Great video Ian. All of your advice centers around not being afraid to make a mistake and thinking there is only one way to do beekeeping. While there are some standard practices in the craft, watching and learning from multiple input sources as well as your own bees will help guide you as you build your own practice. We as Beekeepers must be resolute in our tasks but always adjusting to nature and the “speed bumps” this world throws at us. Looking forward to meeting you in person in Jan at Hive Life conference. Take care.
I don’t have bees, honey or wax in my business, but I can relate to much of what you talked about. There are several parallels that can be drawn to my plumbing business. Thanks for taking the time to make these videos. I enjoy them very much.
Thanks for another great informative video Ian, some food for thought there. I'm building my honey house in the spring and some very good points there that I'll take on board. I'm thinking along the lines of palleting everything too and having a good flow through the building. Look forward to your video on your honeyhouse and layout. Also the heat exchange and spin float.
Good advice as usual Ian, Sir. Screen bottom boards do nothing in my opinion. Using counts, I never ever have seen any difference between solid and screen. Any mites that fall are going to die anyway imo. I use 2 frame nucs where I use a standard box and divide it into 4.s, ie 3 panel boards nailed and glued to separate the 4. Then drill holes into the hive stand. (4 sides) The bottom of the hive stand has 3/4 inch board nailed to isolate the 4 and provide space for the bees/Queen to fly. Set on pallets and is easy to move. Can have 4 on a pallet so 16 nucs. Paint some entrances yellow blue etc and you don.t loss many queens to drifting. Lose some queens anyway to birds and what have you. I generally use a skill saw to cut a slight sloth for those panels to fit into the box and if done right, never get any bee migration between the 4 nucs. To be sure I staple, glue small wood strips to each panel side and same on top. Is solid and lots of space for 2 frames. As for mixing sugar, I use a barrel etc, fill with sugar and mark the height. Then fill with hot boiling water to that mark and using a drill with a paint mixer extension mix the solution and is 2 to one. Thank you for your videos.
Ian, on shop vac-ing the bees off the window, have you considered replacing the ribbed vacuum tube with a smooth walled tube? I would think as the bees traverse the length of the tube, their collisions with a smooth wall would cause much ,less injury than the hitting of a protruding rib. FWIW -- if you try smooth tube, try the clear plastic where you can see the bees sliding along. Downside is thick walled is inflexible, and thin walled can kink.
Hi Ian, I was wondering if you purchased or built the easy loader. If you bough it, where did you get it? If it was home built can pass on more information about it? Thanks, Jim PS I have a small farm in NJ. we have 50 hives. I to have a bad back (8 surgeries on neck and lower back). I am interested in finding more efficient ways to lifting the supers and deeps.
to get the bees out of your honey house why not a rotating glass window say 10 feet long 2 feet tall mounted on a swivel on each end pull a handle rotate the glass on the inside to the out side flip it over
417 the buzz Sounds like a plan I’ve done pretty much every trick in the book The bees always decide not to use my escape methods. They have no choice with the Pail 🙂
Just my humble opinion. Mite control, you are killing a bug on a bug. If you do it on winter bees, have can it not effect those bees? That is one reason that I try to kill mites on summer bees. Leaves my winter bees raised in the fall in my better shape for the winter imo.
researcher truma yes I believe you are right But It’s shown that mites will feast on winter bee fat stores, causing collapse. If you have effectively controlled the mites through summer then you will be fine. Too few of options. We are unable to kill them all through summer, so a treatment rotation is needed
What an asshole job is this!!! My exact same thoughts from last fall, when buying, carrying 750 kg sugar in 1 kg bags. Then mixing syrup, lifting it all into bigger tank, carrying, lifting that weight quite many times before suryp was in hive.
As an aspiring commercial beekeeper your digital mentorship is invaluable. Thanks for taking the time to open source the data and system.
Great video Ian. All of your advice centers around not being afraid to make a mistake and thinking there is only one way to do beekeeping. While there are some standard practices in the craft, watching and learning from multiple input sources as well as your own bees will help guide you as you build your own practice. We as Beekeepers must be resolute in our tasks but always adjusting to nature and the “speed bumps” this world throws at us.
Looking forward to meeting you in person in Jan at Hive Life conference. Take care.
