First time Bee keeper....

[albertadeer]

Does anyone have any do's and dont's for first time bee keepers?


I ordered up a complete hive with a nuc of bees. I have 1/4 section of alfalfa to put my hives close to.

My girlfriend had been doing a pile of research as this is her project mostly... But I'm more then excited for this and am just looking for any info from people with more experience.

[tchammer]

No experience, but keep us posted how it is going. This has always been one of those "things of interest" for me.

[fish_e_o]

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex3946
http://outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=245778

check these out we have some resident bee keepers

[From The Hip]

Originally Posted by albertadeer

Does anyone have any do's and dont's for first time bee keepers?


I ordered up a complete hive with a nuc of bees. I have 1/4 section of alfalfa to put my hives close to.

My girlfriend had been doing a pile of research as this is her project mostly... But I'm more then excited for this and am just looking for any info from people with more experience.

I highly suggest you buy the best bee keeper suit you can

FTH

[Peter Abelard]

Originally Posted by albertadeer

I ordered up a complete hive with a nuc of bees.

Where does one buy beehives and bees from, anyhow?

[Peace Meal Farm]

Peavey Mart sells 'em

[tractor1971]

Also Beemaid in Spruce Grove. Alberta Ag has excellent courses, do it with your GF. Great relationship builder.

[Northern Spirit]

It is recommended that starting out you start with two hives with only one hive you have nothing to make comparisons to. You won't notice small things that will make you question if there are any problems going on. With two hives you can compare differences all summer . As well if one colony is weak you can strengthen it by moving frames of brood from a strong colony to a weak one to strengthen colony numbers which is vital in order to have success in wintering bees over. Have fun An awesome book is "Bee Keeping in Western Canada"

[Beeman]

This is a pretty good look at some of the do nots by people who make a living from bees. http:// http://www.beesource.com/for...-in-beekeeping

A couple of things I can add to a do list are always use smoke. Smoke the entrances before you open the hive and smoke the bees as you open it. Use the smoke again before closing it to help drive the bees down from the top so they don't get squished. Only go play with them in nice weather and not before a storm, bees can sense bad weather and get grumpy about it. Also mid day is usually the best time to work a hive when all the older, meaner bees are busy away from the hive. Read all you can about bee diseases and mites some days it seems like everything is out to get them. And make sure to feed them in the spring and fall if they are light and make sure to give them enough room to make honey in the summer.

And enjoy them and have fun and good luck.

[martinnordegg]

We are getting our first two hives on April 24. I use to help my Dad keep bees when I was young but that's a long time ago. We took the ABC beginners course and the Dept. of Agriculture course this Spring. Lucky to get into both as they were sold out quickly. Also the bees most places are sold out including Peavy Mart, Bee Maid etc.


If you get on the Calgary Beekeepers Association website there are Commercial guys that are still selling nucs, bees etc.. Not sure where you are from but the Calgary group are awesome and have a mentor program running. They also have a blog that you can participate in when joining.

Lots to learn. The two hive advice above is one we sure have heard time and time again. You will have lots of fun. We are sure looking forward to getting our hives up and running!