New to Beekeeping

[Oak]

Hi all,

Last year some bees moved into an old possum box in my backyard.

Following some advice from a poultry forum, I have constructed a smaller entrance to keep them warmer over winter. I was a bit worried about suffocating them so I made the entrance 20mm wide and drilled some holes into it as well. I plan to move the bees into a hive in spring. I have assembled 20 "full size" frames with starter strips glued in. I will convert some of these into "cut-out frames" with the string and rubber band method I have seen on this site.

I would love to post some pictures but your forum appears to have very strict rules and penalties on new members posting pictures with links. Maybe I will be able to post some pics after I have made the required number of posts.

Regards

Oak

[kanga]

Welcome to the forum, you will find a lot of good information on this form and lot of berks willing to help. May I suggest that you complete your location within your profile as this helps in getting area specific information when needed.

Until you are able to post pics your self "you can you can email the link(s) to [email protected] (please no photos, just links to hosted photos), and a moderator will gladly post the link for you"

I hope everything works out okay for you.

[Oak]

Thanks for the advice kanga.

Cheers

[Geoff]

    Bayswater is an eastern suburb of Melbourne Kanga.  Good luck with them Oak.

[ozebee]

Welcome to the forum. I am sure you will enjoy transferring them from the possum box to a brand new hive - I have done one of these last spring and they are doing very well in their new box.

[Oak]

Thanks Geoff and ozebee,

To be honest, I only added my location after kanga suggested it.

Cheers

[squidink]

Welcome to the forum mate!

[Oak]

Thanks squidink

[Oak]

Hi all,

I have a question. I plan on building two hives each with a full size broodbox and a full size super.

How many nuc hives is it advisable to have?

Any advice is appreciated.

Oak

[Oak]

Hi all,

I have another question. Is it possible to move a hive 10 meters to a more accessible location?

I have heard that hive must be moved a minimum of 300 meters otherwise the bees will return to the old site.

Also,

When is the best time to do a cut out?


Thanks

[bunyip]

Hi oak i guess u can move them only a few feet at the time, its a long process.

[Oak]

Thanks bunyip,

In that case I will set up my first hive where the the bees already are. Sorry, I have a lot of pictures:



My feral bees the day they moved in.



Are the bees of any particular type?



Here are some pics of my hive building progress. I had enough discarded signage to make four metal roofs.



A finished roof:



So I now have four double 10 frame hives and a nuc. Below are three hives before painting.



The single hives are now placed around the backyard with lemongrass oil as bait on the off chance that I catch another swarm.

Regards

[bunyip]

There looking good  just need a coat of paint have fun painting  lol :)

[Oak]

Thanks bunyip,

The painting is now done.

20 frames down, 65 to go.

[JasonP]

Looking Great Oak, enjoy the experience. My hive just swarmed and a whole bunch of my bees flew off so I hope someone like you grabs them. Don't forget to get your beetle traps, they will find you! (assuming they're in Victoria, which I think they are)
Good luck
Jason.

[Oak]

Cheers Jason,

I will let you know how two layers of gutter guard and a kitty litter tray full of cooking oil works as a hive beetle trap.

[Oak]

More hive building progress. I have assembled all my frames. Here is a picture of my workshop, using brads and a staple gun made things much quicker.



Now I am turning my empty frames:



into frames with starter strips glued in:



as well as a few dummy boards, which may help keep new combs straight:



Here is a 3mm sheet of plywood, before it became 64 starter strips:



I hear that hives are swarming in my area which I assume means that now is a good time to cut out my possum box. I am ready, but do I need to wait for a hot day before I crack open the hive?

Right now it is a bit chilly. Would a sunny day of 22 degrees C be better for the bees?

Oak

[bunyip]

Hi oak your frames looking good well done, to your question a warm sunny day would be better next Monday looking good if u need help let me now i'm not to far from you.

[Oak]

Hi bunyip,

I think I will be OK on my own but thankyou very much for your offer of help it is very generous.

Cheers

Oak

[Col Collyer]

Hey Oak
Accept the help, you will learn more in a few hours thet you ever thought possible, and will increase your chance of success by a huge amount

Cheers
Col
in Glen Waverley