Jim, just to reaffirm your concept. With my insulated hives here in KY (and using single brood box management) I put my first super on my hives in MARCH! By mid to end of March here the queens are well into their first strong push of brood and to get ahead of swarming I am finding good success with supering my hives a full month head of people with uninsulated hives.
This is GREAT to hear. I’m planning on supering like crazy. The extra deep brood boxes do a great job of keeping that swarm urge down. I just need to keep them clear of honey. I’ll be adding empty frames down there soon to replace any un-used packed honey frames. Really loving how this is all coming together!
While I did loose 2 hives to starvation, the rest have a rather large population. We're behind you by quite a bit here in Canada (Silver maples are just starting to bloom and the snow is just done melting). Making these insulation shells with R25 tops REALLY helped me. Etienne Tardif's advice is gold!
Estrie here. I used R10 (pink) polystyrene insulation to make something similar to Jim's Bee Barn and it was phenomenal! The insulation was so good, that I had 10 deep frames worth of honey (mix feeding syrup) that I had to take out because they were honey bound in April. Even a 10-frame nuc (used 2 5-frame supers, superimposed) came through with enough resources for spring! LOVE this concept!
I'd call the frame design a Langstroth-Layens hybrid. The extra depth is part of the Layens design, but, as you pointed out a while back, Layens are sealed across the top. Great adaptation!
I like the idea of a spacer board. I only have eight frame hives but the thought of removing a frame to a 'Stand; with brood and bees worries me a bit that fallen bees might not find there way home, and of course it might have the unseen Queen. I think I will adopt this come next season, ( I'm in Australia, season is finished).
I'm still 100% sold on the design, the frames in particular. Inspecting through double deeps is a lot of work! Im just about an hour North and East of you, its always great comparing what you see to what I see, helps me know if I am way off or not with whats going on with the seasons at least. This year my hives in standard langstroths (double deeps) came out really strong as well, so I do think the season is part of the reason. But I did tighten up the boxes over the winter, reduced the entrance and such. Changed my thinking based on what you are doing and I think that made a difference too. Really enjoying this journey! Can't wait to see how it develops and hopefully maybe give it a go myself!
Wow Jim... I am so happy for you. The difference in your voice in a year is huge. My heart broke with your huge loss video, you sound so much happier and enthused. Poor Ian is having a rough time with the snow there.
it is fresh nectar. It is out there, even by you. I start seeing it in March, but they often use it before the flow. My first year I used those deep frames, but I need to go back to regular deeps so I could mix and match all the equipment. I would have to do a total reboot like you if I wanted to go back to deep. Unfortunately I keep bees on my roof and hauling stuff up and down is brutal, so I need to keep things portable in that respect.. Looking good. I think you will very busy May and June with those ladies building up so fast.
Thank you so very much for putting yourself in a position to have people who are less than loving and open minded be critical towards your methods by sharing your journey with Beekeeping and sharing your experience so that those who choose to open their mind can benefit by it. You've given me hope for getting back into Beekeeping.
Your hives are looking great. I agree, the deep frames are a game changer. My hives are all overflowing with bees and have been supered already. I am way ahead of where I was last year at this time. Although I am concentrating on creating healthy hives and settling my colonies into these new Bee Barns I think it may turn out to be a record honey season this year. I am firmly in the Bee Barn camp.
Hi im new to bee keeping and I really am impressed with the bee barns. Im looking for infos on size and dimensions and how to build the frames. Do you have any advice? Thank you
Hi Jim. Great news. I have started putting on supers here in the UK as the spring flow has started. it shows the new hives are working well beyond your expectations. Keep the Vids coming. Chris UK.
There is a material called Starboard that might be a better material for the hive cover that you had the moisture issue with. It is a material used in boat building and outdoor kitchen cabinets. It would not absorb or hold moisture and then the burlap would draw the moisture off the starboard instead of some of the moisture going into the plywood. It comes in different thickness (1/4"-1/2"-3/4") The 3/4" might be a better material for the end spacers because it would not warp like the plywood did. I think the plywood warped because the moisture was higher on one side than the other. The side next to the frames would be higher then the outside may have been. Just a thought
Bees would think it was beeswax anyway and probably steal it all or build comb on it. Probably could find another waterproofing solution, but all we need is a bee safe material that doesn't care about moisture.
