Beekeeping

[Tathradj]

Right.
Owing to my allergic reactions to Bee sting I am thinking this.
Have an Epi Pen ready,
Full suit up.
Use the Flo Hive system to at least drop the risk.
When inspecting the brood every 6 months or so,
Have some one standing off to one side watching me.
I reckon it is worth the risk as I have always been fascinated
by bee's.
Not to mention how much I just love pure honey.
Got a mate and his brother with access to mixed 300 odd acres.
Out in the middle of no where.
And they don't use very much pesticides.

 

[Eluvial]

Very interesting thread guys... Ill be following this one... Liquid gold erfect:

 

[Lesgold]

That honeys looking good Hard Luck. I forgot that you use a press. A good way to do it if you have a small number of hives and dont want to use a hot knife.

Split a hive yesterday that was quite large and was getting ready to swarm. Moved frames with open and sealed brood to a new box. The bees were still attached to the frames. A couple of queen cell were also on one of the frames. Many of the bees were nurse bees as they were attending and caring for the open brood. Because of this, they would not leave and fly back to the original hive. The problem with this split is that there would be very few bees gathering pollen and nectar for the youngsters. A feeder was added to provide the food needed to keep the brood going. The entrance was Closed up a little to reduce the chances of robber bees coming in.

Sorry about the quality of the images. The shots were taken late in the afternoon. The feeder box is on top and contains about 4 litres of a sugar/ water mix. The next photo shows how the entrance is reduced with a block of wood. Will remove that when bee numbers build up slightly.

 

[Tathradj]

Les, What disease's do you have to be aware
in this area. ?
That ground under the hives looks nearly detectable.

 

[Lesgold]

The ground around the hives is littered with quartz, ironstone and when the light is right, a sparkling yellow coloured material. Never detected that spot. Lol. The diseases that impact on bees are present in most parts of the country. American Foul Brood is the problem you dont want and can turn up at any time. If an infected hive is brought in to the area, other hives can catch the bug. Bees and hives are generally burnt or the infected hives (minus the bees which are destroyed)are sent away and irradiated. There are a few problems that you can experience when keeping bees but good management of the hives reduces the chances of this happening. Keeping the hives strong and with enough honey stores keeps the odds in your favour.

 

[Lesgold]

Hey Hard Luck, I forgot to ask a couple of questions. Do you use foundation in your frames or do you go foundationless and let the bees build their own? I use the same fruit press for squeezing out the cappings. A bit of a pain to get the wax out of and a pain to clean though. I generally roughly scrape the barrel clean and leave it soaking in water overnight and then hit it with the pressure blaster the next day. Do you have any tricks in this area?

 

[Solid Luck]

Hey Lesgold, I do use foundation. I usually buy them pre prepared but I will reuse the wooden ones a few times. I boil the used wooden frames and then place foundation on them.
I also use plastic frames which I am trying to move away from but they are much more convenient.
Yes, it is a pain getting the wax out of the fruit press but it gets done. I usually just hose it down when finished and scrape as much wax of as possible.

 

[Lesgold]

All good. Beekeeping is a great hobby (except for the cleanup). Beeswax in the form of foundation is becoming quite expensive. Quite a bit of Australias wax is sent overseas for use in cosmetics. Our wax has a good reputation for being chemical free and is highly sought after. Unfortunately, that drives up the the price of locally produced beeswax products.

Would like to see some detail on how you boil up the frames (photos, description etc) Im always looking for ways to improve or simplify what I do. As you know, it is a time consuming pastime and some of the jobs take hours. I steam my old frames and recover the wax. Might get a few photos together to show the process.

Cheers

Les

 

[Solid Luck]

All good. Beekeeping is a great hobby (except for the cleanup). Beeswax in the form of foundation is becoming quite expensive. Quite a bit of Australias wax is sent overseas for use in cosmetics. Our wax has a good reputation for being chemical free and is highly sought after. Unfortunately, that drives up the the price of locally produced beeswax products.

Would like to see some detail on how you boil up the frames (photos, description etc) Im always looking for ways to improve or simplify what I do. As you know, it is a time consuming pastime and some of the jobs take hours. I steam my old frames and recover the wax. Might get a few photos together to show the process.

Cheers

Les

Het Les, I just use a large pot and boil them very quickly on my brewing gasser. They don't fully fit so I have to turn them around once. Wish I had time to make my own frames but i am very time poor.
I'll use a wooden frame a couple maybe three times. Plastic, a couple of times.

I'm more interested in the steaming process. What do you use?

 

[goody2shoes]

Any unwanted honey, post to me, at goody@ ....... :lol: :lol:

Love my honey

Good job guys erfect:

Goody

 

[Tathradj]

Thanks for the discussion this morning Les.
I have decided to go with either 4 or 6 Kenyan Top Bar hives.
Have been doing a lot of research.
Will build them this year ready for next spring.
Also amass a few "Accessories "
I have a spot out in the middle of no where with huge access
to Box, wattle tea tree and such.
Same with my mates farm.
And water nearby.

