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  1. #21
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    Apr 2013
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    Default Re: Bee -keeping hobby- any members beekeepers?

    I am in the same boat as you (inexperienced and learning as quickly as possible) and relying on an experienced beekeeper and an excellent book "Johannsmeier Beekeeping in South Africa" for my support. The book deals with all of the questions you have been asking and more. I have the same questions and also used the internet for answers but find the Beekeeping in SA book way more useful. The book says nothing about horses and chickens other than the dry feed is a source for bees and watch to for wild bees messing with your tame hive. I am really appreciating the views and advice of the experienced gun site members here.

  2. #22
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    Mar 2016
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    Kuils Rivier Kaapstad
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    Default Re: Bee -keeping hobby- any members beekeepers?

    I did Beeceeping for about 12 year , Had about 150 Hives , harvested honey , sold to shops , did pollination on fruit trees , it is hard work when you run 150 hives on separate sites , and physical when you start taking off supers on a Saturday , bring back and swing honey out and then same day put supers back on hives on the site again , hard work , promise you , you won't be overweight , I have spitted much swarms , The African bee is the only bee in the world that can make a new Queen if the current Queen is killed , that is why it is possible to split strong swarms , the Queen also determines how hard that swarm will work , lazy Queen then lazy swarm
    Be careful to put hives on your property in residential areas , When a swarm get to big , they will split by it self and the old Queen will leave the Hive with half of the swarm , leaving the other half with a newly laid Queen egg , this is where in residential area it can cause problems for neighbors , also if you harvest honey , the swarm gets upset and sometimes go in attack mode this is where the neighbor gets attack while cutting his lawn , good luck with this very nice hobby

  3. #23
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    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Witbank
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    Default Re: Bee -keeping hobby- any members beekeepers?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jurgen Visser View Post
    I did Beeceeping for about 12 year , Had about 150 Hives , harvested honey , sold to shops , did pollination on fruit trees , it is hard work when you run 150 hives on separate sites , and physical when you start taking off supers on a Saturday , bring back and swing honey out and then same day put supers back on hives on the site again , hard work , promise you , you won't be overweight , I have spitted much swarms , The African bee is the only bee in the world that can make a new Queen if the current Queen is killed , that is why it is possible to split strong swarms , the Queen also determines how hard that swarm will work , lazy Queen then lazy swarm
    Be careful to put hives on your property in residential areas , When a swarm get to big , they will split by it self and the old Queen will leave the Hive with half of the swarm , leaving the other half with a newly laid Queen egg , this is where in residential area it can cause problems for neighbors , also if you harvest honey , the swarm gets upset and sometimes go in attack mode this is where the neighbor gets attack while cutting his lawn , good luck with this very nice hobby
    Great to have input of experienced bee-keepers here on the forum, thank you Jurgen, it is much appreciated. I believe it can evolve/escalate to a big undertaking...fortunately I will not go to that level..I only need fresh bees-wax for myself and my other hobbies...leather work/black powder lube...and if I can get a few liters of pure honey it will be great..as mentioned before the place where I will put the two or three hives will be secluded and fenced off completely..not a possibility of neighbours getting stung by the bees...

    Ft Al , I will look for the book you mentioned...Beekeeping in SA...it seems to be a great book to assist me, fortunately members of this forum really are great when you ask them for assistance ...

  4. #24
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    Jul 2010
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    Witbank
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    Default Re: Bee -keeping hobby- any members beekeepers?

    Quote Originally Posted by BBT View Post
    Gert, try the flowhive system so you'll be able to maximize the harvest of honey with the least amount of effort
    \\

    BBT, look at this link..this seems the best way to go

  5. #25
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    Oct 2013
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    near pmb, kzn.
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    36
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    Default Re: Bee -keeping hobby- any members beekeepers?

    I have horses in camps with plenty of bee hives less than 5m from the fence and never had an issue in 9 years.

  6. #26
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    Jul 2010
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    Default Re: Bee -keeping hobby- any members beekeepers?