I'm about an hour east of you..... Our hives are absolutely exploding this Spring. Way earlier than we've ever witnessed. Even a hive that was torn apart (2x) by a bear last Fall survived the winter. We added supers this past weekend. I think if we had let them go another week to 10days, they most likely would have swarmed. We have Langstroth hives; I'm thinking the relatively mild winter combined with treating for mites last Fall were two reasons they came through winter so strong. Happy Spring All
Hi Jim congrats on all your hard work and your successful channel. I’d like to upgrade my few hives into bee barns. I understand the insulation part as you explained it great. But I’m having troubles with the plans, size and dimensions of the frames. Can you post the how to or the dimensions when you get a chance? Thank you
Hello! These aren’t exactly the same, but an option. I’m starting with these this spring after a break of several years .... wishing you much luck!! horizontalhive.com/
Been absolutely miserable spring here in north Iowa. We had 4 inches of snow last week. Glad to see it’s getting started in your area it gives me hope!
I went to a deep+medium for brood chambers a few years ago...made sense to me...I started adding permanent insulation as well..that also made sense to me .. Glad to see others have come to the same conclusion.
got an idea Jim, thanks for sharing this video, i will apply this here in the Philippines, we don't have winter here in the Philippines, so the huge insolation is not applicable for me, BUT the deep and a medium foundation that attached together that's make sense to me. That's a big circle of brood. I'll try it here in the Philippines...for a massive production of bees send to the fields gathered nectar an pollen on our coconuts all year round
I have had similar results with my super insulated Layens hive with extra deep[18"] frames, in central NH. They are used any where in the hive and they fit in a large frame extractor. Thanks for the video. Take care, Brice
Your hives look terrific. I have an insulated nuc and it swarmed on April 7th, usually the swarms start in May. It's a different year and you will be adding more supers in 2-3 weeks
i am close by in mass i live in the brookfields and seeing how your hives made it through the winter makes me really want these bee barns looks like a good choice
Still hoping you'll put up a video on the barn hive (top) redesign V2.0 or V3.0. I know your moisture problems are gone now, but I've been collecting wood for months now in hopes to rebuild all my hives into barn hives, - just want to see what your fix is to address the winter moisture problems. Keep up thew good work!
Your bee barn would do very well in northern BC Canada, a friend has lost his langforth hives every year for the last 6 years expensive here,question could the inner box be 5/8th ply with 1/4 inch riser ends to hold in the frames, have you published plans for this jewel
did you make your own frames??? .. which I probably know the answer to but what I really want is a template to go by to make my own .. you have given me an inspiration to quit struggling and succeed as a 3rd year beekeep!!
This was amazing to watch, so satisfying to see the bees thriving! I am wondering what you will do if/when the bees decide to swarm? Usually you split off into a nuc right? But you're happy with the number you'd have so will you just try to destroy all the queen cups?
Add supers, shuffle brood frames to weaker hives, split off queens if necessary. I’m not doing this for a living, so if I lose a couple swarms, it’s not a big deal.
Thanks Jim for taking the time to experiment with your hives and beeyard. We had taken a year off because of the same issues that you were having. We live a few towns over and have clear cut our woods, now we have more wind and this is one of our problems. We will be back at it again this year thanks to Autumn Morning Farm. We had used insulation for boxes one year with great success but lost them to a tree falling on our hives. So we our reconfiguring our hives to help with the temperture flucuation. So again thank you for this added information that we can use for our own bee yard. It is so nice to see your success. the bee boxes are slamming.
