Hi Brent Here are some of my thoughts on the AZ Hive after 2 full seasons of keeping bees in them (8 years with Langstroth) * Calmer inspections: bees are happier and less disturbed by my presence. *I personally feel the hive will not be as effective in warm to hot climates (not FL.,AZ for example) Personal observation only. * Honey has a bit less moisture content. * The JOY of beekeeping! It is a great pleasure to open the back door of the AZ hive and observe the bees so closely, to look and listen, at any time, no tools or smoker necessary. *The AZ hive must have a climate barrier, cover or housing. Langstroth hives are usable 10 years tops. The AZ can last up to 50 years if you invest in housing it well. That takes work. Higher price, yes...but you can work the bees in the dark, rain, wind or cold, that is very helpful for a beekeeper on a schedule... * Great hive for the smaller hobby beekeeper, families, educational purposes. . This year I am experimenting with 3 chamber hives.. I like the idea of letting the brood expand in the spring. In 2015, I pulled honey frames June, July and Aug. It was so easy to just open the back door of the hive, pull the frames, walk in the house, extract, and return the frames immediately to the hive to clean and refill. This method eliminates the need to store lots of super frames during the winter. I usually keep 4- or 5 bee hives at my home The AZ hives have been located on a covered deck, just outside my back door. My new 3 chamber hives are being installed in the window of my workshop. Good luck Brent , I'm happy to offer up my experiences with the AZ hive. I am a big fan!!!! We will try to get a new video up soon. Thanks
Thank you so much! This has been very informative and intriguing! I am wanting to set up a bee house with AZ hives and am in the process of trying to figure out how to make it all work.
No need for profanity "somebodyyoudontknow" The AZ hives have been around as long as Langstroth. Our idea to bring them to the USA has been primarily directed at aging or young beekeepers that can not lift the heavy boxes. If you spend 100s of hours like us thinking through the problems, there are solutions. Just have to be willing to be constructive and think outside of our little box.
I'd just ignore what they said to be honest. and keep on delivering these units! Yes, I run a warehouse PACKED full of deep boxes that go out to bee pollination contracts and I gotta say that it is good to get something out there that is time tested and easier than what we deal with each day. For someone like us that pollinates. These would be practical for stock protection.
How do the bees not outgrow the space? Hive Management . I have been running AZ hives for 2 years now. I love them! Frame manipulation is key. Access to brood box is easy.
It is possible to have a 3 chamber AZ hive, which is bigger and it is also possible to extend it with an additional removable box behind the hive (where the doors are). In Slovenia usually the colonies are not that big, even with LR hives it is usually just one brood box and one or two suppers.
How do you do your treatments for varroa mite with these hives? I usually do an oxalic mist or formicpro strips laid on top of the frames but, of course, that is because I'm operating from above the frames in a Langstroth hive, rather than from the side. Same with adding in fondant and pollen patty, what is the technique or method for doing that. They look awesome!
I'd make a "Feed frame" and take one of your frames and staple it up with hardware cloth and put your patty mush in it. As long as you aren't crushing bees. The patties can be chopped up or just do what we do. Order in 50lb bags of Ultrabee or AP23 and mix it with HFCS 55. Then use a pneumatic caulking gun to put it in a spot where they can access it. For a hobbyist you could run 1/2 cup of hfcs 55 and 1 cup of the powder mixed. Let it dry off about 4 hours and slop it in there. Remember to go slightly "Wet" so it doesn't turn to a brick in 1-2 weeks. We skip the wax paper. It makes a mess in the hive and gives them more to deal with than they need to. Limit your feed if you are in hive beetle country, you dont get larvae in it. I skip the sugar water junk, because it raises the Nosema levels. Hope that helps! Sorry if I sound gruff.
This method of keeping seems like a breakthrough but it's apparently over 1,000 years old. I am very interested in exploring it further. Thanks for the detailed look at the inside. Do you know of a place where detailed plans can be procured? All I seem to find is confusion on Google. Thank you!
