Homestead mailing list

[Sasha <mrkflux AT so.sbb.co.yu>]

Hello,homesteaders,

TBH area a little bit complicated to manage comparing to a lang hive.It takes 
much more patience and time to examine a top bar hive comparing to a lang.In 
a lang you just have to pull out the frames ,where in a tbh you have to be 
really carefull not to make a disaster because of comb crushing.I have lost 
my best hive like this.The combs have been fresh and young and heavy from 
honey.One of them had fall and then the domino effect started ,  overheating 
has caused the complete breakdown.
But this does not mean that you cant work with a tbh,you can ,and many people 
are enjoying with them.You have just to be more carefull.There is something 
like a crossbreeding of a tbh and a lang,its called a long hive.You can see 
some of my long hives here http://www.flickr.com/photos/33022131@N00/
I have converted my Tanzanian tbh into a long hive by just putting frames in 
it instead of top bars.I have now only one classical tbh.
You can find a excellent web forum on beesource.com about tbh beekeeping with 
many questions already answered.

Question for James,are you treating your bees with chemicals?

Best regards,Sasha from Serbia 




>
> Message: 2
> Date: Thu, 11 May 2006 05:37:35 -0500
> From: Kathyann <knat AT sprintmail.com>
> Subject: [Homestead] Top Bar Hives
> To: Homestead List <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> Message-ID: <446313EF.50507 AT sprintmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> I am starting in bees. Any experience to share on Top Bar?
> Kathyann
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Thu, 11 May 2006 10:53:37 EDT
> From: Clansgian AT wmconnect.com
> Subject: Re: [Homestead] Top Bar Hives
> To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Message-ID: <1bb.3df0edd.3194a9f1 AT wmconnect.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
>
> > I am starting in bees. Any experience to share on Top Bar?
>
> I have kept bees for 30 years and the last eight years I have kept top bar
> hives.
>
> The main thing I would share is that it takes a very great deal more bee
> sense and experience to succeed with TBH's than with Langstroth hives.  I
> know it looks deceptively easier, no expensive equipment, costly
> foundation, etc. But it's not easier.  It requires much more frequent
> examination of the hives and subtle interventions.
>
> Of all the homestead enterprises, says I, the quickest way to blow a pile
> of cash is to get into beekeeping too quickly or to extensively.  I'd
> highly recommend setting up one and no more than two Langstroth hives the
> first year and do a lot of observing.
>
> I only have TBH's now.  I no longer sell any honey, only produce some for
> our own use and a little for barter.   TBH's are good for that.
>
> If you do go for TBH's, I highly recommend the Kenyan type hives over the
> square bottomed hives and to keep the hives rather small, much smaller than
> most examples in the literarure, more like 20 bars than the usual 30.
>
> Here are my older larger  hives:
>
> www.geocities.com/nogomain/hives.jpg
> www.geocities.com/nogomain/bees.JPG
> www.geocities.com/nogomain/attach.JPG
>
> There are some pictures of the newer hives but I can't find them.  They are
> made entirely of 12" commercial dressed shelving boards (from Lowes).  The
> new hives are much, much easier to manage and the survival rate is much
> higher.
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
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> End of Homestead Digest, Vol 22, Issue 9
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