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Offline ARairwolf70

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Bee yard fence and hive stand
« on: November 02, 2017, 10:46:32 pm »
Hello, all!
I have a question to ask y'all  :embarassed:
I live in the country and I'm trying to figure out where I want to put bee yard.
A little history: I live in central Arkansas and the Dardanelle lake is about 150 yards from my house so my bee's will have plenty of water.
My pasture has some trees but not A lot.
I want to position my yard where the hives will get early sun from the east. Np.
I have goats so I know I'll have to fence my bee yard in.
We get some fairly violent weather here of straight line winds of gusts of 80 mph. And violent micro burst storms. With biblical rain. My prevailing winds come from the west over neighbors trees. My question is I don't want to build A lot of fences to protect my bee's. My thinking was to build A small yard now. Fence livestock panels ate 16' long and around 5' tall.
So I figured 15'? 30' to start.
But that doesn't keep the wind off my hives.
Then I was thinking of driving t- posts in. About 2' 8" apart then sliding pallets vertically over the posts to create a wind block.
Some beeks have suggested ziptieing burlap sacks to the livestock panel fence. But my goats will chew on it.

Also, has anyone seen a stable hive stand that doesn't involve me digging a hole?
My pasture is very rocky. I don't dig unless absolutely necessary.
Anywho. Please ask me anything.
Any advise would be great! Btw.
I tend to overbuild everything.

Van, Arkansas, USA

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Re: Bee yard fence and hive stand
« Reply #1 on: November 02, 2017, 11:33:37 pm »
Wolf, I live in N Arkansas, Ozark area.  I know what you mean about digging, guaranteed rocks in every hole.

First, you'll need to strap you hives and face South if possible.  I built a stand: With 2 each 2X12 for weight and supporting the hives.  I attached the 2X12 to 3 1/3" solid post (landscape timber) placed only 4-6 inches in the ground.  I used quick Crete in the hole with the post.  Then cross braced and top boards 2X6 as needed.  This structure is solid, heavy, wind proof, and takes only small shallow holes.  I like my hives at least 12 inches off the ground.  You can attach hives to the base with the straps and kill two birds with one stone.

I have made stands with construction block and slide landscape timbers through the block.  This is not wind proof.
Blessings

Offline Acebird

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Re: Bee yard fence and hive stand
« Reply #2 on: November 03, 2017, 09:14:51 am »
If you don't care about aesthetics you can strap two hives to a pallet that you might get free.  You can also build a wind break with the same kind of pallet.
« Last Edit: November 03, 2017, 04:55:34 pm by Acebird »
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Offline AR Beekeeper

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Re: Bee yard fence and hive stand
« Reply #3 on: November 03, 2017, 11:38:00 am »
How many colonies do you have?  Wind breaks can be made using square bales of straw or hay for individual colonies, you may not need a wind break if your neighbor's trees act as a break.  I have never had a colony blown over, just telescoping covers blown off, and none of those since I started making my own with sides 3 inches or more. 

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Bee yard fence and hive stand
« Reply #4 on: November 03, 2017, 07:49:08 pm »
My first multi hive stand was made from 2-12' railroad tracks that were on my on my farm when I bought it. I put them on cinder blocks. I attached 2x6 boards where the hives were located so that I could strap the hives down for high winds and to slow bears down long enough for the bees to react.
In town, I built basically the same thing but used 2x4s as the rails. I added anchors to the 2 ends to strap all of the hives down with each hive strapped down individually to the stand.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
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Offline UrbisAgricola

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Re: Bee yard fence and hive stand
« Reply #5 on: November 09, 2017, 05:57:56 pm »
I don't know if this would be a bad idea where you live, but most people around here (south Louisiana) put their hives on two cinder blocks. 

