Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

MEMBER BULLETIN BOARD => GREETINGS/TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF => Topic started by: mgates61 on December 27, 2007, 11:41:19 pm

Title: New to the game of Bees.......
Post by: mgates61 on December 27, 2007, 11:41:19 pm
Hey there,

  My name is mike, I live in N. Central Arkansas.  I will be starting my first colony in the spring of 2008.  I plan to  build my own hives as  I love woodworking.  Any tips or hints would be appreciated.

Thanks.
Title: Re: New to the game of Bees.......
Post by: JP on December 28, 2007, 12:36:22 am
Hi Mike, welcome to beemaster! Start with at least two hives is my advice. One could be stronger than the other and you can draw from the stronger one to strengthen the weak one. You could wind up with two strong ones but you just don't have anything to compare to with just one hive. Go to Michael Bush's site, www.bushfarms.com, he is a member of this site. His site has an abundance of ideas for the beginner as well as the advanced beekeeper. Mike you will see that no two beekeepers are alike in their approach to beekeeping, so opinions will vary. Beekeeping is about discovering what works for you, you will develop your own preferences, enjoy the journey.

Sincerely, JP
Title: Re: New to the game of Bees.......
Post by: Cindi on December 28, 2007, 09:39:56 am
Mike, oops, missed your opening post here.  Got busy over the holiday celebration.  I will bring your post back to the forefront, and you will get many new welcomes from the "welcoming" committee, as we have been aptly called, hee, hee.

You'll love to spend some great and quality time here, you will learn lots and lots, you will hear from all ranges of skill of beekeepers, right from the new beekeepers so those that have been at it for eons.  Welcome.

JP has it said right in a nutshell.  Start with no less than 2 hives.  With that, if you have a failure in one colony, you have the other colony to help a fallen colony out.  You will read more about the importance of this.  Anyways, welcome, enjoy your visits here, you will meet some very good friends.  Have the best and most wonderful day, Cindi
Title: Re: New to the game of Bees.......
Post by: gottabee on December 28, 2007, 04:02:10 pm
Hi Mike,
Welcome. The Bee Game is dynamic to say the least. It is challenging indeed.
One thing to consider is the type of equipment you are going to use (make). I started with traditional 10 frame equipment and have changed over to 8 frame because it is lighter. I use screened bottom boards with a slide in bottom, split frames, wired wax foundation, split feeders, and queen excluders during the honey flow. There is no right or wrong way to approach beekeeping. If you stay involved you will change and adapt many times to find what works best for you. The important thing is that youve decided to become a beekeeper. Thats great.
Congratulations and good luck to you.
Title: Re: New to the game of Bees.......
Post by: asprince on December 28, 2007, 06:26:45 pm
mgates61,

Welcome to the forum. Let me add one little note to the advice given by jp, cindi, and gotabee. Those two hives need to be in the same location. I started with two hives but had them miles apart. Not good. If I ever have  multiple locations again, I will always have multiple hives at each location.

Good Luck, Steve
Title: Re: New to the game of Bees.......
Post by: JP on December 28, 2007, 06:50:10 pm
Good point Steve.

Sincerely, JP
Title: Re: New to the game of Bees.......
Post by: Michael Bush on December 29, 2007, 05:27:01 pm
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesnewbees.htm