Beekeeping and chicken keeping

[Night Phoenix]

I am moving YAY!!! I have a wee bit of land and am hoping to keep some chickens and bees However being crafty minded i am thinking of building my own coop and hive. Wondering if anyone on here has done so and have some wee insider tips to give
Cheers

 

[British Red]

Bee hives are easy enough to build - if you can use a saw, a hammer, a drill and a router, you are golden. DO make them to a standard size though....I use National size. You do NOT want to make frames...or foundation at least to begin with (although you can make both, its not an ideal beginner activity). Even easier to but them flatpack in Red cedar.

Here are my first steps - including hive assembly

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=95267

 

[Night Phoenix]

You are a star! I really want to have a go at at least building my own hive so that link helps a treat!

 

[slowworm]

I've build a few chicken houses, you should be able to find a few simple plans online or pick up a cheap book. It might be worth having a look at top bar hives for bees, plans free online and are simpler to make than many other hives.

 

[milius2]

Good for you fella!! If you can come across and old tree trunk rotten inside, you have a hive. It's one of the oldest ways of keeping bees and good for a start.
You should carve end caps and make an entrance hole, bees live as they would in nature but when you need honey you open up from one end and just take what you need.
I made 3 hives like that with my friend, but no bees there yet, only mouse. I got 3 regular hives out and 2 of them had bees starting to live there, unfortunately one got a sickness and died out during the winter. Anyway I was using some old hives and by the looks of it, they might have seen too many years of service. Making a hive by yourself can be a challenge because of the precision it requires. Red has done an incredible job on his hive, really well finished hive. I still have to cut up wood for my hives, so no experience there....

If you'd be interested in trunk hives, I could give you more detailed info. Anyway, very well done and best of luck!

 

[ged]

Unfortunately thesedays there's a lot more to it than bulding a hive and letting the bees move in. Be aware that in the UK at the moment there are serious health concerns about bees.

I'd recommend that you get in touch with local beekeepers' groups for advice. See for example

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beekeeping_in_the_United_Kingdom

 

[Harmony]

A site you should enjoy.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/

 

[British Red]

Milius mate, I would love to see how those trunk hives work pretty please

I'm still very much the novice beekeeper but I love the "low tech" feel of them

 

[HeltorChasca]

Congrats on your move.

Heard of natural beekeeping? http://www.biobees.com/ I've got the book. Brilliant read if anything. The Kenyan Top Bar Hives are easy to make. Red: These work on the same principal as Milius's pictures. In fact these Eastern European ones (I think) are almost exactly the same as African tribes people used to keep bees. How mad is that? Fascinating. The long and the short of this type of beekeeping is that it's more about the bees than exploiting their honey.

As far as chickens go: I think you'll love it and I'm sure a coup will be easy to sort. If you are staying in Scotland try and keep the roost nice and small and suited for your size flock. Too big and your chooks will freeze. They like cuddling up at night. Aaaahh

A friend keeps his chooks and bees on the same bit of land. Seems to work.

Enjoy.....................hc

 

[Dries_Lee]

To add to what HeltorChasca said: Check out http://warre.biobees.com/ It describes another type of hive that's cheap and easy to build, and an early (but still relevant), quite easy form of natural beekeeping.

Regardless of the sort of hive you have or way you manage your bees, expect to lose any or all of your colonies somewhere along the way. The more hives you have populated, the safer you are.

 

[milius2]

BR, I'll get back to you after I'll visit my friends place and takes some detailed photos. There's still plenty of time to prep up for next years swarms.