What did you end up doing with that nuc? I read one commenter and your reply suggesting you combine the queenless nuc with another hive/nuc to free up that resource box if you needed it, but here it sounds like you're just going to let it play out. EDIT: This is what I get for not waiting until the end of the video to ask questions. :)
As a sidenote to this comment: My brother's grandfather-in-law keeps bees, and his past few hives have not made it through winter. This is in central, NB, Canada. I want to suggest trying a bee barn, or seeing if someone can make one for him, but I'm also not sure how to suggest it. I've sent your initial video describing the concept and the results video too my my sister in law and she seems to think it's worth a shot, so we'll see where it goes. I'll keep you posted if anything happens. From what I've heard hive losses were pretty heavy in the area.
I just got some bees on Saturday, The guy thinks that my insulated hives will be bad for my bees in the summer !! I think maybe he thinks insulation makes heat or something !!!
The best, thanks. Two years ago I lost three of three hives to winter. This past winter I used two inch insulation on two regular hives and an insulated long hive I built and they all made it, until I fed them just prior to a 10 day trip last month and raccoons 🦝 after the sugar water ripped off the straps holding the tops of the two boxes exposing the cluster to both cold and rain. I’ll keep the one hive and spend time rebuilding the old boxes as you suggested.
Hi, Jim. What a fantastic April inspection. You were right about the Bee Barn's high capacity insulation. Seems like they ALL did just fine all winter. And the larger Bee Barn frames! All the bees seem to love the continuous frames. This is a great innovation. I wish I were more skilled, but when it comes to carpentry, I'm all thumbs. Looking forward to see how the honey production will be with such huge hive populations so early. I'd love to see how much they move up into the supers and if they draw comb if any of the frames were undrawn. I'd also keep an eye out for more queen cells since one the new capped brood emerges, the swarm tendency will be high. LOVE your videos. The 'Bee Barn' concept is a win-win innovation any way you look at it. Can't wait to see your next inspection. To date, I now only follow you, Frederick Dunn in PA, Bob Binnie in N. Georgia (Commercial Beekeeper), Kaymon Reynolds in TN, and a few others every once in awhile. Keep up the good research and work.
I've been thinking about creating something similar to your inner cover feeder/top entrance and was wondering if having that top entrance on both sides ends up getting your bees moving into your feeder box at all? I can imagine that they can sniff out that syrup up there too.
i dont know for sure if you were getting fresh nectar but it will drip out of the comb if its fresh. uncapped honey will look fresh as well. It trips me up sometimes! glad you're happy with the new hives
Another reason to put the pollen in the center The mold was around the outsides of the top covers. Putting the pollen in the middle avoids the moisture and mold
Thanks for sharing! The bee barn is a cool idea! Do you use queen excluders? I'll be very interested to see how honey production does this year! Too many nucs is a great problem to have! lol
None of that is open yet. Maybe pussy willow, but I have no idea where any of that would be. We’re still at daffodil stage. It’s most likely red maples.
And any tips on how to transition a standard hive on mediums to your rocking deep frames! Switching to the barn itself seems simple enough, but transitioning an existing hive to your frames is the part I can’t seem to work out in an efficient manner.
I'm curious how much bearding will happen with the bee barns in the hotter weeks. It seems the bee barns are a pretty darn good place for bees to build a hive, so I expect swarming to happen. Swarming is only a bad thing if it happens at the wrong times, otherwise it's a sign the hives are thriving and propagating the species by establishing new colonies. Unfortunately for any swarms, the places they'll find to build a new hive won't be even close to as good as the bee barns. As for the frame size; It seems about right. 2 deep frames would probably be too much when compared to what is normally seen in the wild. I think you've been proven correct about a continuous frame vs a deep and a medium box on top of each other.
As Jim highlighted last summer, the insulation works both ways. The internal temperature stayed consistent no matter what the exterior temperature was.
I was thinking pussy willow may be your nectar source. Our pussywillows bloom before or along with our early daffodils. Do you have any on your property? If not, take cuttings from one, and they root really easily. You could put a stand of them in for your bees. 12” pencil thick cuttings, stuck into wet ground and kept wet. They take off and grow fast. (I know you are crazy busy right now, but not everyone realizes how easily they can be propagated, so I wanted to share.) Amazing video and progress!!
