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Author Topic: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?  (Read 7342 times)

Offline Sledin

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Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« on: August 14, 2018, 06:06:27 pm »
I'm just wondering how many hives one person could manage while keeping a full time job?


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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #1 on: August 14, 2018, 10:12:20 pm »
Just to prove a point, not trying to be a wise guy but that is like asking HOW LONG IS A STRING.  I know one fella that has 100 hives and a full time job.

Offline beepro

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #2 on: August 14, 2018, 10:13:30 pm »
If no children then try 5 hives otherwise try 2 hives.   I also like to add that if you are a seasoned beekeeper then
your numbers might go up.  If you are new to beekeeping then keeping them alive over this winter might give you the
needed experience.   This will also give you an idea of how much time you can spare in the next season.
« Last Edit: August 14, 2018, 11:00:54 pm by beepro »

Offline rockink

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #3 on: August 14, 2018, 10:29:06 pm »
A guy I just met a few days ago has 85 hives that he tends to around his full time job.

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Offline Acebird

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #4 on: August 15, 2018, 08:40:35 am »
How many "full time" jobs are you capable of handling?  It is not a trick question.  If you are good at juggling and excel at time management the number of hives could be quite high.  If you have no one but yourself as a work staff and no other support then likely the number will be quite low.
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Offline Oldbeavo

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #5 on: August 15, 2018, 09:25:12 am »
My partner and I had full time jobs and managed to run 170 hives in 4 groups. The trailer we used could carry 44 hives and they were run as migratory hives. The next year we went to 200 hives and I stopped full time work.

Offline DeepCreek

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #6 on: August 15, 2018, 10:45:03 am »
I work a 40hr. work week and have 30+ bee hives spread across 3 yards.  They're both "full time" jobs, but only the bee's require something to be done every weekend.

Offline Oldbeavo

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #7 on: August 15, 2018, 05:39:10 pm »
By our second year we had 40 hives with a 16 hive trailer, thought we couldn't get any busier, moved up to 70 with the new 44 hive trailer, then 120 and to 170.
You seem to grow with the increases and look back and say how did we seem so busy with 40 hives.
Right or wrong with opinions we run queen excluders and single brood boxes, also clearer boards or bee escapes for honey harvesting.

Offline Sledin

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #8 on: August 15, 2018, 07:11:04 pm »
My question was just to feel out how much I should invest into bees. I would like to know how big I should aim to get and keep a full time job, I'd like to have a number of hives to aim for and buy accordingly.

I live on 80 acres and can keep my bees on my yard, some years will be better than others depending on what my neighbours plants in their fields. So some years I might be able to keep all my hives at home, some years I would have to run out yards.
But I don't want bee keeping to be my main income.

Right now I'm keeping four colonies for a friend, I'll pay him with excess honey I produce as he has a customer base to sell to.


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Offline beepro

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #9 on: August 15, 2018, 10:10:52 pm »
If you have 80 acres and water is not an issue.  Let's say you have a big pond or streams somewhere nearby then your hive number is limitless in expanding.

For manpower you can partner up with your friend(s) to make it big.  How big is up to the time, manpower and local floral (4 seasons) constraints.  If you want the bees to survive on your land then you must plant for them through out the 4 seasons unless you plan to feed them all.  Going through the yearly summer dearth is the hardest on the bees.

For starter I would say go with 10-20 hives.  If you can handle that then continue expanding the following season.  If you cannot handle that then sell some back to your friend(s) to scale down.  When you do it you will know! 

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #10 on: August 15, 2018, 10:53:42 pm »
Sledin,
Being in Manitoba, you will have a very short season. You will have to have your hives at full strength at the beginning of the flow in order to get a good crop. Then you will have to make sure your hives are ready to survive a long, cold winter.
We used to have a member here, Finski, that was from Finland. He produced over 200 pounds of honey per hive per year with a similar season.
Jim
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Offline splitrock

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #11 on: August 16, 2018, 07:21:52 am »
I have run over a hundred hives and am also a concrete contractor.... It Helps to be self employed I must say, but two busy times at the same time make for some long hard days this time of year.... I Am down to about 50 hives now..

Offline Acebird

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #12 on: August 16, 2018, 08:50:42 am »
My question was just to feel out how much I should invest into bees.
If you don't want it to be your main income then I would say invest nothing into bees.  Use the profits from what you have to expand your numbers.  It will be a slower progression with almost 0 risk.  How it goes will determine the magic number you are looking for.
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Offline ed/La.

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #13 on: August 16, 2018, 10:31:25 am »
20 to 30 hives would be  a reasonable start.  If you have down time in winter you could make your own boxes.  You might enjoy this YouTube channel  A Canadian beekeeper blog. He runs something like 1800 hives and  explains how he does it. makes a good video. When you have the time check out some of his videos. There is something there for all to learn.   https://youtu.be/hljcQhS4CvU

Offline ed/La.

