Those of you who have had a 46-inch +/- top bar hive(s) for several years, on the average how many bars of honey do you get per year for your own personal use?
When do you begin and stop taking it?
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Those of you who have had a 46-inch +/- top bar hive(s) for several years, on the average how many bars of honey do you get per year for your own personal use?
When do you begin and stop taking it?
I live in a poor honey producing region where pollination is more important than honey production. For me it is pretty easy to harvest once in the fall and take 40lbs of honey and leave the colonies 14 to 16 combs with their own honey to winter on. The combs in my hives will hold as much honey as a deep frame will hold.
WOW! That's really impressive. That's like 15 quarts. If I get half that, I'll be happy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Delta Bay
I just pulled 5 combs of honey from one of my second year hives. Got 5 lbs per comb.
I could have pulled more, but that was all I needed! Figured the colony needs it more than me this year.
Could have easily pulled 30+ pounds this first year. I will pull in the spring just before dandelions bloom.
Thanks, folks. I had no idea that I might get more than one or two quarts of 44 ounces each.
Hello friends of TBH, I harvested 14 kg honey. Swarm of May only top carrier.
regards
14 kilograms = 494 ounces; therefore, 494/44 = 11+ quarts ---- Very good!Quote:
Originally Posted by Horst
The real question should be how much to leave in the hive for winter in you're area. Amount of honey in the hive will vary from year to year.
True, somewhat; however, no matter where you live, you said yourself, "Amount of honey in the hive will vary from year to year."Quote:
Originally Posted by KQ6AR
Exactly, That's why I said its more important to know how much to leave, then you can calculate how much to take.
You can leave all the honey in the hive during the winter and harvest in spring instead. No need to calculate like this. This is what Phil Chandler does and a few more beeks from biobees.com
I will do this on one of my hives next year and see how it works. I like the idea because whatever honey is left in Spring is the true surplus honey ;)
This with my Africanized bees here in Honduras so take that into consideration. Also, I don’t do intensive management with my hives—sometimes none. Some I only enter to take honey.
So with that said, the stronger hives can give me 20 to 24 bars of honey. The size of each comb is the equivalent of a deep frame. Most of my top bar hives average four to four-and-a-half feet in length.
What I leave for the dearth are the half-filled combs and there are also usually brood combs with a nice strip of capped honey along the top. I don’t feed (if I actually do) until later in the dearth period when the excess honey is about gone—but since this is the tropics that can be done whenever.
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Tom