Nice Mandalorian reference! I would suggest taking that ring off while playing with bees. It wouldn’t be good if you got stung on that finger. That fact that it’s black may make it a target.
I am also in Massachusetts. Our biggest challenge is getting the hive through late February and finally March. They will be strong, I unwrap and unpredictable disaster. Especially this year and last with unseasonably late frosts lost some weaker hives to cold. I have friends who sprayed sugar water on the bees to hive them. It is a bad strategy for our climate. The cold nights killed half their bees. Massachusetts beekeeping is frustrating. Might be going for Russian hybrids next year.
I have zero fear of frosts or freezing nights year round with these hives. The insulation is permanent. These hives have taken so many old worries off my plate and I’m really only left to worry about varroa and swarming. Weather is a non- issue now.
I have a question regarding the "paint" you use for your hives. I vaguely remember you saying that you dont use colored paint but instead use a more natural product that lets you keep the woods natural look. Could you remind me what you use on the hives?
These are just coated with linseed oil because the cedar should last for decades even with nothing on them. The pine boxes are treated with Vermont Natural Coatings Exterior Penetrating Stain. Search “I don’t Paint beehives” on UA-cam.
Would you consider selling your hives, selling the plans, or getting someone to make them for sale? I think the design is brilliant, and would love to start using them.
I will make a build video soon. I do not plan to get into the hive making business. The concept is open source. “Insulated deep brood boxes.” That’s it. I was hoping hundreds of other people would expand on the idea and share their designs and findings. Give it a year. They’re coming out.
ok, Stupid question, do they ever make queen cups? cells/ and just keep them? like have them just in case? or is it only made to use immediately? out of emergency?
Bees sometimes make cups without using them. Those are called play cups. You can usually see if they want to use them or if they're just play cups by looking at where they're placed.
I was wondering if your bees are "gluing" (for lack of a better term) the extra long frames frames together. Mine seem to put wax and propolis between the frame ends to lock them in place.
Jim, your redesign really is amazing - it's turned great for both the bees and the beekeper. Or, should I say beekeeperS, since the Bug Farmer is likewise enjoying success with his. I asked him (because I keep forgetting to ask you) - what kind of weight is going on with those deep frames in the bottom, now that you have bees and resources and woodware combined in a full manner? And a question that occurred to me while I was listening to you as I was getting through what turned out to be a two hour trip to go about 35 miles: what about splits? Have you thought about how you would handle splits from a bee barn? Would you only do splits into another bee barn? And while I'm typing THIS, it occurs to me that it could be done into a bee barnified nuc, and maybe with as few as two of those deep frames. However, I'm considering selling nucs in the next year or so, and I doubt most consumers would be in the market for a barned nuc.
I made 6 nuc splits last summer. All my double nuc resource hives are bee barnified. So my “nucs” are four-frame bee barns. If I knew people near me with bee barns or same dimension deep/medium hives, I could sell or give away nucs and that would make splitting and/or swarm prevention easier.
You can always just shake extra bees into a nuc or hive a customer provides and make sure the queen is with it and voila you have a split on whatever frames they provide you without frame size difference issues. Your base hive barn will make your fresh queen of the year. Yay for healthy bees! I’m selling my first nuc this year- feels like I’m a real beekeeper now 🙌🏼
That would be fine; however, the whole point of nucs is so the purchaser has a ready made colony with the traditional group of frames (food, pollen, brood in various stages) and a laying queen. If they're new, or have no drawn comb, they're paying the premium for a nuc but not getting everything that's typically included for that premium. While some new beeks probably wouldn't know the difference, I would, and I'd feel badly about selling someone a nuc that's basically just shaken bees with a queen - something they could get for less by just buying a package.
This video put a huge smile on my face, especially with the sound effect when you said "This is the way." LOL. Yes, having beebarns IS the way.
Jim, just to reaffirm your concept. With my insulated hives here in KY (and using single brood box management) I put my first super on my hives in MARCH! By mid to end of March here the queens are well into their first strong push of brood and to get ahead of swarming I am finding good success with supering my hives a full month head of people with uninsulated hives.
