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Author Topic: Questions for any NC bee keepers  (Read 3513 times)

Offline woodsstalker

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Questions for any NC bee keepers
« on: March 23, 2013, 02:51:28 pm »
After a 30 plus year absence from the hobby I am getting back into bee keeping - got three hives set up and occupied yesterday.

A lot has changed in the hobby since I last had hives.

My questions:

   1) What routine medical maintenance do you perform if any? When do you perform this feeding of medical treatments?

   2) What routine feeding do you perform or recommend?

I plan to use a deep hive body for the brood chamber and a medium super above this for food storage, taking off only from any additional supers placed above this.

Next year I will analyze the results from the medium super and if it looks like I should be using a deep hive body for a food storage then I will go with that idea at that time. So - what is the common size food storage box do you use?

Any comments, advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Offline buzzbee

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Re: Questions for any NC bee keepers
« Reply #1 on: March 23, 2013, 03:00:15 pm »
Three things to research:
Varroa Mites,
Small hive Beetles
Nosema (Apis and Ceranae).
You asked a loaded question, sit back and hold on!! :)

Offline woodsstalker

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Re: Questions for any NC bee keepers
« Reply #2 on: March 23, 2013, 03:40:00 pm »
Yes, I realized that when posting Buss, but ignorance is not always bliss!

During the months leading up to my final decision to get back into the hobby I did quite a bit of research but none of the results dealt specifically with my locale. So upon finding this site I figured a good way to find answers to my problems.

Thanks for the input.

Offline buzzbee

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Re: Questions for any NC bee keepers
« Reply #3 on: March 23, 2013, 05:14:17 pm »
I'm sure we'll get some of your locals chiming in here. We have quite a few from that part of the country.

Offline iddee

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Re: Questions for any NC bee keepers
« Reply #4 on: March 24, 2013, 09:57:09 am »
1. NONE
2. NONE
Treat or feed on an "as needed" basis only.
One deep and one med. AKA story and a half, is normally adequate. Two deeps, AKA two story, if splitting is the goal.
"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . . Anything can happen, child. Anything can be"

*Shel Silverstein*

Offline woodsstalker

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Re: Questions for any NC bee keepers
« Reply #5 on: March 24, 2013, 12:08:52 pm »
Thanks Iddee, that's pretty much as I figured. It's just that I have been reading so many horror stories over the past few years regarding the loss of bee hives and I would hate to loose mine due to something I didn't do.

My set up and intended plans are to use a deep for the brood chamber under a medium super for food stores. I will take off honey only from supers above this. With the winters we have in this area I am hoping that additional feeding should not be needed.