Anyone on here a Beekeeper

mattb6679

mattb6679

Active Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2007
Location
WALLBURG
Just got into beekeeping. Been working with a couple Beekeepers
out here in Winston. Just wondering if anyone else on here keeps bees. Im gonna snap some pics today.
 
mattb6679 said:
Just got into beekeeping. Been working with a couple Beekeepers
out here in Winston. Just wondering if anyone else on here keeps bees. Im gonna snap some pics today.
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I have four hives now, started with one a couple years ago. It is an enjoyable hobby, and the only one I have ever had that has the potential to break even on cost. Working with a local person who has lots of experience is the best way to learn.

I also found a local bee keeping club and joined it and have learned a little about bees. It meets once a month. But like everything else people sit around and bitch about who's methods are best.
 
Yea i got a crash course in beekeeping. I had never been around a hive in my life. I spent 9 hours yesterday searching for queens, and making bee packages. I only got stung twice. Gonna do it all over again today, maybe not 9 hrs though, Never thought it would be so much work. But we did work on about 15 hives and 70 queen boxes. And made 10 Bee packages.
 
I was supposed to pick up my first two packages today, but they got delayed a week. Ive been reading a lot and talking to a very experienced beekeeper that i work with, it seems to be a really interesting hobby. i learned a lot reading through the forums over at beesource.com
 
awspence said:
I was supposed to pick up my first two packages today, but they got delayed a week. Ive been reading a lot and talking to a very experienced beekeeper that i work with, it seems to be a really interesting hobby. i learned a lot reading through the forums over at beesource.com
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that's a good forum to go to. I'm on there as well. I haven't been over there in a while though because I lose interest in the winter :rolleyes:
 
FREE CARPENTER BEES!!




---> They are buried in the roof of my house if anyone wants.. I hate bees.. Love honey though! High five to all you folks who can be around em!
 
Well I was so excited about working the bees yesterday i forgot to take my camera. But while we were working the hives one swarmed and i got to keep the swarm. I dont get a young queen but i got 3 times the bees than i would have got in my bee package. Had a great time. Looking forward to next week.
 
Topping this, wondering who's still at it.

I had an interesting conversation at the State Fair today with a fellow from Chatham County and it definitely piqued my interest in the hobby.
 
I am and have 4 hives now. If I had more equipment I could keep expanding. I pulled one hive out of a house and the other I got here at work. A swarm had left a nearby yard and landed at the mill. I took a box and went a scooped them up. They're one of my strongest hives. Cydney, I sent you a PM.
 
Been thinking on this. A hive in our house swarmed this year a keeper came out to get it. I would have given them to my grandmas brother but he is an hr away. I made cash money cleaning frames and supers for him as a youngster. He keeps around 50 hives and trucks them to Bryson City every year. He has a dedicated centrifuge to sling and separate the comb. Its huge. Like 6 feet across and 5 feet tall. He's got a wall full of State Fair ribbons. My grandpa kept bees too. Larry has had hives poisoned, mites, and even bears detroy them but he keeps at it in his seventies.
 
I am still trying my best. I was up to 9 hives last year after catching a couple of swarms and relocating a hive from a foreclosed house. I am now back to 6 after 4 of my hives went queenless this spring. I don't know what happened, but I worked with them for about 2 months trying to entice them to make queen cells. I was able to save two of them. Also one hive was very small so I combined it with another.

I am going to try and stay around 6 hives and maybe 4 or 5 nucs next year. It was starting to become a lot more work than hobby.
 
You can order or buy new queens and introduce them into a hive. With large hives or ones that will not raise replacement queens this method works and often they will swarm producing a second bunch.
 
thecj3man said:
I am still trying my best. I was up to 9 hives last year after catching a couple of swarms and relocating a hive from a foreclosed house. I am now back to 6 after 4 of my hives went queenless this spring. I don't know what happened, but I worked with them for about 2 months trying to entice them to make queen cells. I was able to save two of them. Also one hive was very small so I combined it with another.

I am going to try and stay around 6 hives and maybe 4 or 5 nucs next year. It was starting to become a lot more work than hobby.
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It can. I'm sticking with 4 for now. What I've been doing is selling my honey to buy more hives.

As for the combining of hives. I'd combine all queenless hives if they don't start making cells. Then split the hive and see which one retains the most bees. Put the queen in the weaker hive and let the stronger hive make a new one.
 
WARRIORWELDING said:
You can order or buy new queens and introduce them into a hive. With large hives or ones that will not raise replacement queens this method works and often they will swarm producing a second bunch.
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yeah but the queens need to be from a reputable source. Also, if you don't order early many places can run out. That's why I suggested the combine/split method.
 
McCracken said:
yeah but the queens need to be from a reputable source. Also, if you don't order early many places can run out. That's why I suggested the combine/split method.
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I dislike buying queens. In the past my beekeeping buddies have had mixed results since you rarely know what you are getting. The method I used was to put two frames of uncapped eggs/brood into the queenless hives every week. Two hives immediately started making queen cells and two didn't. One of the hives that did make cells made 15 in one day. I distributed these cells among the ones that would not make cells but it still didn't work out. I think those two hives were just weak. I wasn't too upset about them perishing, I want to keep the strongest hives and genes that I can.

Hopefully next year my Nucs will be ready and waiting in case I run into issues again.
 
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