Almost not necessary you first year. concentrate on building up a strong hive of bee's that will over winter well.. Unless you are going to use all medium boxes instead of deeps due to weight and convenience of having frames and boxes the same size for brood and honey.

Deep Box with Frames

Is the Standard brood box with frames . Buy enough for 2 deeps , just incase your girls build crazy fast (Italians)

Wood and Metal Outer Covers

cover yes . Telescoping top cover not necessary. You could use or build you own Migratory cover out of a piece of plywood and some 2x2's for under 5 bucks.

Wooden Inner Covers.

provide good ventilation in the summer it acts like an air conditioner. In the winter when your bees generate heat to get warm , If there is not proper ventilation , moisture condensates on your lid and then rains cold water on your bees killing them . Wet & cold bee's in the winter time die rapidly.

Screened Bottom Board

You do NOT need a screened bottom on your hive The screen is there to let Varoa Mites fall through and not climb back up . If you purchase VHS bee's (Varoa Hygienic Sensitive) or a VHS Queen . Sugar dust 3 times a season . And selectively cage you queen so there is a short period of broodlessness to help break the mite cycle . you should do fine Remember "Good Genetics" are the key .

hope this info helps

Cody

Saving the world 1 bee at a time.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

Cole Harpell
Original Author
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Alright, thanks, but I have 3 questions to ask, how many hives should I start with and what kind of feeders should I get for the hives, also how many of those feeders?

Thanks
Related Professionals
Joplin Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Raleigh Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Philadelphia Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Lima Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Montgomery Landscape Contractors · Edison Landscape Contractors · Poughkeepsie Landscape Contractors · Canton Landscape Contractors · Honolulu Landscape Contractors · Paducah General Contractors · Quincy General Contractors · Pittsburg General Contractors · Raleigh General Contractors · Saint Cloud General Contractors · Hempstead General Contractors
Cole Harpell
Original Author
11 years ago
OneNote info I jotted down

--------------------------------------------------

Equipment

10-Frame Hive - $150

Medium Super w/ frames - $60

Deep Box w/ frames - $70

Wood & Metal outer covers - $30

Wooden Inner covers - $10

Hive Stand - $90

Total - $450
Cole Harpell
Original Author
11 years ago
Hat/Veil Combo - $20

Cotton Jacket - $60

Nylon Pants - $30

Cowhide Gloves - $30

Total - $150
Cole Harpell
Original Author
11 years ago
Smoker - $30

Hive Tool - $20

Queen Excluder - $20

Feeder - $10

Total - $100
Cole Harpell
Original Author
11 years ago
Average amount of Honey per Hive - 50lbs (approx.)

Average amount of Money per Pound - $6.50 (approx.)

Average Total from Honey - $350 (approx.)

****

Three pounds of Bees - $150

Three pounds for 3 Hives - $450

10-frame Hive Total Cost - $450

Three Hives Total Cost - $1,350
dawgdrvr
11 years ago
Start off with 2 hives . Just incase one hive gets weak, you can steal brood from the other to boost its numbers.

If you have a jig saw or even a hand saw . Measure a Boardman feeder and cut away a piece of your rail on your bottom board and nail the feeder onto the back of your bottom board. that way any robber bees would have to make it to the rear of the hive to steal any sugar syrup .

2 per hive . one for syrup and the other for water.

I started out my 1st year with 2 unassembled deep hive bodies (15.99 ea.) one screened bottom (21.50) . telescoping lid (19.85) and frames (40 unassembled @ .87 each =$34.80) I built 4 more hives that year DIY . out of 1x12 pine and others out of 3/4' plywood. Go onto youtube, there is a wealth of knowledge on how to make boxes and other stuff on the cheap.

The 2 most important tools you should spend the most $$ on , Are your bee Veil and smoker. don't skimp on these! As far as the hive tool is concerned I use a 5-way painters tool that I bought at Home Depot for I think 3 bucks. And if you have a Harbor Freight near you grab one for $1.99 and a pair of white cotton painters bib overalls for $11. And as far as bees go. join you local Bee Assn, they can get you a lot better price on your bees . That and get on their swarm call list, and you will have soooo many bee calls you wont have enough equipment to hive them all and you give away 5 out of 6 swarms per week . This year and last I have been getting so many swarm calls that I shut my phone off after 2;00 PM