+Lolita's Garden maybe this will help web.bf.uni-lj.si/jbozic/cic/AZhive.html or you can ask for information here too www.slovenianbeekeeping.com/index-one.html or ask here if they are selling hive designs www.logar-trade.com/bee-hives/?klasid=10601000
If you mean the concept of keeping hives sheltered in a shed or under a roof, I highly doubt that it was only started in the 19th century considering that you can find ancient remnants of beehives kept by monks in stone buildings in Malta, and the traditional method of rearing bees in Germany for heather honey is with straw hives that are collectively kept on shelves under a roof. I don't think this rudimentary concept of keeping hives safe from the elements was hard to figure for people all across Europe on their own.
Very interested, yet I still have questions. Everyone says hoe easy it is to "brush the bees off and they take an amusement park ride down the slider and back into the hive." However, when it comes to that step, no one ever shows it being done. I can't even imagine there wouldn't be a room full of pissed off bees. I have never seen bees gently brushed off a frame and not taking flight. Also, I am in Maine. We have 2 deeps for the bees to winter with. Almost all of these hives I see have but one deep. Can you get them with 2 deep for brood and a 3rd for extracting?
I have gone away from the angled slider shown in the video, in favor of a flat "table" as shown in Dr. Bozic' book. It is a piece of wood/plywood butted flush with the floor of the hive and secured by side rails attached to the upper side. These 'sticks' fit under the lower window and snug under the support rods and along the side walls of the hive. In the hives I've built there is a flat metal bar supporting the windows. The table 'sticks' fit snugly under it. Be sure the table is long enough to fully withdraw a frame -- especially if you add raised sides and back. Again refer to the picture in the book and have fun!
This seems like a great idea, but I wonder about the issues of harvesting/honey flow. In Saskatchewan there is a very high honey flow and supers get stacked as high as you can get them, I'm still in my first few years of beekeeping and have only reached 4 high (2 brood, 2 honey) but I have seen them with as many as 10 high. With AZ, you would have to be replacing frames everyday but because of that you'd be getting honey with too high of a moisture content. Do you know of a solution ?
Mary, I'm interested in this principle, this video is fairly old, any updates since we're in 2016? As far as the naysayer below, every line of thought and different method has it's perks and problems...the langstroth has it's problems as well. It's not really known what negative effects the stress has on bees that comes from opening up a Langstroth from the top, taking off supers, etc...bees spend a lot of energy resealing every seem and that's a lot of linear inches to a bee. lots of energy, lots of time, etc...plus brood gets a shock of outside air all the way through the hive. It's very arguable that the stress associated with opening langstroths contributes greatly to disease...think not, look at stress on livestock and it's negative effects vs low stress handling. Yes these are more "complex" that a standard langstroth but they operate far simpler and with less stress to both bee and keeper, better for cold, possibly better in hot weather, potentially far more mobile (if built on a trailer). Expansion...if well managed I don't see the problem and with a low stress environment, management should be easier.
+Brent Eason No new videos but I have increased the number of hives and am making a transition to 3 chamber (triple) hives. The ones in the video are two chamber (double). Our warmer climate and longer season allow the bees to build larger populations i the triple chamber configuration. The experiment continues!
What size frames do you use? Could you use standard Langstroth frame sizes? This look so much easier than lifting boxes to inspect lower boxes! Can these boxes be ordered from a beekeeping supply store here in the US? Thanks for the great video
This is ridiculously cool. I'm not much of a builder though, so the shed and the hive equipment itself could get very expensive. I am so, so tired of lifting those boxes on my langstroth hives. How do you discourage robbing?
Like any hive, to prevent robbing I reduce the entrance. You don't need a fancy structure for these hives, just protection. Benefits are many I am a big fan. The biggest drawback is hives manufactured with softwoods which expand and contract leaving gaps for pest., That being said, management is unique but worth the effort as these hives can be easily worked year around and inspections and honey harvesting are much simpler processes
Thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge of Beekeeping. I'm a beekeeper from Bangladesh. I keep Bee's called apis mellifera. can i keep those Bee's like this method?
Couple questions out of curiosity:1) How do you handle propolized frames stuck together?2) If the bees fly out into the shed during an inspection (either off the existing frame or just from inside) how do they get back in?3) How do u handle swarming?
