Post by williamfaulkner on Jun 14, 2006 19:57:08 GMT -7
Thanks to Bettis, I finally have a hive!! Though currently it is only two large brood chambers. I have two sets of honey supers and frames on the way in, and a new queen. On that note, I cant find my old queen (looked twice) but I did see quite a few eggs, LOTS of drones and drone cells on the bottom frames, and about five uncapped queen cells. Not sure yet if the move killed the queen or not. What happens if I cant find the old queen before I get my new one? It is exciting to see the bees loading the frames as my research suggested they would! I had someone stop by tonight as I was working the bees and asked If I was selling honey LOL! I told them not this year, but next year I would probably have more than I can eat. I didnt know it practically sold its-self! I dont really have a prime spot for an apiary, but I was thinking (It keeps me up at night) about building one above my garden shed. The floor would be about 12 feet off the ground next to an apple tree. should have a footprint of about 8 by 12 feet. Hopefully I would like to run two full honey producing hives (one for me and one for my neighbor) and two nuc producing hives. I feel this would be the best way to keep harsh chemical treatments at a minimum, by using splits each year, and maintaining use of dowdy measures and occasionally when needed a pertinant application of medication on a rotating basis. In my beginners mind, I could combine two splits one from each split hive to strengthen the weaker of the two honey hives, while using a few frames if needed to bolster the stronger hive. Then feed heavy on the remaining two splits and allow them to go through thier natural building process without taking any honey from them. I cant wait to see how my plan changes as my profficency grows in beekeeping. I do enjoy watching plans come to life!