Beekeeping: Honey Bee Hive Check & Harvest

As a new beekeeper I am not sure when I should check the bee hive. I checked it today, one week from the last time and I have a great honey harvest. I didn't know things could change so fast in a week. I'm loving being a beekeeper.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Beekeeping
• Honey Bees
• Honey Harvest
• Gardening
• Food Storage

[bjanak59]

I have 40 acres in the country in Lavaca county Texas. I am about to start raising bees. Do have a recommendation as to the type of bee hives and the type of foliage I can plant to feed the bees. I have heard that the warre hive is best? What do you think.

I have a 2 acre cattle tank and a natural creek that flows most of the year.

I have many pecan and live oak trees on the property. How many hives would you recommend starting with? Should I protect them from the cows. I have about 10 cow

[LDSPrepper]

@bjanak59 I would recommend you contact Kenny Reed from BeeWilde com. He raises bees for sale. He would be the best person to talk to about what type of hives, bees, and how many. His phone number is 281-620-5626. He would be glad to help you.

[chuckarama451]

It's a delicate balance with a new hive. They need to draw comb so they need to consume lots of nectar/sugarH2O/honey to do that. But because they haven't enough comb they can become honey bound, meaning they filled up all the extra cells, leaving the queen nowhere to lay. Take a look, once a week, and check both boxes. Make sure the queen has room to lay. If she doesn't, stop the sugar H2O. If she does have room and the bees keep taking it, keep giving them sugar H2O, this first year.

[LDSPrepper]

@chuckarama451 Excellent comment. Thank you.

[1TruPatriot]

Do you kill any bees when you pull the frames out? I've been wanting to raise bees for many years now.. :-) I'm going to check out the website you showed in the video and see if I can't order some. Thanks A lot LDS

[LDSPrepper]

@1TruPatriot There are a lot of bees in the hive so if I kill some it won't matter a lot to the hive as a collective but it sure matters to the bee I squish and it matters to me. I am very careful to not hurt any bees. As I said in another video they are like my little children.

[texasprepper2]

I've only been keeping bees for 2 years, but a friend of mine is a 30 year beekeeper and told me to put on another super when you have bees on 8 out of ten frames. For an 8 frame hive like yours, I would say when they are on 6 out of 8 frames. Greatd Vid.

[smh3w]

Keep up the great work!

[Glockoma441FA]

That is so cool. Thanks for showing. I enjoy looking at your bee videos. I wish I could do that. Unfortunately, my daughter is allergic to bees.

[RockCairn]

Don't worry about feeding them anymore. Once a hive is established and the honey flow is on you shouldn't need to feed them. There's a good chance some of whats stored in the comb is processed sugar water. The rule of thumb is to super after 70% of the frames have been pulled. It depends on your location but during the swarming season you should check your hive around once a week...I'd look down into the brood chamber too. Twice a week is excessive.