This is GREAT to hear. I’m planning on supering like crazy. The extra deep brood boxes do a great job of keeping that swarm urge down. I just need to keep them clear of honey. I’ll be adding empty frames down there soon to replace any un-used packed honey frames. Really loving how this is all coming together!
To this day I appreciate you adding Celsius conversions to your videos. Not sure if I've said that before, so I thought I'd say it now. Thank you 😄
2:00 HAHA, love it.
While I did loose 2 hives to starvation, the rest have a rather large population. We're behind you by quite a bit here in Canada (Silver maples are just starting to bloom and the snow is just done melting). Making these insulation shells with R25 tops REALLY helped me. Etienne Tardif's advice is gold!
Estrie here. I used R10 (pink) polystyrene insulation to make something similar to Jim's Bee Barn and it was phenomenal! The insulation was so good, that I had 10 deep frames worth of honey (mix feeding syrup) that I had to take out because they were honey bound in April. Even a 10-frame nuc (used 2 5-frame supers, superimposed) came through with enough resources for spring! LOVE this concept!
I'd call the frame design a Langstroth-Layens hybrid. The extra depth is part of the Layens design, but, as you pointed out a while back, Layens are sealed across the top. Great adaptation!
I like the idea of a spacer board. I only have eight frame hives but the thought of removing a frame to a 'Stand; with brood and bees worries me a bit that fallen bees might not find there way home, and of course it might have the unseen Queen. I think I will adopt this come next season, ( I'm in Australia, season is finished).
Given everything else that is going on in the world, it is always great to get another good news video from the bee yard. Thank you! Well done!
I'm still 100% sold on the design, the frames in particular. Inspecting through double deeps is a lot of work!
Im just about an hour North and East of you, its always great comparing what you see to what I see, helps me know if I am way off or not with whats going on with the seasons at least. This year my hives in standard langstroths (double deeps) came out really strong as well, so I do think the season is part of the reason. But I did tighten up the boxes over the winter, reduced the entrance and such. Changed my thinking based on what you are doing and I think that made a difference too.
Really enjoying this journey! Can't wait to see how it develops and hopefully maybe give it a go myself!
Wow Jim... I am so happy for you. The difference in your voice in a year is huge. My heart broke with your huge loss video, you sound so much happier and enthused. Poor Ian is having a rough time with the snow there.
it is fresh nectar. It is out there, even by you. I start seeing it in March, but they often use it before the flow. My first year I used those deep frames, but I need to go back to regular deeps so I could mix and match all the equipment. I would have to do a total reboot like you if I wanted to go back to deep. Unfortunately I keep bees on my roof and hauling stuff up and down is brutal, so I need to keep things portable in that respect.. Looking good. I think you will very busy May and June with those ladies building up so fast.
Thank you so very much for putting yourself in a position to have people who are less than loving and open minded be critical towards your methods by sharing your journey with Beekeeping and sharing your experience so that those who choose to open their mind can benefit by it. You've given me hope for getting back into Beekeeping.
✨MOISTNESS✨ 😂😂😂
This is the way.
Your hives are looking great. I agree, the deep frames are a game changer. My hives are all overflowing with bees and have been supered already. I am way ahead of where I was last year at this time. Although I am concentrating on creating healthy hives and settling my colonies into these new Bee Barns I think it may turn out to be a record honey season this year. I am firmly in the Bee Barn camp.
Hi im new to bee keeping and I really am impressed with the bee barns. Im looking for infos on size and dimensions and how to build the frames. Do you have any advice? Thank you
Jim, can you do a quick video on how you make your double deep frames?
Do you have blueprints for the beebarns?
Hi Jim. Any blueprints of the insulated double deep to share? Nice work you have there
Nice Hives! Insulate the supers and you will get honey faster with less moisture.
Hi Jim. Great news. I have started putting on supers here in the UK as the spring flow has started. it shows the new hives are working well beyond your expectations. Keep the Vids coming. Chris UK.
