# Top bar hives



## Dandi den (Dec 11, 2013)

So I'm very interested in the top bar hive method. I'm new and it seems easier. However I've had a hard time finding any info on knowing how much honey to take. With the Lang's you can take from the shallows for example and there is still plenty for the hive. Is there a rule of thumb here or no? I live in eastern BC so (usually) we have fairly mild winters and an early pollen run


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## bluefish (Jan 27, 2006)

What I do is take in the spring, after the honey flow starts. That way they have as much as they can for the winter.


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## Buffy in Dallas (May 10, 2002)

I get top bar info and advice at this site. 

http://www.biobees.com/forum/index.php?sid=b4591e111b0e736f81381c7ff0ed1606

There are also some great books out there.

http://www.tbhsbywam.com/

http://www.amazon.com/The-Thinking-Beekeeper-Natural-Beekeeping/dp/0865717206

I have worked with top bar hives for 2 years and really like them!


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## jimbobnh (Jul 15, 2010)

Hi Guys, I've installed a few package bees into conventional hives and I'm trying a top bar hive this spring, any pointers ?


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## beegrowing (Apr 1, 2014)

This Worked from my experience first year,gleaned from lots of sites or books.:grin:

Check out the pointers on GoldStar ,Christy Hemenway's site. Esp the queen cage info.
Have marshmallow,not hard candy blocking the queen cage escape. Get the cage out in 2 or 3 days and be prepared to gently cut it out (already). 

Put a drop of lemongrass on cotton and swab a tiny bit into the new hive. The bees Just LOVE it....I could somehow just tell they did,ya know?

If you have a screened bottom close it or cover it so your hive is dark inside (except light coming through their entrance) for the first couple of weeks(or until hot weather)

Dump 'em late in the day as you can,so they won't fly until the next day.
Have 1:1 syrup feeder in place Until they get going in a good flow,so they'll get busy building comb and don't need to forage as hard. 

Have a false back blocking half your hive so the space isn't too huge Until they get going or weather is no longer frosting at night.... I only did this for about two weeks but my Carniolans went gangbusters building. The deal is that comb helps insulate them and keep them warm when clustered but in a TB they have to build it first!

I did that stuff and it worked great. No clue which steps are "important" and which not. I didn't see Any sign of the bees absconding .....sounded like purring instead from day one! :whistlin:


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## beegrowing (Apr 1, 2014)

I post my top bar progress under "what's everyone up to" thread usually but thought I'd post here that I installed a second hive April 16 this year and everything went great using the same methods I listed above.

My overwintered top bar is bursting and full....with a top bar you can't add a level. I need to check for queen cells already and decide if I want to do my first split this season. I have a window(removable cover) in one side of that hive and haven't felt the need to do a full inspection until now. I can See that all the new comb where I made spaces for the queen to lay 3 times this Spring is rebuilt and straight though. 

I took half a gallon of leftover from winter honey when the fruit tree flow happened here and I'll post if I take more. Keepers that stay "on top" of their bees, get about a gallon and a half per year from top bars (I think....I'm sure it varies). It's much less honey than lang hives but good for homesteaders that don't want an extra business;just want honey for themselves. It takes a couple of years to Really know how much you'll get. I believe I'll expand to 3 hives then stop but I'm only starting year 2 and don't know for sure.

Things like treating for mites has to be "tweaked" for top bar hive use but hopefully manufacturers will figure out how popular this method is becoming and make special doses for top bars in the future. Maybe someone has....I haven't checked this year.

MANY top bar beeks go "natural" but it's risky if you can't afford to get bees over and over. Natural top bar keepers usually raise their own queens and have many hives or nucs going into winter so the strongest and most mite resistant live.I've read several times on bee forums that some areas don't have mite problems At All with their top bars. It may be due to letting their hives swarm and breaking up the mite cycle or it may be their climate.

There are all kinds of videos of natural beeks without suits handling top bars too. Bees in top bars are often-but Not always!- calm due to little disturbance during inspecting one bar at a time. Those folks go Real Slow though and never squish a single bee-which would raise an alarm. If an animal "spooked" them the night before you'd get attacked the next day by a gang of angry guards anyway though! I Totally suit up every time I go into a hive,even installing, because I'm new and I simply don't want to get stung. 

When I go to observe or look in the hive window I don't suit up because if they are mad at something a guard bee will come out and bump me right away when I get near. I've never gotten stung visiting the hives to observe but had to freeze a few times before I backed away slowly and just plain ran a few times too. Ha,I find relating to them a delightful adventure. Most days I walk right through part of their flight path just making sure none land on me, then stand or sit awhile to watch. I never know what they might teach me about themselves.

I'm a 60 year old woman with no helpers and I Do think top bars are easy(after a realistic time of study first!!!) and fun. They have added a dimension to my life that I adore! I love them almost like pets but always keep in mind that insects Are different and I act accordingly.


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