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2009 season off to great start!!

7K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  The Honey Householder 
#1 ·
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.:popcorn:

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

o/o Ron Householder
 
#2 ·
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
 
#3 ·
shaking packages from my packages

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!!!:popcorn:

Always a pleasure talking bees,

o/o Ron Householder
 
#6 · (Edited)
Spraying syrup in frames

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
 
#10 ·
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.
 
#13 ·
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.
 
#15 ·
Evolutiion of the syrup sprayer

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.
 
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