I am new to this. I have my three hives set up as two deep brood chambers and I am doing mediums for honey. Ten frames each.
So right now everything is "in production" but as I am reading this, it occurs to me there might come a day when I need "spare parts" to address one issue or another. Now I know some of you must have a building full of extra this and that... :?: but what should a new beekeeper have at hand at all times? Supers, frames, foundation? What?
Thanks in advance. Again! :roll:
supers, frames, and foundation are all good. I like to always have some white exterior paint and a bottle of wood glue. A few strips of sand paper is nice when working on frames or boxes. Just little stuff, you will learn. One thing I know I want to get to have on hand though is a nuc. I have an extra hive but I dont have a nuc. :D
My preference: I like keeping some lumber, a table saw, a router mounted to a table, various plans, and glue and hardware for assembly.
I just built four, 5 deep frame nucs from scraps of other projects. They are sweet to work with. Even though my bees are a little too defensive the nucs population are still manageable.
One unexpected event for me last year (first year) was capturing a swarm, I had to put it in a nuc until I could get a new hive shipped to me. I would suggest having at least one complete additional hive set-up ready to go 'just incase'. Of course that means foundation, frames, everything.
It's also nice to have that spare empty super just to help as a frame rest when manipulating frames in your boxes - rather than setting them on the ground or even on those frame rests - I like to have the girls in a box as much as possible, I also cover them with a cloth cover that seems to keep them them a little more settled.
I agree with all of them - extra boxes and frames all the time, and a nuc box. I have a little "hive kit" that I keep next to the hives. It's just a large plastic box (bought at walmart) that I keep my tools in. I've got two hive tools, my smoker, some cotton, a couple bbq lighters, some cardboard, bee brush, and a few extra frames in there. I also keep an extra box down at the hives (no frames) just in case I need it to hold frames. It usually sits on top of a screened stand that has no exit on the bottom. It has worked great ..... and here's what I often use it for: I put the box on the stand, and place the hive lid next to it. As I pull out frames of honey, I'll get the bees off them and place them in this box. I then put the lid on it, and since the bottom has no way in, it secure from bees returning to the frames. Then I can move on to the next honey frame doing the same with each.
Beth