 

[StoneTheCrows]

Good read guys.

I watched a gardening show few weeks ago and it was about a guy who had something like 40 hives in the cbd in London.
Some were in parks hidden behind bushes and some were on roof tops
Pretty amazing.

As a hobby is it possible to have simply one hive in the backyard?

 

[Straya]

Yes you can have 1, but 2 is easier. If 1 gets sad sad you can steal frames to help the weak one or shift positions of hives to allow bees to drift into other hive..... but bee very careful, bees are very contagious

I started with 4 frames because my daughter eats honey and I researched about pesticides and imported honey from china etc. some other people tasted it so I split hives and started more hives. Today I have between 700 and 800 frames.

 

[Lesgold]

Hi Hard Luck, will set up the steamer and take a few shots. Looks a bit like a device for making sly grog. Lol.

Beekeepers love people like you goody2shoes. Youll turn us into multi, multi millionaires.....(only if...)

Enjoyed the chat Doug. Talking about gold and bees.... what more do you want in life? Youll enjoy constructing and playing with top bar hives. Its a good feeling making your own hive and then having a swarm call it home. Be very careful, playing with bees it is addictive.

StoneTheCrows, glad you enjoy what the people out there are presenting. We learn a lot from each other. Its great to share thoughts, ideas, methods and images of what we do. You can keep one or two hives in your backyard but you should check local council regulations as they can vary across the country. Its also a good idea to see how your neibours feel about the idea. If they are onside, everyone wins as a hive should produce enough honey to keep a few families licking their sticky fingers. Having people who have a fear of bees or allergies can create an uncomfortable situation. Happy neibours are generally good neibours if you know what I mean.

Cheers

Les

 

[Solid Luck]

I've started pressing tonight and I think I should have waited for the weather to warm up a bit. I usually get very thick produce and this batch has exceeded itself.
I reckon final weight in the pails will be closer to 1.2 kg, rather than 1 kg. That'll up the price if it is that heavy. Time will tell.

 

[Lesgold]

Looks like a really dark honey. I bet the taste is unreal. Good stuff Hard Luck.

 

[Lesgold]

Hi Hard Luck,

Just took a few pics of the steamer that I use to sterilise and recover wax from my frames. I know some beekeepers just renew everything and start from scratch due to the time it takes but I dont mind as its only a hobby and it helps to keep the costs down. When frames get old, they become thick and hard due to the residue left by brood. The frames also contain bits of cross comb, drone comb and lots of propolis. (For the forum members that dont keep bees.......yet)

I made up a steamer from bits and pieces that I scrounged from the tip. Half a beer keg is used as the fire pit. Another keg with stainless pipe attached, directs steam into a laundry tub suspended over a bucket that catches the wax. A lid made from thin stainless sheet is held in place with two bolts and wing nuts. I generally use pine off cuts as they produce good heat quickly.

On the inside of the laundry tub I attached some stainless angle on each end to support the frames. A large piece of fine stainless mesh sits on the bottom of the tub to filter the wax as it flows through.

The frames are steamed for about half an hour or so. When the wax stops flowing out of the plug hole, the frames are cleaned up with a scraper while they are still hot. The residue that comes off the frames goes into the veggie garden. It contains all sorts of trace elements. (As you would expect). Frame wires are retensioned and foundation is added when the frames are needed. Each old frame produces enough wax to produce a replacement sheet of foundation. The process is not overly efficient but it is fun. Its a pleasant break from swinging a stick around in the bush.

Cheers

Les

 

[Solid Luck]

Wow!! Nice setup Les. Puts me to shame. Thanks for sharing that.

 

[Lesgold]

Its nothing flash but it does the job. The only real expense was the stainless tube and getting the bends and joins organised. The rest was scrounged and then knocked together. Pleasantly surprised just how well it works. The wax, once melted and filtered, is as yellow as cappings wax.

 

[Lesgold]

A bit overcast today so I didnt want to annoy the girls. Hives are building up well and there is finally some nectar coming in. The iron bark is starting to blossom and sweet sugary smell is obvious around the hives. A chef spoke to me about comb honey for some of the ritzy up market feeds she puts on so I thought Id get into the act while the going is good. For comb honey production you need a good nectar flow so that the bees can draw out foundation, fill the cells and cap them quickly. You end up with frames that are quite white and yummy to eat. Thought Id also have a play with some rounds. Had a bit of an experiment with it last year but didnt have much luck due to the lack of nectar coming in. I made a frame with circular holes and filled each hole with a strip of food grade plastic bent to a circle and stapled. A starter strip of foundation was added to help the bees.

The bees should fill the space with comb and then put honey into the cells and cap it. Will set up a strong hive for this and get it started tomorrow. Will photograph the results as the comb building progresses.

Cheers

Les