+Dustin Kofoed I'm trying to check in here regularly to answer questions. 1) because the frames rest on such small contact points, there isn't a lot of propolization between frames. My experience is thatthe frames remain fairly loose and easy to remove even when left alone for some time. 2) Most beehouses include an escape 'hatch' or skylight in the ceiling. They go towards any light/air opening and return to the front of the hive. 3) Frame manipulation, splits, etc. -- and when all else fails... gentle sobbing and a few beers.
its AŽ not AZ but guess close enough. honey extractor is more complicated than in usual hives since you work differently with those frames (you can turn them upside down) and so the regular honey extractor you use is less efficient.
how and who do I get plans for this . I have been looking for this for many years. I saw them all around the countryside in Germany. At the time all I was interested in was chasing girls and dark beer.
I know they keep bees this way in slovenia, and serbia, and eastern europe a lot. I see this as nice. however, the bees will fly up, when opened. how do you get the guard bees back in the hive when in this honey building?
How do these hives work for really HOT weather (think 110*F plus) for months at a time? I am interested in this type of hive, but we have to worry about heat, not winter cold (too much anyway, it only freezes a few nights a year).
+Morgan Roberds I don't know for sure because it doesn't get that hot here. But as with cold weather, the beehouse tends to moderate temperature swings. They are shaded by the large overhang and my building has an exhaust fan in the highest point of the ceiling vented to the outside. Since bees maintain hive temperature in the mid-90's for brood I would say that they can handle the temperature differential.
+Brian Drebber The reason I ask it that I want to avoid bearding. Also, other types of hives need modified designs in our area. For example, here you use wider, shallower top bar hives to keep the weight of the wax better distributed or it gets too heavy and soft in the heat and can fall off of the top bar. However, shade and an exhaust fan would be helpful.
+Morgan Roberds I have an exhaust fan in the ceiling of my beehouse.The bees maintain their temperature inside the hive at around 95 degrees F for brood. As for bearding, it is a natural behavior for the foraging bees -- which have no duties at the end of the day. They rest outside where it is cooler -- by hanging on one another. It isn't harmful or detrimental to the hive in any way. In fact it is a sign of a healthy strong hive..
As a commercial operation runner, sporting a Cowen honey extraction line and looking at this. I think this looks like a nice system for stock protection. HOWEVER. Modern day beekeeping is a responsible practice of VARROA control and doing Tracheal mite control before AUTUMN sets in . Often hobbyists will jump on the usage of Powdered sugar and screen boards which does NOTHING to the varroa population. If it did. I'd order pallets of the stuff and the mills would love me.. ;) . My recommendation is some Hopguard II. Since it is easy for a hobbyist to use. I would say however that it will NOT give an extremely good mite drop like what we use. BUT none the less. Some varroa control is better than nothing. Overall it looks like a good system. Go buy one of these if you are wanting to keep ONE hive on your property. and purchase a Varroa easy check tool on the side.
AZ Hive Management Seminar June 21, 2015, 2-6pm, $15.00 Gilmer county Recreation Center Old Hwy 5, Ellijay, Ga. Guest Speaker Professor Janko Bozic, from University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. 30 years experience keeping bees in AZ Hives.
+Grace Wilson I have a few AZ hive management books left from the June meeting. It is written by a 30 year AZ hive user from Slovenia, Janko Bozic. Let me know if you are interested in purchasing one. There is a blog of AZ hive users: azhivers
My name is Jorgo I live in Naples, FL and I work as a handyman. One of my hobbies is working with bees - I love bees! I've owned a beehive from 2019 and I've only worked with Longstroth beehives. I saw a UA-cam on your channel I've very interested in the Slovenian beehives. The Slovenian method seems to be the best out there. I'd love the opportunity to visit Georgia, meet and see the Slovenian Beehives in person. Could you please contact me ? Many thanks in advance ! Jorgo Gjika
+Kelly Burnham My thought -- even though I've not had a bear problem and we do have them around here -- is that the hives are already more secure without doing anything. However my first defense would be to fit a sturdy metal screen over the fronts of the hive. Think vending machines at rest areas and how they are protected from vandalism.