    Quote Originally Posted by Trayton View Post
    I have horses in camps with plenty of bee hives less than 5m from the fence and never had an issue in 9 years.
    Trayton, that is why I asked about it, since in the literature I read about bee-keeping a few sources mentioned that a person had to keep a beehive away from horses and chickens since the bees do not like the smell of these animals..I was wondering then how would a person know what a bee likes ( except budding flowers) or not likes..especially the smell part...???

    The only reason I can think of is that chickens really investigate every movement of insects and can be a problem around a beehive..horses usually play a lot, especially the young ones, chasing each other around in a camp..I have a few Koekoek and Venda chickens walking on my premises for the fun of it ..but I will fence the bee hives off...

  7. #27
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    Oct 2013
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    near pmb, kzn.
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    Default Re: Bee -keeping hobby- any members beekeepers?

    Gert I have give on my garage roof and they dont attack the chickens on the floor so unless it is because the chickens are eating the bees at the hive entrance I cant see an issue.

  8. #28
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    Apr 2011
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    54
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    6

    Default Re: Bee -keeping hobby- any members beekeepers?

    HI Gert, I farm about an hour or so from you and have been keeping bees for a while now. It is a fascinating and rewarding hobby.

    Keeping bees in an urban environment can be tricky. Making sure they have an undisturbed flight path is important, you can approach a hive from the side or back without disturbing them but they get protective about the entrance side. You need to limit the traffic in front of the hive, and if you cant you need to lift the hive so the bees fly in and out above the people or horses. Flat garage roof would be ideal.

    Making your hives is a good idea, but I found it easier to buy the frames, they are not expensive and take some time to make. I put a full foundation on my super frames to make them a bit stronger to stand up to the spinning. Harvest, spin and then put the super frames back, bees then just have to fill without having to make the wax again. You will be able to harvest some wax from the cappings that you pulled off to open the frames.
    It is common to put fewer than 10 frames in a super, it makes the de-capping easier because the cells are longer so you can cut them open instead of picking them open with a decapping fork. You can buy or make spacers to nail into the box to keep the spacing even.

    When you have some free time, come and visit, I have a spare bee suit, we can go and open up few hives and take a look.

  9. #29
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    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Pretoria, South Africa
    Age
    34
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    12,547

    Default Re: Bee -keeping hobby- any members beekeepers?

    Oom Gert, when you're up and running with your bees let me know, and I'll give you some pointers into making your first batch of mead... :P

  10. #30
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    Jul 2010
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    Witbank
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    Default Re: Bee -keeping hobby- any members beekeepers?

    Quote Originally Posted by Farmboy View Post
    HI Gert, I farm about an hour or so from you and have been keeping bees for a while now. It is a fascinating and rewarding hobby.

    Keeping bees in an urban environment can be tricky. Making sure they have an undisturbed flight path is important, you can approach a hive from the side or back without disturbing them but they get protective about the entrance side. You need to limit the traffic in front of the hive, and if you cant you need to lift the hive so the bees fly in and out above the people or horses. Flat garage roof would be ideal.

    Making your hives is a good idea, but I found it easier to buy the frames, they are not expensive and take some time to make. I put a full foundation on my super frames to make them a bit stronger to stand up to the spinning. Harvest, spin and then put the super frames back, bees then just have to fill without having to make the wax again. You will be able to harvest some wax from the cappings that you pulled off to open the frames.
    It is common to put fewer than 10 frames in a super, it makes the de-capping easier because the cells are longer so you can cut them open instead of picking them open with a decapping fork. You can buy or make spacers to nail into the box to keep the spacing even.

    When you have some free time, come and visit, I have a spare bee suit, we can go and open up few hives and take a look.
    Farmboy, I will take you up on your offer..I have a few projects to complete still, but then I really want to get into bee-keeping...it is something my uncle did a long time ago and it fascinated me immensely.. I will always remember the white suite with the hood he wore and the delicious smell of honey...

    I am planning to complete the kitchen build project soon as well as at least complete the 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser shortly..I do make some progress with the current projects although it really takes a lot of time to do more than one project at the same time...will come and visit you shortly in the near future....

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