There is a material called Starboard that might be a better material for the hive cover that you had the moisture issue with. It is a material used in boat building and outdoor kitchen cabinets. It would not absorb or hold moisture and then the burlap would draw the moisture off the starboard instead of some of the moisture going into the plywood. It comes in different thickness (1/4"-1/2"-3/4") The 3/4" might be a better material for the end spacers because it would not warp like the plywood did. I think the plywood warped because the moisture was higher on one side than the other. The side next to the frames would be higher then the outside may have been. Just a thought
Yup. And it’s about $700 for a 4x8 sheet. I shopped around for that a couple months ago. I found something similar for a lot less… stay tuned!
So excited and happy for you! Any plans to share the plans?
Have you thought about dipping your spacer boards in hot parrafin wax, to prevent warping?
Bees would think it was beeswax anyway and probably steal it all or build comb on it.
Probably could find another waterproofing solution, but all we need is a bee safe material that doesn't care about moisture.
Congratulations on 100k
It's pretty neat seeing that circle pattern on all those frames!
I'm about an hour east of you..... Our hives are absolutely exploding this Spring. Way earlier than we've ever witnessed. Even a hive that was torn apart (2x) by a bear last Fall survived the winter. We added supers this past weekend. I think if we had let them go another week to 10days, they most likely would have swarmed. We have Langstroth hives; I'm thinking the relatively mild winter combined with treating for mites last Fall were two reasons they came through winter so strong. Happy Spring All
Thanks for the update. and as always..... GO BALBOA!!!
Hi Jim congrats on all your hard work and your successful channel. I’d like to upgrade my few hives into bee barns. I understand the insulation part as you explained it great. But I’m having troubles with the plans, size and dimensions of the frames. Can you post the how to or the dimensions when you get a chance? Thank you
Hello! These aren’t exactly the same, but an option. I’m starting with these this spring after a break of several years .... wishing you much luck!!
horizontalhive.com/
You need to patent that design. My back would be much happier with your design. Nice work! 😊🐝
It is an open source concept. Build away.
Been absolutely miserable spring here in north Iowa. We had 4 inches of snow last week. Glad to see it’s getting started in your area it gives me hope!
Great video 👍
“This is the way”… looking forward to the Grogu hive!!
I went to a deep+medium for brood chambers a few years ago...made sense to me...I started adding permanent insulation as well..that also made sense to me .. Glad to see others have come to the same conclusion.
I am really enjoying the journey you are having with these barns. I would like to hear your pro's n con's after a full year.
I’ve been keeping a list. Every time I think of a new one, I realize I need to make that video. Stay tuned.
got an idea Jim, thanks for sharing this video, i will apply this here in the Philippines, we don't have winter here in the Philippines, so the huge insolation is not applicable for me, BUT the deep and a medium foundation that attached together that's make sense to me. That's a big circle of brood.
I'll try it here in the Philippines...for a massive production of bees send to the fields gathered nectar an pollen on our coconuts all year round
I have had similar results with my super insulated Layens hive with extra deep[18"] frames, in central NH. They are used any where in the hive and they fit in a large frame extractor. Thanks for the video. Take care, Brice
Your hives look terrific. I have an insulated nuc and it swarmed on April 7th, usually the swarms start in May. It's a different year and you will be adding more supers in 2-3 weeks
We've been seeing nectar coming in the beginning of April and pollen in the last 10-14 days. I think they are getting maple sap.
i am close by in mass i live in the brookfields and seeing how your hives made it through the winter makes me really want these bee barns looks like a good choice
Still hoping you'll put up a video on the barn hive (top) redesign V2.0 or V3.0. I know your moisture problems are gone now, but I've been collecting wood for months now in hopes to rebuild all my hives into barn hives, - just want to see what your fix is to address the winter moisture problems. Keep up thew good work!