+Steve Sherman thanks for the comment. We have a rather large Bruin visit our hives last fall, so we have an electric fence as well. I'm mainly interested in the AZ hive because of the horizontal, access to the internals - make too much sense.
Electric fence with three wires is the best protection. The lowest wire should be really low, so a bear cub can not crawl under it. Think captured cub and angry mamma bear.
We have built 20 hives. No we are not selling plans, these hives are more intricately build than Langstroth hives and require special metal work. Where do you live?
Mary Blohm I live in Colorado and am very interested in these hives, do you have any plans to sell them? my bil is a very skilled woodworker and I would love to try this hive style
+BEVERLEY LYNNE HARRIS Any number of hives can be housed effectively with some imagination and a bit of skill. There are many examples pictured on line.
They were brought to Germany and most Europe by Slovenes, more specifically Anton Janša, who started educating beekeeping in Vienna on Habsburg court. He brought beekeeping to Germany by releasing two books in German language Abhandlung vom Schwärmen der Bienen (Discussion on Beekeeping, 1771) and Vollständige Lehre von der Bienenzucht (A Full Guide to Beekeeping 1775).
I think it's a great video. However your in the first but not the first to this in the US lol I know a handful of ppl including myself that do this lol
+Kelly Burnham The metal rail system used to space and hold the frames would likely have to be re-manufactured to fit the NAmerican frames properly...the AZ frames are slightly thinner than ours and depend on the rails for holding them steady and properly spaced. It would mean getting a design modified and having it laser cut by a metal shop. Past that everything else in the hives is easy to adapt ie. size of box and fittings.
this shed is wrong ! there's holes in the walls. bees will fill the room from outside and the hives. don't extract from in there just keep it as a bee shed it would be perfect. we try our hardest to keep be out the bees from the extraction room you do the opposite ?
@@maryblohm9181 you must be blind and stupid, the light coming from the walls must be from another dimension. like whats in between your ears. look at clipp count all the cracks and poorly jointed walls and tell if you can see light coming threw
@@donnykiofetzis5775 jesus christ dude, wtf is the attitude for? You see the active hives from the outside? You see the lack of bees on the inside? Do a little mental gymnastics and you might notice that the system is working just fine.
The best way I know to keep bees!
Hi Brent
Here are some of my thoughts on the AZ Hive after 2 full seasons of keeping bees in them (8 years with Langstroth)
* Calmer inspections: bees are happier and less disturbed by my presence.
*I personally feel the hive will not be as effective in warm to hot climates (not FL.,AZ for example) Personal observation only.
* Honey has a bit less moisture content.
* The JOY of beekeeping! It is a great pleasure to open the back door of the AZ hive and observe the bees so closely, to look and listen, at any time, no tools or smoker necessary.
*The AZ hive must have a climate barrier, cover or housing. Langstroth hives are usable 10 years tops. The AZ can last up to 50 years if you invest in housing it well. That takes work. Higher price, yes...but you can work the bees in the dark, rain, wind or cold, that is very helpful for a beekeeper on a schedule...
* Great hive for the smaller hobby beekeeper, families, educational purposes. .
This year I am experimenting with 3 chamber hives.. I like the idea of letting the brood expand in the spring. In 2015, I pulled honey frames June, July and Aug. It was so easy to just open the back door of the hive, pull the frames, walk in the house, extract, and return the frames immediately to the hive to clean and refill. This method eliminates the need to store lots of super frames during the winter.
I usually keep 4- or 5 bee hives at my home The AZ hives have been located on a covered deck, just outside my back door. My new 3 chamber hives are being installed in the window of my workshop.
Good luck Brent , I'm happy to offer up my experiences with the AZ hive. I am a big fan!!!!
We will try to get a new video up soon. Thanks
lp00p
Thank you so much! This has been very informative and intriguing! I am wanting to set up a bee house with AZ hives and am in the process of trying to figure out how to make it all work.
One of the best narratives I've ever heard on a bee video, kept expecting motorcycles at any second though. :D
+Jeremiah Johnson Thanks JJ. Rest assured there were bikes nearby.