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #14 on: August 16, 2018, 11:11:52 am »
Here is a better video of his than the one I  posted above https://youtu.be/386qWGnt_CU

Offline Dallasbeek

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #15 on: August 16, 2018, 11:35:17 am »
I'm unable to view those videos as posted.  Can you give a namebor link to help?
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Offline GSF

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #16 on: August 16, 2018, 02:14:09 pm »
I work full time and run 30 - 45 hives. I have found the secret to a sure success in growing your apiary. Every year I sincerely attempt to reduce the number of my hives. When you have more hives that you can keep up with you learn a valuable lesson - you don't have to work them as much. My losses are higher because of queen less issues. I feed them vitamins and electrolytes plus in their feed and they really crank out the babies, thus multiple swarms, thus more hives, more chances of a hive not re-queening. 
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Offline ed/La.

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #17 on: August 16, 2018, 07:23:01 pm »
Dallasbeek  Go to you tube and search A Canadian beekeeper blog. You should find it.  He had a lot of videos. The single hive management explained  is a good place to start. Do

Offline Troutdog

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #18 on: August 16, 2018, 11:56:25 pm »
I look at how long it took me to really know all the pitfalls of disease, forage and type of bee then my management technique.
If I dont do something stupid my total hours per hive for the season is probably about 3-4.
Then add in queen rearing and nucs and honey you can easily throw about 50 hrs in on top.
Add equipment maintenance like painting and making frames there's another 30 plus.
Dont forget 2 to 1 syrup making and distribution another 20 hrs.
Requeening swarms all extra on top.
Self employed I try to take may off as that is your season
I run about 180 hives.
I do occasionally have a helper but they seem to quit by july.
To get to where you can read a hive in under a few (3) minutes...disease, mites, stores, demeanor, vigor is the challenge. After that its factory work.
Luck

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Offline Acebird

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #19 on: August 17, 2018, 08:29:33 am »
When you have more hives that you can keep up with you learn a valuable lesson - you don't have to work them as much.
I started with that premise and got a lot of people mad at me.  The only real thing you need to keep bees is equipment.  Focus your time on getting equipment.  Let the bees do the rest over time.
As a sideliner you don't have payroll so productivity is less important.
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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #20 on: August 18, 2018, 07:56:38 am »
By our second year we had 40 hives with a 16 hive trailer, thought we couldn't get any busier, moved up to 70 with the new 44 hive trailer, then 120 and to 170.
You seem to grow with the increases and look back and say how did we seem so busy with 40 hives.
Right or wrong with opinions we run queen excluders and single brood boxes, also clearer boards or bee escapes for honey harvesting.

Very interesting, thanks for sharing your experience. With that kind of progress it's no wonder you're comments seem to always make scene, Experience is invaluable! Along with others here. Thanks, Phillip Hall
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14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #21 on: August 23, 2018, 09:16:57 am »
I have a full time job.  I had 70 hives and 150 mating nucs about a month ago.  When I wasn't trying to raise so many queens I was running 200 hives and a full time job.  But it's like having two full time jobs... 40 hours a week of job and 40 hours a week of bees...
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Offline hilltophermit

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #22 on: August 23, 2018, 12:59:54 pm »
I think a lot of it depends on how flexible your "real' job is.  Can you take time off when the bees need you? Can you leave on short notice? If you can work nights, That might be an advantage working the bees in the day time. Sometimes when you wait for the weekend to do something you find the weather doesn't cooperate. Just keep building up your stock until you scream "uncle!" lol It helps if you love what you do.

Offline tanamonn

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #23 on: June 14, 2021, 05:03:44 am »
I want to take up beekeeping but without quitting my job, I think I can try with 30 hives.

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #24 on: June 14, 2021, 08:13:20 am »
stephpull,  tanamonn Welcome...
« Last Edit: June 14, 2021, 11:17:03 am by Ben Framed »
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline Bob Wilson

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #25 on: June 14, 2021, 08:51:09 am »
Yes, Takamonn. We assume you already have gained experience as a beek and know the pitfalls? Hives crash and die. It is an expensive investment for 3 hives, much less 30.
I hope I am not pontificating. Just encouraging. Beekeeping is a wonderful endeavor.

