In top bar beekeeping, the only thing to lift is the roof, and even that can be hinged to the hive body.Īttach the handle. A full deep can weigh almost 100 pounds, while full medium supers are “only” 60 pounds or so. In Langstroth beekeeping, the hive bodies must be un-stacked and re-stacked every time an inspection is done, and this is most important in late Summer when the Varroa populations must be monitored and treated before Winter fat bees are born, just when there are multiple heavy supers to remove. One reason so many people are becoming interested in top bar or horizontal beekeeping is the fact that there is no lifting required. There are even top bar hives built out of sunflower stems tied together and grouted with mud. A top bar hive can be built almost anywhere with nothing but a hand saw and some nails. It is also one reason top bar beekeeping has been done the world over for so many years. This makes building a top bar hive something that can be done without any fancy woodworking tools. Here in the U.S., we call this “dimensional lumber”, which means that each board has been straight-lined and cut to a certain size, or dimension. Sometimes what is needed can be found leaning against the barn, for nothing. The Kenyan top bar hive can be built from plain old lumber. The follower board can be removed, and the bars slid to the back of the queen-right colony to re-combine. But suppose the virgin queen does not return from her mating flight. Of course, once the colony grows to full size, they will need a new home. One of the reasons extra equipment is unnecessary is the fact that a split can be made on the spot, simply by placing the follower board and moving the old queen or queen cells to the opposite end of the hive. For traditional Langstroth hives, an entire shed full of extra hive bodies, frames, tops, bottoms, feeders, entrance reducers, and a million other things, is needed.Īnother wonderful aspect of horizontal beekeeping is the greater flexibility of the hive itself. I keep a follower board and queen excluder under the lid when they are not in use. One is that there is much less equipment required, everything is right there. I have since discovered that there are other great benefits to top bar or horizontal beekeeping. I chose the Kenyan top bar hive because it would be in my dad’s backyard, and I wanted something that looked like art, and wouldn’t scare the neighbors. My first mentor was a commercial beekeeper, so I learned Langstroth style management, but it was a Kenyan top bar hive that really got me started in beekeeping, and I still love horizontal beekeeping best, after all these years.
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