Great clip. Super (no pun intended) interested.
No need for profanity "somebodyyoudontknow"
The AZ hives have been around as long as Langstroth. Our idea to bring them to the USA has been primarily directed at aging or young beekeepers that can not lift the heavy boxes.
If you spend 100s of hours like us thinking through the problems, there are solutions. Just have to be willing to be constructive and think outside of our little box.
I'd just ignore what they said to be honest. and keep on delivering these units! Yes, I run a warehouse PACKED full of deep boxes that go out to bee pollination contracts and I gotta say that it is good to get something out there that is time tested and easier than what we deal with each day. For someone like us that pollinates. These would be practical for stock protection.
How about some update video's? Let us know how they're working out! Keep up the good work. Thanks
The AZ hives we are building here in Georgia will take Langstroth size foundation.
How do the bees not outgrow the space?
Hive Management . I have been running AZ hives for 2 years now. I love them! Frame manipulation is key. Access to brood box is easy.
It is possible to have a 3 chamber AZ hive, which is bigger and it is also possible to extend it with an additional removable box behind the hive (where the doors are). In Slovenia usually the colonies are not that big, even with LR hives it is usually just one brood box and one or two suppers.
Very helpful. Living in Yukon Territory, overwintering a significant and many-months consideration. Would like to learn more.
How do you do your treatments for varroa mite with these hives? I usually do an oxalic mist or formicpro strips laid on top of the frames but, of course, that is because I'm operating from above the frames in a Langstroth hive, rather than from the side. Same with adding in fondant and pollen patty, what is the technique or method for doing that. They look awesome!
I'd make a "Feed frame" and take one of your frames and staple it up with hardware cloth and put your patty mush in it. As long as you aren't crushing bees. The patties can be chopped up or just do what we do. Order in 50lb bags of Ultrabee or AP23 and mix it with HFCS 55. Then use a pneumatic caulking gun to put it in a spot where they can access it. For a hobbyist you could run 1/2 cup of hfcs 55 and 1 cup of the powder mixed. Let it dry off about 4 hours and slop it in there. Remember to go slightly "Wet" so it doesn't turn to a brick in 1-2 weeks. We skip the wax paper. It makes a mess in the hive and gives them more to deal with than they need to. Limit your feed if you are in hive beetle country, you dont get larvae in it. I skip the sugar water junk, because it raises the Nosema levels. Hope that helps! Sorry if I sound gruff.
this video is awesome
This method of keeping seems like a breakthrough but it's apparently over 1,000 years old. I am very interested in exploring it further. Thanks for the detailed look at the inside. Do you know of a place where detailed plans can be procured? All I seem to find is confusion on Google. Thank you!
Lolita's Garden it's not, I think it's from 19th centiry, but slovenians are south slavic nation and slavs have long history of beekeeping.
+Lolita's Garden maybe this will help web.bf.uni-lj.si/jbozic/cic/AZhive.html or you can ask for information here too www.slovenianbeekeeping.com/index-one.html or ask here if they are selling hive designs www.logar-trade.com/bee-hives/?klasid=10601000
If you mean the concept of keeping hives sheltered in a shed or under a roof, I highly doubt that it was only started in the 19th century considering that you can find ancient remnants of beehives kept by monks in stone buildings in Malta, and the traditional method of rearing bees in Germany for heather honey is with straw hives that are collectively kept on shelves under a roof. I don't think this rudimentary concept of keeping hives safe from the elements was hard to figure for people all across Europe on their own.
Very interested, yet I still have questions. Everyone says hoe easy it is to "brush the bees off and they take an amusement park ride down the slider and back into the hive." However, when it comes to that step, no one ever shows it being done. I can't even imagine there wouldn't be a room full of pissed off bees. I have never seen bees gently brushed off a frame and not taking flight. Also, I am in Maine. We have 2 deeps for the bees to winter with. Almost all of these hives I see have but one deep. Can you get them with 2 deep for brood and a 3rd for extracting?