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #26 on: June 14, 2021, 09:13:11 am »
Tana and Steph,
Welcome to Beemaster.
Taking on 30 hives to start is risky business. Unless you have a lot of experience, I would not do more than a couple of hives.
Jim Altmiller 
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Offline 2Sox

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #27 on: June 14, 2021, 10:59:54 am »
I look at how long it took me to really know all the pitfalls of disease, forage and type of bee then my management technique.
If I dont do something stupid my total hours per hive for the season is probably about 3-4.
Then add in queen rearing and nucs and honey you can easily throw about 50 hrs in on top.
Add equipment maintenance like painting and making frames there's another 30 plus.
Dont forget 2 to 1 syrup making and distribution another 20 hrs.
Requeening swarms all extra on top.
Self employed I try to take may off as that is your season
I run about 180 hives.
I do occasionally have a helper but they seem to quit by july.
To get to where you can read a hive in under a few (3) minutes...disease, mites, stores, demeanor, vigor is the challenge. After that its factory work.
Luck

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This is a GREAT post. Thanks.
"Good will is the desire to have something else stronger and more beautiful for this desire makes oneself stronger and more beautiful." - Eli Siegel, American educator, poet, founder of Aesthetic Realism

Offline 2Sox

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #28 on: June 14, 2021, 11:37:46 am »
I'm just wondering how many hives one person could manage while keeping a full time job?


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This is a great question.  And reading the responses has been an educational experience for me.  When I started beekeeping about 13 years ago, I thought I could run 50 hives. I was teaching full time and could only get to my hives - 150 miles away - on the weekends, during school breaks and in the summer.  I was up to 39 hives. The hives were kept at my second home in the middle of the New York State watershed. Pristine, endless forage for acres and acres. Development is forbidden. The weekends were spent on bees ONLY and my beloved sideline was starting to be NOT fun anymore. I felt I was neglecting other things - the central being my wife. The bad thing is I dismissed the reality of this feeling and thought I could take it on.  I was a few years from retirement and felt things would soon change. They didn?t. It was too much for me. I was in just turning 60 then and in excellent health, but it was just too much for me.

I guess what I?m trying to say is that the answer to your question is different for everyone. But, as I see it, the CENTRAL  question is the same for everyone - and it?s a multifaceted question; Do you want to be completely fair to the beings whose lives you are responsible for and all that takes in? What would that MEAN? And how fair do you think you CAN be - with all the facts present?

Guys who start beekeeping in their 20s and 30s will have a very different answer than us older guys and gals, many with children, wives/husbands, and challenging and/or difficult full time jobs.  Age, physical condition and general health are critical factors. I?m 74 now, retired from teaching, and still in very good shape but at this point, 8-10 hives - tops - is all I can handle - and all I feel I can sufficiently be fair to.



 
"Good will is the desire to have something else stronger and more beautiful for this desire makes oneself stronger and more beautiful." - Eli Siegel, American educator, poet, founder of Aesthetic Realism

Offline Oldbeavo

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #29 on: June 14, 2021, 06:59:04 pm »
This topic has too many variables to draw a concrete conclusion.
Your individual circumstances have to be built into your decision.
We ran 170 hives with both of us having full time jobs, went to 220 and i was full time bees while my partner kept her teaching job.
At 300 hives Karen quit easy teaching job and we were then full time bee keepers. We have peaked out at 360 hives.
We try to keep our bees about 80 miles from home in various locations depending on what is flowering. The winter 170 miles from home which we find is a time stretch due to driving time.
As you get more hives you tend to become more efficient in time you spend on each hive, some very good hives have a Spring inspection, brood, queen and frames. Then taking honey off when needed and a final inspection in Autumn before packing down for Winter. Would love to have 360 of these hives.
But others have queen quality, poor production, queenless etc that soak up more time, our quick fix is add a nuc, so they get new queen, brood and more bees. Need to make a decision that will not need you to come back in a few days to check what ever.
Our other advantage to our bee keeping business is that my partner is as good in a hive as i am, has a total working knowledge of bees and the honey business. At times if we are replacing queens we do a frame each looking for the queen to cull, speeds things up.
Our business is fully migratory with most hives doing 5-6 shifts per season.
We have tried 50 hives stationary for 7 months of the season, it is a lower work load of running bees.
As I am 69, my idea of retirement is 100 hives run stationary.
On the $ side we built our boxes from scratch, week nites after work and grew our hive numbers by splitting in spring. The increase is slow but as Jim said, start small and learn as you grow.
You will learn to modify you beekeeping as hive numbers grow.

Online Ben Framed

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #30 on: June 14, 2021, 07:20:48 pm »
OLdBeavo, do you and your partner market propolis?
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #31 on: June 14, 2021, 07:23:40 pm »
It must be nice having a partner equally yoked, working together for a living as you and Karen! Congratulations to you both!
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline Beeboy01

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #32 on: June 14, 2021, 07:37:23 pm »
Try to identify the bottlenecks found with keeping bees first before making a decision. Something as basic as a larger than initially needed motorized extractor will make your life easier. Simplify your equipment so everything is interchangeable by using all deeps. Location of your yard is important, a long commute to and from the yard will burn up time that could be spent working the hives. Lots of variables needed to be considered, I found that five hives with a full time job and being on call was about all I wanted to deal with. Any more than that and it stop being a hobby and became more like work.   

