Author Topic: I'm ready. (Read 8126 times)

Alleyyooper · « **on:** March 11, 2015, 07:39:31 am »

One more winter of losses like the last 3 and I am going to turn the honey house into a repair shop for small engines and small tractors.
Seems as though I can not get ahead with them. Spend all summer building up the last winters losses and not get any honey then loose the same amount or more the next winter.
I even lost two colonies I had set up with 3 deeps as a experiment to see if they had enough honey to see them thru.

So I put syrup on them yesterday and am hoping this warm spell isn't just a passing thing.

Al

barry42001 · « **Reply #1 on:** March 11, 2015, 10:32:00 am »

Hey Al, I know that sinking feeling. With that said, we are all deep well aware of the issues involved in beekeeping. Unless you're maintaining hundreds of colonies, then any loses will be felt financially. Most here on this site are not truly commercial beekeepers, and the expenses of a failed season for most we absorb not because of the loss of profits but because we " love " beekeeping. Honey is a side benefit. And on those really good years the girls make enough to not only survive the winter, but provide you with their excess. I have always spoken about beekeeping in a rather passive tone, but fact is I really enjoy working with them, and seeing if I can accomplish my goals with the bees. Ultimately the bees determine that, lol volumes are written, unfortunately bees don't read...

LogicalBee · « **Reply #2 on:** March 11, 2015, 01:12:01 pm »

This Wolverine sympathizes with you Yooper. We’ve had a couple of brutal winters and they’ve taken a heavy toll on my bees too. :'( This Feb was the coldest ever recorded in my area. I had been running about 30 single box 6 frame medium nucs as part of my sustainability strategy. Lost about half last year and it looks like about 75% loss this year! So I’m in the process of trying to re-design a more robust system for the nucs for the coming ice age. Either that, or move someplace warmer like Alaska

Jen · « **Reply #3 on:** March 11, 2015, 02:59:11 pm »

What holds me to beekeeping is the romance of it. Those 80 degree days when the bees are so content when I'm in the hive. When they land on my arm and groom themselves and tell how their day is going. When I carry a bee into the house on my shoulder and she chatters away while I'm doing the dishes. The scent of the hive when it has two supers full of honey on it.

Alley, I'm into my 5th season, last year is the first year I got honey. I keep bees because it's the most fascinating hobby I have ever had ~

kingd · « **Reply #4 on:** March 11, 2015, 03:27:58 pm »

Hey Al,
So far I'm at 50% loss and 2 of them were 3 deep also,One of them was my fault and it starved out(figured it was fine).
The other one was just gone with full stores.
Hang in there!! I know a guy that had 100% loss 4 years in a row and this year he is down 1 out of 30 plus.
I guess one of the things he did was feed constantly last fall.

I think I would have called it after 3 years.

Zweefer · « **Reply #5 on:** March 11, 2015, 05:51:36 pm »

all of mine are gone.
patiently waiting on my packages to arrive so i can pick myself up and dust myself off and start all over again.

LazyBkpr · « **Reply #6 on:** March 11, 2015, 11:15:55 pm »

Look at your bees/hives, figure out why they died? is it something you are not doing, or is it because the BEES are not capable of wintering in your climate?
How are you preparing them for the winter? What can you change? LOOK at how Perry winters his hives. If he can do it in Nova Scotia, You can do it in Michigan, you just need to figure out the "method" that will allow them to survive, and or, get bees capable of dealing with extended periods of cold. Bees that have the genetics needed to survive long cold snaps might make a world of difference.

LogicalBee · « **Reply #7 on:** March 12, 2015, 12:55:45 am »

I still have plenty of bees, but the single layer nucs can’t take the bitter cold we’ve been getting the last two years. They did great in the previous years of normal cold. Looks like all my double decker nucs survived. Unfortunately not all my nucs grew to double deckers before winter. The upper deck probably provides another 6” of food for the survivors as they ate their way up in the cold. I’ve been in the workshop today getting ready for next winter.

Alleyyooper · « **Reply #8 on:** March 12, 2015, 06:25:23 am »

One of my triple boxes which had 30 frames full of honey still has 22 frames full of honey and they died right in the center top box. 3 frames for the cluster cleaned in the bottom and second deep then in the third the cluster had cleaned two Frames.

I don't believe it is the winter cold as we make sure every out yard placement has very good wind breaks. I really think the dry summers are the culprit and syrup fed in the fall isn't really good for them in the cold.

I have the book writt3en by the fellow who kept bees in B.C. CA. in consistent 45 below temps for many years. I practice most of his methods except the grouping of 4 hives together.

A friend quit last year and he ran 500 colonies for years. He is still messing with bees, goes south and gets trailer loads of packages to sell and does custom extraction and mentors new bee keepers.
Said the best thing is not buying 200 packages a year only to loose 300 next winter.