I have gone away from the angled slider shown in the video, in favor of a flat "table" as shown in Dr. Bozic' book. It is a piece of wood/plywood butted flush with the floor of the hive and secured by side rails attached to the upper side. These 'sticks' fit under the lower window and snug under the support rods and along the side walls of the hive. In the hives I've built there is a flat metal bar supporting the windows. The table 'sticks' fit snugly under it. Be sure the table is long enough to fully withdraw a frame -- especially if you add raised sides and back. Again refer to the picture in the book and have fun!
We have resized the frames and boxes to use Langstroth foundation.
This seems like a great idea, but I wonder about the issues of harvesting/honey flow. In Saskatchewan there is a very high honey flow and supers get stacked as high as you can get them, I'm still in my first few years of beekeeping and have only reached 4 high (2 brood, 2 honey) but I have seen them with as many as 10 high. With AZ, you would have to be replacing frames everyday but because of that you'd be getting honey with too high of a moisture content. Do you know of a solution ?
Fantasic. I need to build one of these :)
Mary, I'm interested in this principle, this video is fairly old, any updates since we're in 2016?
As far as the naysayer below, every line of thought and different method has it's perks and problems...the langstroth has it's problems as well. It's not really known what negative effects the stress has on bees that comes from opening up a Langstroth from the top, taking off supers, etc...bees spend a lot of energy resealing every seem and that's a lot of linear inches to a bee. lots of energy, lots of time, etc...plus brood gets a shock of outside air all the way through the hive. It's very arguable that the stress associated with opening langstroths contributes greatly to disease...think not, look at stress on livestock and it's negative effects vs low stress handling. Yes these are more "complex" that a standard langstroth but they operate far simpler and with less stress to both bee and keeper, better for cold, possibly better in hot weather, potentially far more mobile (if built on a trailer). Expansion...if well managed I don't see the problem and with a low stress environment, management should be easier.
+Brent Eason No new videos but I have increased the number of hives and am making a transition to 3 chamber (triple) hives. The ones in the video are two chamber (double). Our warmer climate and longer season allow the bees to build larger populations i the triple chamber configuration. The experiment continues!
Brian Drebber
Oh man...you have to (okay well I wish you would) post some video of the three chamber versions! I'd love to see that!!
Visit our website www.drebbievillehives.com or our Facebook page "Drebbieville Hives."
Hi Mary, do you have these hives available for purchase? If not, are you willing to share/sell plans for building them?
Hi thank you.
Very nice!
What size frames do you use? Could you use standard Langstroth frame sizes? This look so much easier than lifting boxes to inspect lower boxes! Can these boxes be ordered from a beekeeping supply store here in the US? Thanks for the great video
This is ridiculously cool. I'm not much of a builder though, so the shed and the hive equipment itself could get very expensive. I am so, so tired of lifting those boxes on my langstroth hives. How do you discourage robbing?
Like any hive, to prevent robbing I reduce the entrance.
You don't need a fancy structure for these hives, just protection. Benefits are many I am a big fan. The biggest drawback is hives manufactured with softwoods which expand and contract leaving gaps for pest.,
That being said, management is unique but worth the effort as these hives can be easily worked year around and inspections and honey harvesting are much simpler processes
Thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge of Beekeeping. I'm a beekeeper from Bangladesh. I keep Bee's called apis mellifera. can i keep those Bee's like this method?
Yes, you can keep any bees like this
How do the bees get out f the bee house when you pull out a frame and they fy up ?
If you heat these bee houses in winter, is that more efficient and cheaper than other ways? And does it work to up the colony survival rates? Thanks.
If the inter is really cold, otherwise there's no need for heating.
I am From Alberta Canada looking for plans tor tje hives. would you have a link?
Couple questions out of curiosity:1) How do you handle propolized frames stuck together?2) If the bees fly out into the shed during an inspection (either off the existing frame or just from inside) how do they get back in?3) How do u handle swarming?
+Dustin Kofoed I'm trying to check in here regularly to answer questions. 1) because the frames rest on such small contact points, there isn't a lot of propolization between frames. My experience is thatthe frames remain fairly loose and easy to remove even when left alone for some time. 2) Most beehouses include an escape 'hatch' or skylight in the ceiling. They go towards any light/air opening and return to the front of the hive. 3) Frame manipulation, splits, etc. -- and when all else fails... gentle sobbing and a few beers.
