Top Bar Hives

[bee_man]

Hi everyone.
I thought some of you might enjoy a few photos of our bees and top bar hives. http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr322/topbarhive/Newfront.jpg
http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr322/topbarhive/comb2.jpg
http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr322/topbarhive/BEE1.jpg
I have many more photo's of our bees. If anyone has questions about the top bar hives or how to use them please ask, I may be able to help.

[bee_pipes]

Good looking hive there bee_man. How many do you have? How much wood did it take to build? How long?

We're experimenting with them, this is the first year we tried harvesting one. They are a quick way to hive a swarm. We've got it down to two days to build and paint, one sheet of plywood and (3) 2x4's. A neighbor was so impressed that he built one.

Regards,
Pat

[bee_man]

Hi Pat,
At this point I only have three of the top bar hives in use. I also have three Lang hives which I am going to transfer into top bar hives in the spring. I have however built a number of these as I am trying to build an online business. It takes two 8 foot 1x12 boards and one 1x10 board to build one hive. I can build one in about four hours. I have come up with my own style of bars which helps reduce cross combing.
If we can keep the bees from building comb across multiple bars then it makes it much easier to harvest the honey and wax
Thanks for your interest
Joe

[otterbob]

I am not a beekeeper but I have a hive and questions.

Otter Bob

[bee_man]

Hi otter bob,
I will try to answer any questions that you have.

[otterbob]

Hi otter bob,
I will try to answer any questions that you have.

bee_man,
I had purchased a lot of hive body's, supers, lids, bottoms, excluder's, frames and such for a take all price many years ago. I found a hive in a tree while hunting years ago and a friend that has sense passed, put it in one of the hives. The hive split into an empty hive a year or two later. I moved the two hives to the homestead 14 years ago and they did fine for about 3 or 4 years then they were just gone.
This last spring I noticed bees on the chicken water and followed them, and found them in the old hive.

Here is the questions / problems :
The hive had been in the field for many years and mice and weather have taken its toll.
There was a small hole at the edge of the excluder between the super and the body's the bees are going in and out the hole and not the bottom entrance.
I do not know if the queen is above or below the excluder.
You mentioned in one of your posts that you moved bees to another hive box
I dont like these bees because they like to "Get" me !
I need the hive to continue to survived. and or split into other hives.
Honey would be nice but it is not required.
I do own a smoker { don't know much about it though }
I do not know much about handling bees other then the fly swater.
Don't see many bees this winter but if I whack on the top some come out to get me.

Otter Bob

[bee_man]

Hi otter bob,
It sounds like you have a swarm of wild bees. This is why they are so aggressive. You need to go ahead and find out where the queen is located in the hive. If she is in the top you will need to move them all to the bottom of the hive. The best way to do this is to simply remove everything from the top of the main hive body upward. Try to keep all of the upper components together while doing this. If you still have the other hives it would be a good idea to replace the main hive body at this point. You should also put in fresh frames with new foundation or starter wax in them. When you have the main hive body ready just pick up the super leaving the excluder on the ground. Set the super back on the fresh hive body and you are ready to go. Now that the excluder is no longer in place the queen will move down into the main hive on her own. Do this in early spring before the first flowers start to bloom. After the bees have been working regular for about three weeks or so remove the super and reinstall the excluder. Replace the super with new frames in it and enjoy your bees.
P.S.
Bees are like any other animal, the more you are around them the more they trust you. Try to go out to the hive every two or three days. When you are around them talk or sing to them so they get to know your voice. They also learn to identify you by your scent.
I hope this helps.