room. I'm so glad I got them transferred in time. Also when I put the brood bars in,many loose fliers started pouring in there so I Knew the queen was OK (she was attracting them In) and on one of those good combs,not the wonky honey comb I had to cut. I can't get out there to clean up my own mess yet because I need those bees to clean out their former home (on it's side with no top, facing the hive entrance, and eat the drips,etc. I took a peek this morning from 20 feet away,around a bush, though and saw some using the entrance as well as a lot all over the place cleaning up.Looked like a mob scene but no sign of fighting robbers (my other hives are only 150 feet away and I'm surprised they arn't all over there fighting for the groceries). I'll leave them for a week and then get the card table and nuc out of there and get that Final picture up that shows them using their Home. wow, it's really been fun. I can have one more hive here without needing a county permit and I wonder if we'll do this again. Not This year though!
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Post by hobbitlady on Aug 2, 2015 22:43:52 GMT
Not a great picture but at least it shows the bees at home now. Syrup jar in this pic is empty but I'm refilling it every few days and that is why the entry is closed so small;I'm helping the bees keep robbers away from it. Looks like they want their door bigger anyway though....
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2015 6:34:01 GMT
I really love the paint job on your new hive, looks great!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2015 17:23:57 GMT
Looks like a happy hive! Love the paint Job and the migratory type lid. Those are so much easier to use than the usual gable type lid or the 2 piece telescoping lids.
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Post by hobbitlady on Aug 13, 2015 17:48:30 GMT
Thank you Halo and buffy and all the "likes" that encouraged me along the way!
buffy-That simple lid is the only kind I saw used on the long hives I researched. I was worried about a huge rain puddle sitting on top of it half the winter,so we leveled side to side,but After we leveled front to back, I raised the back about 1/4 inch to help run off. I wanted to raise it half an inch but DH insisted 1/4 was enough. With that bottom entry and porch I didn't want rain flooding inside either,hence the the oversize lid to give them a covered porch....(and that slightly elevated back).
It seems to be dearth around here although usually there's a Fall flow of something that's not on My property a little later.Right now I'm feeding my bees (every day I can sneak the quart jars away without putting my suit on). The syrup is vanishing by the quart, Daily, right now at all 4 of my hives.I discovered by needing to toss the jar and Run that they May still be inside under the feeder lid when the jar Looks abandoned! Hahahaha. So I skip Some days.
I did an inspection inside Bunker a couple of days ago and gave them a space of 5 more frames since I thought they were accustomed to the new bigger space by then. They'd started comb on two of the new frames,straight and lined up perfect,so now they have 8 open ones to work on!!! With the leveling changed to that raised back I was worried they might go "wonky",but no,just Lovely new comb! I think if I keep feeding them they'll build new comb fast and get at least a dozen done to overwinter in (including the first 5 bars I need to rotate out next year). I hope so....hope it's even more!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2015 3:56:12 GMT
hobbitlady - About the flat lid, I've been thinking about this. I see that they are easier to deal with, but I worried that in our heat a gabled cover would be better for excess heat to escape the hive. Comb collapse is something I'd like to avoid.
