Beekeeping

Greengage · Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2015 6:05 pm Post subject: Beekeeping

Anyone here interested in bee keeping as I am starting a small Apiary.

Kim · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 7:23 am Post subject:

I keep bees. I love to see them in the garden.

what hive type are you going for?

tagwex · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 11:21 am Post subject:

A friend of mine is close enough to you there, he is in Clane, he is avidly interested in beekeeping and he belongs to some local club/society up there. I can PM you his number if you like.

tippben · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 1:49 pm Post subject:

Google "Kildare Beekeepers Association" They offer training courses, and will be the best way to get a swarm. I think you can also get cheaper equipment if you are a member of a Beekeepers' Association. We did a day course at Seed Savers, and found that becoming a member of the local branch was the only feasible way of actually getting bees. Also, nobody would give you bees unless you'd at least done the beginner's course. I'd say that's your best bet.

Greengage · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 8:01 pm Post subject:

Great tks for info I will be doing the course with South Kildare beekeepers association. I plan on using two different methods for keeping bes, At work we will probably use a national hive , but here I will try the top bar method. As for the swarm i suspect I could obtain one easy, I have seen numerous ones at work and we have had a local beekeeper take them away, Also I could set up bait trap to obtain a swarm. Ill keep you posted on my trials and tribulations if interested.

Kim · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 8:30 pm Post subject:

I will be interested to hear how you get on, especially with the top bar hive as that is the hive type that we built and keep bees in.

tagwex · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 9:37 pm Post subject:

My Kildare friend was telling me that ownership of swarms can be a contentious issue depending on where they land i.e. who owns the property, and the nature of the person who finds them. So by 'baiting' are you enticing a swarm possibly owned by someone else onto your property? I don't know, just asking.

Greengage · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 11:20 pm Post subject:

Interesting, But my understanding would be that if the bees decide to produce a new queen the old one will leave the hive with some of the bees this is called a swarm, The bees usually gorge themselves on honey from the hive to bring to the new hive, Since they are full of honey they cannot extend their abdomen to sting they will be fairly docile and they also need to feed the queen as she cannot take care of herself and she is a poor flyer so they probably wont travel far, now if they decide to start their new hive in my trap/ Lure I assume I own the bees. The fact that they swarm would be because the bee keeper was not looking after his/her bees properly as they should be able to prevent this by splitting the hive or re queening it. Looks like ill have interesting times ahead, everyone tells me this is going to cost me money to set up, with the exception of the suit and a home made top-bar hive I believe it will cost me nothing.

tagwex · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 11:32 pm Post subject:

Well I was told that people have come blows over ownership of a hive/swarm. I relayed that story to a local beekeeper just up the road a bit and he told me that it is quite true about disputes over ownership getting quite fractious. Be careful out there!

Good guy · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 11:54 pm Post subject:

Should you have said 'Bee careful' or is that too punny for you, Tagwex?

tagwex · Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2015 12:26 am Post subject:

Ahhhh FFS will you go to bed.

Kim · Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2015 8:12 am Post subject:

We built our hives with the main body from Irish cedar (local sawmill) and with some recycling of old timber for the rest, each hive cost no more than 50 euro to build. Bought a bee suit but not much else.

Do you know someone with TBH's? They are few are far between around here. The only thing we changed form the original plan was the screen-bottom. Much to drafty and too much light for a new little colony trying to build their own comb.

Usually swarms are very gentle as they have no hive or home to protect, but if they do not find a new home within a day or so they can become more aggressive and one always needs to be careful with bees.

The modern beekeeping approach is based on preventing swarms and that is what one will learn on a bee-keeping course. Old beekeeping ways often relied on catching emerging swarms and the swarm was considered to belong to the person who was following it until it landed and they could hive it. ( I did mean to write hive it, although they do get to have it too).

A swarm will usually first land on a nearby bush or tree even if there is a bait hive in the vicinity. From the bush or tree they will make the decision to move into the bait hive or into another suitable cavity.

Beekeepers are even more notorious than gardeners for finding their own best / only way of doing things!

Best of luck.

Greengage · Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2015 9:03 pm Post subject:

Kim tks for advice I will be following the plan on this website with a few modifications http://www.scribd.com/doc/168332145/How-to-Build-a-Simple-Top-Bar-Hive
As for the swarm dont be worrying Ive seen lads falling out over a foot of land,
i wont tell and the bees wont tell there hardly micro chipped Laughing

Since mine will be natural in the topbar hive they wont be unionised.

What do unionised bees ask for? More honey and shorter working flowers.
Why do bees have sticky hair? Because they use honey combs.

Good guy · Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2015 9:37 pm Post subject:

I like the jokes, Greengage.
What happened to Cape Cod?
Nan took it.

tagwex · Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2015 10:19 pm Post subject:

I have to ask Good Guy, just what ages are you? Your body age and your mental age? There must be decades in between them!!!