I don’t have bees, honey or wax in my business, but I can relate to much of what you talked about. There are several parallels that can be drawn to my plumbing business. Thanks for taking the time to make these videos. I enjoy them very much.
Thanks for another great informative video Ian, some food for thought there. I'm building my honey house in the spring and some very good points there that I'll take on board. I'm thinking along the lines of palleting everything too and having a good flow through the building. Look forward to your video on your honeyhouse and layout. Also the heat exchange and spin float.
Great information. Thanks from Conwy Beekeepers, UK.
Great advice, and beautiful trees!
I look for common themes that fit with what I'm trying to achieve. Not everyone has the same end goals.
A pure gold summary at 14:00 min.
Thanks for another great discussion and sharing your processes.
Another excellent video Ian!
Great information about your operation.
Very useful and food for thought.
Thanks!
Very good video today...thank you....looking forward to seeing how the weaker hives do over the summer!
Good advice as usual Ian, Sir. Screen bottom boards do nothing in my opinion. Using counts, I never ever have seen any difference between solid and screen. Any mites that fall are going to die anyway imo. I use 2 frame nucs where I use a standard box and divide it into 4.s, ie 3 panel boards nailed and glued to separate the 4. Then drill holes into the hive stand. (4 sides) The bottom of the hive stand has 3/4 inch board nailed to isolate the 4 and provide space for the bees/Queen to fly. Set on pallets and is easy to move. Can have 4 on a pallet so 16 nucs. Paint some entrances yellow blue etc and you don.t loss many queens to drifting. Lose some queens anyway to birds and what have you. I generally use a skill saw to cut a slight sloth for those panels to fit into the box and if done right, never get any bee migration between the 4 nucs. To be sure I staple, glue small wood strips to each panel side and same on top. Is solid and lots of space for 2 frames. As for mixing sugar, I use a barrel etc, fill with sugar and mark the height. Then fill with hot boiling water to that mark and using a drill with a paint mixer extension mix the solution and is 2 to one. Thank you for your videos.
Ian, on shop vac-ing the bees off the window, have you considered replacing the ribbed vacuum tube with a smooth walled tube? I would think as the bees traverse the length of the tube, their collisions with a smooth wall would cause much ,less injury than the hitting of a protruding rib. FWIW -- if you try smooth tube, try the clear plastic where you can see the bees sliding along. Downside is thick walled is inflexible, and thin walled can kink.
Deeptime good idea
Swimming pool vac hose is very rounded on the inside. Might not be much up north however. :) My favorite!
Very interesting thank you
greate video
Finally, that's how you deal with sugar.. so what do you do about fermentation? How long is that being stored for?
hex0rz1 lol
I use the loads within the month
who manufactures the super lift in the honey house and how much air does it take to lift supers off the pallet?
More great tips in this video thank you. Do you produce any comb honey?
Charles Wilke no time for comb honey 🍯
Hi Ian,
I was wondering if you purchased or built the easy loader. If you bough it, where did you get it? If it was home built can pass on more information about it?
Thanks, Jim
PS I have a small farm in NJ. we have 50 hives. I to have a bad back (8 surgeries on neck and lower back). I am interested in finding more efficient ways to lifting the supers and deeps.
For mixing sugar why don`t you try a water pomp for used wather. Both hoses are in the same barrel.
Dan Sebastian Ecobici 🙂
to get the bees out of your honey house why not a rotating glass window say 10 feet long 2 feet tall mounted on a swivel on each end pull a handle rotate the glass on the inside to the out side flip it over
417 the buzz
Sounds like a plan
I’ve done pretty much every trick in the book
The bees always decide not to use my escape methods.
They have no choice with the Pail 🙂
Just my humble opinion. Mite control, you are killing a bug on a bug. If you do it on winter bees, have can it not effect those bees? That is one reason that I try to kill mites on summer bees. Leaves my winter bees raised in the fall in my better shape for the winter imo.
researcher truma yes I believe you are right
But
It’s shown that mites will feast on winter bee fat stores, causing collapse.
If you have effectively controlled the mites through summer then you will be fine. Too few of options. We are unable to kill them all through summer, so a treatment rotation is needed
What an asshole job is this!!! My exact same thoughts from last fall, when buying, carrying 750 kg sugar in 1 kg bags. Then mixing syrup, lifting it all into bigger tank, carrying, lifting that weight quite many times before suryp was in hive.