We get hurricane force winds being 30 miles from the gulf, but blowing over is not really an issue here  except for people who live on the prairie.  Even out on the prairie the only thing I have had knocked over by wind was a nuc I stacked too high and the top super was empty.  Never had a full-size hive blow over or a lid blow off.
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Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Bee yard fence and hive stand
« Reply #6 on: November 09, 2017, 08:34:07 pm »
I personally think 2 cinder blocks is too small for a hive stand. I like to have the front edge of the hive boxes lined up with the front edge of the stand and the back edge hanging one inch over the hive stand. This allows me to feel the weight of the hives on a regular basis.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
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Offline Acebird

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Re: Bee yard fence and hive stand
« Reply #7 on: November 10, 2017, 08:36:39 am »
Never had a full-size hive blow over or a lid blow off.

If you run 10 frame equipment the hive is shorter and wider at the base.  Eight frame is more likely to blow over.  A lot of people put hives on top of cinder blocks.  Depending on your soil it may work for you.  However I would recommend placing them on the solid side and using 3 blocks per hive or 5 per pair.
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Offline UrbisAgricola

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Re: Bee yard fence and hive stand
« Reply #8 on: November 10, 2017, 11:45:37 am »
We for sure put them on the solid side, mainly so they are not attractive places for ants to build a home.  That probably also makes them less prone to sink into the ground when it is wet and soft.

To each his own.  We get a lot of rainfall, about 60 inches mostly concentrated between about now and March (I am told we are also tied for the #1 most humid place in the USA).  A good thing, in my book anyway, about the cinder blocks is that two of them make a sturdy platform and fit entirely under a 10-frame hive, so the water runs right off the side and there is nothing to hold/delay water/moisture at the bottom (nucs are a different story).  It also allows me to do what sawdstmakr does: tip the hive forward to see how heavy it is.
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Offline Acebird

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Re: Bee yard fence and hive stand
« Reply #9 on: November 10, 2017, 01:34:35 pm »
tip the hive forward to see how heavy it is.

If you use just two blocks fore and aft then the block is just slightly smaller then the width not to bad but supporting the sides and the front with 3 blocks gives full purchase.  I also like to tip my hives side to side because it is a symmetrical force either way.  Front to back is not a symmetrical force because the front of the bottom board is longer then the box.
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Offline little john

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Re: Bee yard fence and hive stand
« Reply #10 on: November 11, 2017, 04:30:04 am »
Also, has anyone seen a stable hive stand that doesn't involve me digging a hole?
My pasture is very rocky. I don't dig unless absolutely necessary.

A lot depends on how many hives we're talking about ...

If I lived on exposed rocky land, then I'd make some of those rocks work on my behalf:  by spreading some thick plastic over a flat area of concrete, place some form-boards on top, fill the form with fist-sized stones, with smaller ones filling the voids, then pour sloppy cement over the lot.  If you have access to a vibrating plate - then use that.  If not, just tamp the mix well down.  This would provide you with a heavy dias (60+ lbs) onto which to place each hive.  If you were to cast some eye-bolts (U-bolts, U-shaped rebar etc) into the slab, then those would provide ideal anchor points for strapping-down.

The only windbreak I'd be concerned about then, would be to protect hive entrances from the worst that nature could inflict.  An electric fence would solve the goat problem.

LJ
A Heretics Guide to Beekeeping - http://heretics-guide.atwebpages.com

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Bee yard fence and hive stand
« Reply #11 on: November 11, 2017, 08:16:12 am »
tip the hive forward to see how heavy it is.

If you use just two blocks fore and aft then the block is just slightly smaller then the width not to bad but supporting the sides and the front with 3 blocks gives full purchase.  I also like to tip my hives side to side because it is a symmetrical force either way.  Front to back is not a symmetrical force because the front of the bottom board is longer then the box.

Brian,
To eliminate the disparity, I line up the front of the box with the front of the stand, not the front of the landing board.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline Acebird

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Re: Bee yard fence and hive stand
« Reply #12 on: November 11, 2017, 08:27:28 am »
That would be kind of hairy with two cinder blocks.
Brian Cardinal
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Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Bee yard fence and hive stand
« Reply #13 on: November 11, 2017, 09:54:20 am »
Hence my previous reply.
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin