2009 season off to great start!!

[The Honey Householder]

I started cleaning all my hives up in Jan. I was finished spraying syrup in the frame, and set all the hives for the 600 package early. Which was great because package order was moved from 4-1-09 to 3-20-09. Nothing like a 10 ten day head start. I had two great days to shake all 600 packages in. Which it took me 4 days last year in the rain.
It's been cool and wet since shaking in package, which it alway seem to be in April. Which is a big help keeping the bees at home only to make bees. I should be shaking package and making splits by the 5th of May, about two week earlier then normal. Only hope things dry up and queen shippment come in on time now. Their is always those things that you can not control in beekeeper, but it's nice when things go good.
I'm a second generation honey producer and have never seen the honey price this high before.
Well I've got to get to fishing! I've got a week or two before the Queen come in and back to work.

Hope things are going well for all those other honey producers,

o/o Ron Householder

[JohnK and Sheri]

Glad to hear everything is ahead down by you, wish we could say the same. It is starting to warm up so maybe we will catch up quickly. We have been making nucs and shaking packages for only a week or so, but the weather has been kind for that week at least. Still little to no pollen coming in.
It is dry which might hurt later with the honey production but will help us now in making it easier to get the bees to the outyards.
It is nice the price of honey is up, the question is whether it will go higher. It is a novelty this year as we are getting courted by the packers for a change, not the other way around.

I remember the days when we had to shake 300+ packages in a day, rain or shine....or snow! We installed 300 some packages once with 12" of snow on the ground in 40 degree weather, that was no fun. The tops of the boxes were right at the snow line, we had to practically stand on our heads to shake them in. We didn't have to worry about drift that year at all.

Am I understanding that you buy packages, then shake packages later?
Why do you do this?
Sheri

[The Honey Householder]

Am I understanding that you buy packages, then shake packages later?
Why do you do this?
Sheri[/QUOTE]

Yes, I buy packages in late March, early April, and build them up and shake packages to supply the hobbies with packages in the area.
I start out with almost a full brood box of syrup and within 6 week its a full box bees. I split over half of my hives, so to keep them at home. I try and only keep what I can manage and take care for myself. I've found if I try and work to many hives my APH (avg. per. hive) goes down. Last year I had 165 lb APH and only 650 hives. This year I'm looking to hire someone to help extract and will try 850 hive.
Back in the good old day before mites, my family ran over 1500 hives, and produce over 60 ton a year. There was a lot less expense back in those day, but honey prices was at $.38 lb. or less.
So by shaking package I help the local beekeeper that need bees, and it save them on shipping. They get fresh bees from the hive the same day.
OK there's a lot more money in bees then honey. Anyone shaking bees knows that!!!

Always a pleasure talking bees,

o/o Ron Householder

[Keith Jarrett]

OK there's a lot more money in bees then honey. Anyone shaking bees knows that!!!
o/o Ron Householder

I'll drink to that.

[abeeco]

re: spraying syrup on frame---

do you have a box setup to do this and keep down the mess, or? what kind of sprayer?

if you are shaking 3 lb on a deep full of (mostly) empty comb, how much syrup (gal) do you use per colony?

[The Honey Householder]

re: spraying syrup on frame---

do you have a box setup to do this and keep down the mess, or? what kind of sprayer?

if you are shaking 3 lb on a deep full of (mostly) empty comb, how much syrup (gal) do you use per colony?

This was a setup that I made myself.
I have a 25 gal. tank that I hook to a compresser @ 120 psi. I heat my syrup up 150 degrees. All my comb are 3rd generation frame (old combs) most are 70-100 years old so they can take the heat. I can get about 3 gallons per hive body, and most have a gal. feeder in them that I can feed more later if needed. It take about 10 min. to fill each box.
Now for the mess: there is some overspray, but with syrup there is alway some mess.
By spraying syrup in the frame I can shake 2# package in later March and have no worries. The bees have the food right where they need it.
Which leave more time for fishing!!!

Always a pleasure talking bees,
o/o Ron Householder

[adamf]

I can get about 3 gallons per hive body, and most have a gal. feeder in them that I can feed more later if needed. It take about 10 min. to fill each box.
o/o Ron Householder

Hi Ron,
Nice to see you out and about!

Questions:
1. What concentration is the syrup you're using above?
2. What is the formulation: i.e. is it Sucrose or HFC? Or ??

Thank you, I appreciate your sharing!

Adam Finkelstein
www.vpqueenbees.com

[The Honey Householder]

Hi Adam,

I bought a half of a load of HFC-sugar bend from Cargill this year and it was some thick stuff. I had to heat it up to about 150 deg. before spraying it into the combs. I gave about $.25 a lb and the bees are building up great on it. I get my first shipment of queens in next week. I had looked at some of my packages I put in on 3-21 and some have 5-6 frame of brood. I'll start spliting and shaking packages by the end of next week.