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #33 on: June 14, 2021, 07:50:25 pm »
Try to identify the bottlenecks found with keeping bees first before making a decision. Something as basic as a larger than initially needed motorized extractor will make your life easier. Simplify your equipment so everything is interchangeable by using all deeps. Location of your yard is important, a long commute to and from the yard will burn up time that could be spent working the hives. Lots of variables needed to be considered, I found that five hives with a full time job and being on call was about all I wanted to deal with. Any more than that and it stop being a hobby and became more like work.   

Some good points made here Beeboy01. Here in America we are very fortunate that in many states we are blessed with lush greenery, including mine. Some states not so much. I suppose in the, not so much greenery States, some times travel is a necessity. Certainly something to be considered for a new beekeeper. It certainly is nice for me and you not to have our hives so far away. In OldBeavo and Karens' situation, they are pollinators if I am not mistaken.
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline Oldbeavo

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #34 on: June 15, 2021, 05:45:40 am »
HI Ben
We don't market propolis, high input in labor for a small market in Oz. Same as pollen, we don't harvest it and it accumulates but by the end of winter there is none left, i don't think the bees through it out, so the bees must have used it.
Yes we do pollinate, both almonds and cherries, they run consecutively, 8/1 almonds for 4 weeks then 9/1 for cherries for 4-6 weeks depending on varieties. $145 almonds, $110 cherries and with a bit of luck about 80 deeps of canola honey from near by crops.
Gives the bank account a top up after winter.

Both of us work bees and extract honey but we do split jobs as Karen packages and deals withe wax cleaning. I do the box hardware work but Karen is the gun frame maker and plastic foundation waxer.
We both attend farmer markets to sell our honey and wax products. Karen also makes a range of natural olive and goats milk soaps to supplement our market income. There is a honey and oat soap.
We do anything to make a buck, except propolis.

Offline FatherMichael

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #35 on: June 15, 2021, 06:18:07 pm »
What a great discussion!  Such good responses!  Yes, so many variables!
41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?

42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.

43 And he took it, and did eat before them.

Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #36 on: June 18, 2021, 07:22:40 pm »
I was almost 20 years younger when I was doing 200 hives plus mating nucs by myself.  I work at trying to keep up with about 70 hives now and I have someone helping me now...
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
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Offline tycrnp

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #37 on: June 19, 2021, 11:59:38 pm »
I say let the bees direct it. We started five or six years ago with just one hive. It was a top bar Hive and was excellent for learning. The next year we got a couple of Langstroth hives. As people know you are a beekeeper they'll call you to come and catch swarms. That gave us more hives. With a very light winter in the spring the hives were busting at the seams so we did several splits. That gave us more hives. Now we have over 30, and still work FT.  I think the key for us has been learning along the way, and not taking on too much too fast.

Offline Bill Murray

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #38 on: July 09, 2021, 08:56:32 pm »
I think it has to do with "growing with your bees." My personal opinion was when I had 5 hives it was not enough. Went to   20,  had to move some from the house to an out yard. Now again I didn't have enough hives. I dont work a full time job now but when I did I called 50 good. that allowed me to deal with my job and bee issues, If I lost a queen I was good. If I had dead outs I was good. And the honey I sold paid for my bees. Now those 50 hives, except for the few I watched when I came home at night only got looked at once a month.
With all that being said I now do NUCs at the house with 3 to 4 full hives here. My couple out yards get looked at still once every 4 weeks. I would like to be at 225 in Dec. Thats nucs,singles and doubles But As someone else said my issue is always drawn comb and wooden-ware. If I just bought it all (Im cheap/frugal) thanks to my wife. I could probably triple my count this fall and aside from that the slowdown is good because it lets me grow with my bees. The minute I cant tend to that amount will let me know when I have enough.

Online Ben Framed

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #39 on: July 09, 2021, 09:32:34 pm »
Quote
But As someone else said my issue is always drawn comb and wooden-ware.

Plenty extra wood-ware is a priority. A most important thing to keep on hand. Drawn comb as well. Finally I will have a fair amount of drawn comb going in reserve.
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Full time job + beekeeping/ how many hives?
« Reply #40 on: July 09, 2021, 10:40:55 pm »
Last month I put back all of the stickies on my hives. Most ended up with two boxes each hive. We just put two more Supers on each hive. Every one of them are plastic foundation. I ran out of drawn comb several months ago and I?m hoping that the flows where these hives are are strong enough to encourage the bees to draw them all out.
Jim Altmiller
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

 

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