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Post by hobbitlady on Aug 14, 2015 5:27:37 GMT
hobbitlady - About the flat lid, I've been thinking about this. I see that they are easier to deal with, but I worried that in our heat a gabled cover would be better for excess heat to escape the hive. Comb collapse is something I'd like to avoid. My top bar hives are all Fully shaded in summer except for some morning sun that is a low enough angle to get under the canopy I put up( yearly at the onset of the hot weather) and again at sunset. The books that say to keep bee hives in full sun are Not talking about top bars in 100 degrees! I learned full shade in a hot summer is great for them and me! I still don't dare inspect the top bars during our 100 degree weeks except at 6am after the night has been in the 60s. Hot nights I wait it out for over a month sometimes before I inspect. Old darker top bar comb is fairly tough but the new combs are impossible....mostly because attaching burr has to be sliced and it's so tricky. Soft comb is bad and soft with a weak spot from a little knife tear is a goner if it's too soft. That earlier picture shows one of my top bars with a flat lid and it's never had a collapse. NONE of mine have had a collapse I didn't cause...but after my big mess I got a canopy and don't take chances. The long hive has foundationless frames,but they Are frames, and will be stronger support(cause its on all sides and the bottom of the new comb) than top bar free hanging comb that can wiggle and stretch and tear right off. Bunker has natural shade most of the heat of the day. I do have a bit of venting built in the back I can open; BUT bees like to control and fan out their excess heat by "bearding". Escaping heat might mess up the way the bees are trying to do it themselves. Sometimes human help makes their work harder! But maybe not! Find out what other bee keepers in your county have ended up doing if you can. Screened bottoms were supposed to keep bees cooler but it ends up causing them to abscond! Most top bar folks have abandoned them totally. We have to all figure out right where we are living what works best for us. Go with your gut at first and then watch them and learn and change something if you think you need to. There is no way to avoid experimenting and changing things(IMHO) as you learn.
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Post by hobbitlady on Oct 27, 2015 20:31:52 GMT
BEE Culture Magazine for Nov 2015 has an article "Horizontal Hive Advantages". Although not from me,a couple of the pics sure look familiar! My split in the long hive has done well. Still a smallish colony but they made enough comb to double. They are as big as a first year top bar colony,so I'm not worried about them. Due to our drought I'll be adding winter food "just in case" but they did remarkably well this Fall. Only one of my 3 top bar hives has seemed as thriving and active as the new long hive. It's finally cold here but hasn't frozen yet. My girls are still out on sunny afternoons and still feeding on syrup but Very slowly. I'll be taking the feeder out of the entrance this week and slipping a pre-sized slat into that space. I already got a screen "mouse guard" on their entrance...which I never did open up bigger. When they boom next Spring they'll finally get their entrance opened up more. I'm very optimistic about them making it
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Post by hobbitlady on Dec 15, 2015 23:28:51 GMT
Winter Hives Report: Starting in the Spring was my 3rd bee keeping year. Late this year after numerous problems I finally lost a top bar to a new-bought queen absconding with the workers I had left and leaving brood and nurses to die with no queen cell.(my splits do better than buying new queens!) First hive I've ever lost so I was OK with it. Two others TBs are still fine (I just winter checked them with a stethoscope )and my long lang cluster is dragging a very few dead out onto their porch so I know they are fine too,so far. I noticed clogged doorways in my 2 hives with porches,due to the mesh mouse guards I put on a few weeks ago.So I went out and pried a slightly larger opening at the bottom edge of the mouse guards(1/4 inch wire mesh) and they've unclogged their entries and dragged the dead out. No flying weather for awhile now but they are cleaning house so that is my good sign for those two. The other TB has holes in the down slanting side and doesn't need a mouse guard. I couldn't hear a thing until I bumped them a couple of times and used the stethoscope. They buzzed for me and so are also fine so far too. Lots of winter left but I feel optimistic. PS- I tore apart the dead TB and put the bars with comb(recently frozen) into plastic. The comb that broke off I chucked into my wax bucket for later. That hive was a kit and the only one I've had problems with. Last winter it had excessive moisture when my home made ones didn't. It was however made to accommodate lang length top bars. Soooo I love my new long lang so much I think I'll use the top and sides of the old TB for a liner in a new long hive. I need new front and back and bottom pieces (no problem for us to cut and nail) so I'm going to try it That way. I'm going to double the walls since that being my thinnest hive May have contributed to the problems. I'll reinforce it,scrub it out good and add lemongrass oil after it's all dry but I don't see why it wouldn't work. I have all the long bars so it'll be a New experiment with a top bar long land instead of a frame long lang. It's my 4th hive so why not? I love watching how bees do or do not adapt and I'm sure I'll have a split for it and not need to buy bees. It's fussy having a variety of hive sizes but I actually have the time to "mess" with them so I don't mind...........
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