Very interesting! Are the currently available AZ hives compatible with Langstroth deep and medium frames?
how do you keep the bees from getting all over the inside of the building?
they fly out when you open door
If you open a hive from the inside, doesn't that result in bees getting out and lost?
its AŽ not AZ but guess close enough. honey extractor is more complicated than in usual hives since you work differently with those frames (you can turn them upside down) and so the regular honey extractor you use is less efficient.
how and who do I get plans for this . I have been looking for this for many years. I saw them all around the countryside in Germany. At the time all I was interested in was chasing girls and dark beer.
I know they keep bees this way in slovenia, and serbia, and eastern europe a lot. I see this as nice. however, the bees will fly up, when opened. how do you get the guard bees back in the hive when in this honey building?
Just leave the door of the beehouse open...
How do these hives work for really HOT weather (think 110*F plus) for months at a time? I am interested in this type of hive, but we have to worry about heat, not winter cold (too much anyway, it only freezes a few nights a year).
+Morgan Roberds I don't know for sure because it doesn't get that hot here. But as with cold weather, the beehouse tends to moderate temperature swings. They are shaded by the large overhang and my building has an exhaust fan in the highest point of the ceiling vented to the outside. Since bees maintain hive temperature in the mid-90's for brood I would say that they can handle the temperature differential.
+Brian Drebber The reason I ask it that I want to avoid bearding. Also, other types of hives need modified designs in our area. For example, here you use wider, shallower top bar hives to keep the weight of the wax better distributed or it gets too heavy and soft in the heat and can fall off of the top bar. However, shade and an exhaust fan would be helpful.
+Morgan Roberds I have an exhaust fan in the ceiling of my beehouse.The bees maintain their temperature inside the hive at around 95 degrees F for brood. As for bearding, it is a natural behavior for the foraging bees -- which have no duties at the end of the day. They rest outside where it is cooler -- by hanging on one another. It isn't harmful or detrimental to the hive in any way. In fact it is a sign of a healthy strong hive..
How do you control betel in your Slovenian AZ hives?
Is there space limitation, I mean in conventional hives we can build up our hives as much as we can, if do, is this a drawback?
Slovenian beehouses are made for up to 60 hives,so that the area they can cover gives enough yield...
That's an old type of the hive, modern are three storey hives
As a commercial operation runner, sporting a Cowen honey extraction line and looking at this. I think this looks like a nice system for stock protection. HOWEVER. Modern day beekeeping is a responsible practice of VARROA control and doing Tracheal mite control before AUTUMN sets in . Often hobbyists will jump on the usage of Powdered sugar and screen boards which does NOTHING to the varroa population. If it did. I'd order pallets of the stuff and the mills would love me.. ;) . My recommendation is some Hopguard II. Since it is easy for a hobbyist to use. I would say however that it will NOT give an extremely good mite drop like what we use. BUT none the less. Some varroa control is better than nothing. Overall it looks like a good system. Go buy one of these if you are wanting to keep ONE hive on your property. and purchase a Varroa easy check tool on the side.
Has anyone found an online source that sells the plastic foundation for the AZ hive frames? I have been looking without any success.
What happens when you get foul-brood and have to burn the hive?
you burn it
AZ Hive Management Seminar
June 21, 2015, 2-6pm, $15.00
Gilmer county Recreation Center
Old Hwy 5, Ellijay, Ga.
Guest Speaker
Professor Janko Bozic, from University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
30 years experience keeping bees in AZ Hives.
Mary Blohm Would love to attend if you have another seminar.
+Grace Wilson I have a few AZ hive management books left from the June meeting. It is written by a 30 year AZ hive user from Slovenia, Janko Bozic. Let me know if you are interested in purchasing one.
There is a blog of AZ hive users: azhivers
My name is Jorgo I live in Naples, FL and I work as a handyman. One of my hobbies is working with bees - I love bees! I've owned a beehive from 2019 and I've only worked with Longstroth beehives.