So how is the queen business?

Always a pleasure talking bees,

Ron

Hi Ron,
Nice to see you out and about!

Questions:
1. What concentration is the syrup you're using above?
2. What is the formulation: i.e. is it Sucrose or HFC? Or ??

Thank you, I appreciate your sharing!

Adam Finkelstein
www.vpqueenbees.com

[adamf]

I bought a half of a load of HFC-sugar bend from Cargill this year and it was some thick stuff. I had to heat it up to about 150 deg. before spraying it into the combs. I gave about $.25 a lb and the bees are building up great on it.
So how is the queen business?

Hi Ron,
So you're heating up the HFC-sugar blend and then spraying it in directly? No dilution?

The queen business is busy and good. We're behind with the cool weather, but it looks like we're going to get some good temps coming up.

Amazing isn't it how bees can build up so fast!

Thanks for the reply,
Adam Finkelstein
www.vpqueenbees.com

[sqkcrk]

Kelly Co. had a syrup sprayer at one time. Do they still sell that item? It was pretty basic, tank, gas powered motor to run the pump, pvc pipes w/ holes drilled into them to spray the syrup. And it was on wheels so you could pull it behind your truck. Though I wouldn't recommend it.

[The Honey Householder]

Hi Adam,
I don't need to dilute the syrup, because with heating it to 150 deg. and the old combs.
This is the set up: I have a big tub that I sit the frame on there side in the tub. The sprayer tip is off of a tree spray you can pick up at any store. The enclose syrup tank is heavy steel with a 1" fill hole with a value. It's got the sprayer line in the bottom and the air fitting at the top. I run 120 psi with the old combs. With some of my newer frame, I've lower my temp. and pressures.

There is some over spray and mess with the tub I use.

Six years ago I got a truck load of strawbarry filling in. I had to dilute that stuff with 2 gal. of water to 30 gal filling.
I don't think they build up as fast on that, but it was free feed. Nothing beats free feed if it works.


If you have some extra queens around May 15, let me know. The bees are looking great and I only have 250 queens on the book with my other supplier. I'm always up for trying other supplier and seeing what is out there.

Ron

Hi Ron,
So you're heating up the HFC-sugar blend and then spraying it in directly? No dilution?

The queen business is busy and good. We're behind with the cool weather, but it looks like we're going to get some good temps coming up.

Amazing isn't it how bees can build up so fast!

Thanks for the reply,
Adam Finkelstein
www.vpqueenbees.com

[adamf]

Ron,
Thanks very much for a description of your frame-spraying technique. I'm going to have to try it out!

If you have some extra queens around May 15, let me know. The bees are looking great and I only have 250 queens on the book with my other supplier. I'm always up for trying other supplier and seeing what is out there.

Ron, I wish! We're booked up solid until our June 29th ship date. That's prob. too late for you? Please email/call me and maybe we can figure something out.

Thanks again,
Adam Finkelstein
www.vpqueenbees.com

[sqkcrk]

On a small scale, though I have done this w/ about 400 colonies, I've punched holes in the bottom of a coffee can and used that to sprinkle syrup into combs. I layed the combs on top of the syrup in the barrel and scooped the syrup into the can and sprinkled it into the comb, flipped it over and did the other side. You have to keep a bucket of water around to wash off your hands. But it works. And it's low tech too. Which is right for me.

[Tom G. Laury]

A garden sprayer also works, with a stream nozzle. Hate to think about working that hard though.

[The Honey Householder]

Tom,
My setup started out with a 2 gal. fruit tree sprayer. I got tied of pumping it up, so then I hook up an air fitting to it. Then I got tied of filling up that 2 gal. tank. I had a guy make a heavy enclosed tank for me. That way I didn't have to fill it up as often, and I could put more air pressure to the tank too.

What a beekeeper does to try and make it easer for the bees, and keep them making bees.

Here is some other ways at a smaller scale.

You can pour syrup on the combs and shake it in, but you can only do one side.

I had a guy that bought 45 of my early packages, and he used a paint brush to push the syrup into the cells. He said that worked out great.

[The Honey Householder]

Ron,
Thanks very much for a description of your frame-spraying technique. I'm going to have to try it out!



Ron, I wish! We're booked up solid until our June 29th ship date. That's prob. too late for you? Please email/call me and maybe we can figure something out.

Thanks again,
Adam Finkelstein
www.vpqueenbees.com

Adam,
Wow! You still have sales for queens in late June. The latest that I have made splits was June 10 and that was because, if I didn't they would have swarmed. Our main flow starts around the end of June, or the first of July. I try and have all my spliting done by the first of June. Last year by July 20, I ran out of honey suppers and had to start filling barrels.

Always a pleasure to talk bees,

Ron