Al

LogicalBee · « **Reply #9 on:** March 12, 2015, 12:09:43 pm »

I would sure hate to a be a commercial beek. I would go bankrupt for sure

tefer2 · « **Reply #10 on:** March 12, 2015, 06:01:09 pm »

Quote from: LogicalBee on March 12, 2015, 12:09:43 pm

I would sure hate to a be a commercial beek. I would go bankrupt for sure

Commercial folks take their hives south for the winter! They don't have to deal with cold.

LazyBkpr · « **Reply #11 on:** March 12, 2015, 06:43:21 pm »

One of my triple boxes which had 30 frames full of honey still has 22 frames full of honey and they died right in the center top box.

If they had reserves, no nosema, afb, mites etc.. and they STILL died, then I honestly believe this was NOT something that was your fault. I do believe it is the fault of the genetic line of bees you are trying to winter.
Time and time again I have had the argument with folks that tell me that ANY BEE can overwitner ANYWHERE if it is done correctly...
Unfortunately, they do not go into detail about the hive heaters they use, the dehumidifiers and custom insulation while ranting that I am doing something wrong...
Personal experience has shown that such statements are total bunk.. the type of bees you have DOES very much matter.
If you cant winter the bees you have, using PROVEN methods, get better bees!
I had 4 hives of local bees go through the winter this year with NO wrap. Just the insulation on top to stop condensation, and the sugar cakes in case they needed them.. all four hives are still alive.
The hives I lost were packages and daughter queens from the package bees.. as of today, every one of the 20 locally bred hives I owned is still alive and flying.
Try it yourself! Get some new bees, and put locally bred PROVEN queens in those hives when they are going well. You will be amazed at how well they winter.

Alleyyooper · « **Reply #12 on:** March 13, 2015, 06:47:40 am »

I have been raising my own queens for over 10 years now from over wintered stock.
I broke down and bought two queens last spring because the wife felt our line was starting to be sort of inbred. Was a waste of money, One never did lay an egg from the day she came out of the cage and I finally got rid of her. The second one laid real spotty like a dozen eggs a day for a long time before I tired of her too.

I still think it is the dry conditions we have had the last 3 years and the syrup fed in the fall isn't good for them to over winter in the temps we are now getting.

Al

Alleyyooper · « **Reply #13 on:** March 31, 2015, 08:34:16 am »

Well NOT all commercial bee keepers take their colonies south for the winter.

So much for a early spring, 3 inch's of new snow this morning and it is still falling.
Lost two more colonies and they all had syrup to help them get by.

Added pollen patties yesterday and it was 51F.

Al

iddee · « **Reply #14 on:** March 31, 2015, 08:58:21 am »

Crazy weather. 24 F. yesterday, 73 F. today. The bees could sure use a little consistency, and so could I.

rwlaw · « **Reply #15 on:** March 31, 2015, 09:45:03 am »

Ya, this is the worst winter I've ever had, and the first and the last time I tried to over winter in three deeps. I've been picking my bud's brain as he doesn't have any qualms about wintering single deeps with sugar blocks.
The things that are sticking out is
Condense/combine, if you have a couple smaller hives, off one queen and make them stronger. Get the larger ones packed into the hive, that way the cluster can't get separated, etc, and can operate as what they're supposed to do, cluster as single unit.
Feed, Mel feeds till they won't take anymore, mostly after the fall flow is winding down. Which makes sense, the weather's still warm enough to cap and the brood nest is getting smaller.
One of these days I'll get it right LOL.

tefer2 · « **Reply #16 on:** March 31, 2015, 10:01:08 am »

In one of Mels presentations, I remember seeing a picture of a 5 gallon feeder pail on his hives.

caesarsfish · « **Reply #17 on:** March 31, 2015, 10:33:35 am »

This was our second bad winter in a row but I was lucky, only lost a couple of hives. One was a strong hive that I was not worried about, but when warm weather came they decided to move, no dead bees, just an empty hive. I do think the local bees do better. I caught a swarm of local small black bees a couple of years ago and they are doing great. I have got five splits out of these hives and they are great honey producers and they take the cold well. The only down side, they are mean in the spring and I have to smoke them a few times to get them in a better mood.

Perry · « **Reply #18 on:** March 31, 2015, 11:02:28 am »

Those black bees are sought after by some folks. You struck it rich by catching them.

Newbee · « **Reply #19 on:** March 31, 2015, 04:34:42 pm »

Quote from: Jen on March 11, 2015, 02:59:11 pm

I keep bees because it's the most fascinating hobby I have ever had ~

LOL! That's the allure that has me interested!
I started in the saltwater aquarium hobby on a bit of whim... 15+ years later, I'm done w/ the bathtub-sized tanks, and round-tripped back down to a single 65-gallon w/ 1 lamp. Still fascinating hobby (but I check the water's pH by taste now instead of the kit).
I'm hoping to find the same sense of getting engulfed in this hobby.

(still tinkering w/ my box joints, nothing concrete yet).

- K