I saw a UA-cam on your channel I've very interested in the Slovenian beehives. The Slovenian method seems to be the best out there. I'd love the opportunity to visit Georgia, meet and see the Slovenian Beehives in person.
Could you please contact me ?
Many thanks in advance !
Jorgo Gjika
I would like to be a sell of your hives and have you come teach your programs
I have been looking into this for a while and I think would be ideal for Northern Canada where we are. Any thoughts on Bear Proofing the exterior?
+Kelly Burnham My thought -- even though I've not had a bear problem and we do have them around here -- is that the hives are already more secure without doing anything. However my first defense would be to fit a sturdy metal screen over the fronts of the hive. Think vending machines at rest areas and how they are protected from vandalism.
+Steve Sherman thanks for the comment. We have a rather large Bruin visit our hives last fall, so we have an electric fence as well. I'm mainly interested in the AZ hive because of the horizontal, access to the internals - make too much sense.
Electric fence with three wires is the best protection. The lowest wire should be really low, so a bear cub can not crawl under it. Think captured cub and angry mamma bear.
This is exciting. What do you do for mite control?
Healthy bees are mite control
How do you deal with propolis and sticky frames
Frames are only touching the base, so it is very easy to take them out
We have built 20 hives. No we are not selling plans, these hives are more intricately build than Langstroth hives and require special metal work. Where do you live?
Mary Blohm
I live in Colorado and am very interested in these hives, do you have any plans to sell them? my bil is a very skilled woodworker and I would love to try this hive style
Would be interested in seeing possible set-ups for 4-6 hives.
+BEVERLEY LYNNE HARRIS
Brian and I will be video taping the installation of a nuc in a 3 chamber AZ Hive in April. We will post it.
+Mary Blohm Thank you, Mary...looking forward to it.
+BEVERLEY LYNNE HARRIS Any number of hives can be housed effectively with some imagination and a bit of skill. There are many examples pictured on line.
☑️☑️
In Germany they was used for long time its called Blätterstock.
i tought its called az bienenstock
They were brought to Germany and most Europe by Slovenes, more specifically Anton Janša, who started educating beekeeping in Vienna on Habsburg court. He brought beekeeping to Germany by releasing two books in German language Abhandlung vom Schwärmen der Bienen (Discussion on Beekeeping, 1771) and Vollständige Lehre von der Bienenzucht (A Full Guide to Beekeeping 1775).
Where did you source the sliding board?
How do the bees not outgrow the space?
they do probably like in any other situation
I think it's a great video. However your in the first but not the first to this in the US lol I know a handful of ppl including myself that do this lol
video was made over 2 years ago, lots has happened since then
I'm from morrco good idea.
"Humans who have to do all the hard work" ??? I think not.
Brian built the sliding board
"Humans doing all the hard work"?
+YeskaSmoke Not to diminish what the girls do at all. I'm trying to save this human from some of the hard work!
Has anyone come-up with a design they'd like to share for building an AZ style hive that uses Pierco plastic frames? I'm working on a design myself.
+Kelly Burnham The metal rail system used to space and hold the frames would likely have to be re-manufactured to fit the NAmerican frames properly...the AZ frames are slightly thinner than ours and depend on the rails for holding them steady and properly spaced. It would mean getting a design modified and having it laser cut by a metal shop. Past that everything else in the hives is easy to adapt ie. size of box and fittings.
Where do you get these
in slovenia =)
Flowhive is a thousand times less complicated
sell me blueprints
this shed is wrong ! there's holes in the walls. bees will fill the room from outside and the hives. don't extract from in there just keep it as a bee shed it would be perfect. we try our hardest to keep be out the bees from the extraction room you do the opposite ?
No holes in the walls. Only hive entrance. Not sure what you are talking about
@@maryblohm9181 you must be blind and stupid, the light coming from the walls must be from another dimension. like whats in between your ears. look at clipp count all the cracks and poorly jointed walls and tell if you can see light coming threw
@@donnykiofetzis5775 jesus christ dude, wtf is the attitude for? You see the active hives from the outside? You see the lack of bees on the inside? Do a little mental gymnastics and you might notice that the system is working just fine.
More good information at: beekeepersofgilmercounty.com