Man I get swarms mid February. Last year end of February they caught me off gaurd this year wasn't expecting it so soon
So do you have extra bee barns laying around to splits? Or if you catch a swarm? This idea looks great. Nice job
Your bee barn would do very well in northern BC Canada, a friend has lost his langforth hives every year for the last 6 years expensive
here,question could the inner box be 5/8th ply with 1/4 inch riser ends to hold in the frames, have you published plans for this jewel
did you make your own frames??? .. which I probably know the answer to but what I really want is a template to go by to make my own .. you have given me an inspiration to quit struggling and succeed as a 3rd year beekeep!!
Ok insulation for winter hives check large frames check. Nice, thank you. I am getting my first bees in a month.
This was amazing to watch, so satisfying to see the bees thriving!
I am wondering what you will do if/when the bees decide to swarm? Usually you split off into a nuc right? But you're happy with the number you'd have so will you just try to destroy all the queen cups?
Add supers, shuffle brood frames to weaker hives, split off queens if necessary. I’m not doing this for a living, so if I lose a couple swarms, it’s not a big deal.
Thanks Jim for taking the time to experiment with your hives and beeyard. We had taken a year off because of the same issues that you were having. We live a few towns over and have clear cut our woods, now we have more wind and this is one of our problems. We will be back at it again this year thanks to Autumn Morning Farm. We had used insulation for boxes one year with great success but lost them to a tree falling on our hives. So we our reconfiguring our hives to help with the temperture flucuation. So again thank you for this added information that we can use for our own bee yard. It is so nice to see your success. the bee boxes are slamming.
What did you end up doing with that nuc? I read one commenter and your reply suggesting you combine the queenless nuc with another hive/nuc to free up that resource box if you needed it, but here it sounds like you're just going to let it play out.
EDIT: This is what I get for not waiting until the end of the video to ask questions. :)
As a sidenote to this comment:
My brother's grandfather-in-law keeps bees, and his past few hives have not made it through winter. This is in central, NB, Canada. I want to suggest trying a bee barn, or seeing if someone can make one for him, but I'm also not sure how to suggest it. I've sent your initial video describing the concept and the results video too my my sister in law and she seems to think it's worth a shot, so we'll see where it goes. I'll keep you posted if anything happens. From what I've heard hive losses were pretty heavy in the area.
I just got some bees on Saturday, The guy thinks that my insulated hives will be bad for my bees in the summer !! I think maybe he thinks insulation makes heat or something !!!
The best, thanks. Two years ago I lost three of three hives to winter. This past winter I used two inch insulation on two regular hives and an insulated long hive I built and they all made it, until I fed them just prior to a 10 day trip last month and raccoons 🦝 after the sugar water ripped off the straps holding the tops of the two boxes exposing the cluster to both cold and rain. I’ll keep the one hive and spend time rebuilding the old boxes as you suggested.
The sheer excitement i get from seeing your bees is awesome
Hi, Jim. What a fantastic April inspection. You were right about the Bee Barn's high capacity insulation. Seems like they ALL did just fine all winter. And the larger Bee Barn frames! All the bees seem to love the continuous frames. This is a great innovation. I wish I were more skilled, but when it comes to carpentry, I'm all thumbs. Looking forward to see how the honey production will be with such huge hive populations so early. I'd love to see how much they move up into the supers and if they draw comb if any of the frames were undrawn. I'd also keep an eye out for more queen cells since one the new capped brood emerges, the swarm tendency will be high. LOVE your videos. The 'Bee Barn' concept is a win-win innovation any way you look at it. Can't wait to see your next inspection. To date, I now only follow you, Frederick Dunn in PA, Bob Binnie in N. Georgia (Commercial Beekeeper), Kaymon Reynolds in TN, and a few others every once in awhile. Keep up the good research and work.
Thank you!
I've been thinking about creating something similar to your inner cover feeder/top entrance and was wondering if having that top entrance on both sides ends up getting your bees moving into your feeder box at all? I can imagine that they can sniff out that syrup up there too.
Have you ever thought of putting your flow frames on these hives ?
Can you show how you built these hives please? I would love to make one or buy one from you.
I already captured a swarm in April here in Kansas... we are on high alert
Awesome! Those were some nice brood frames sir! It's going to be interesting to see this year honey yield.
i dont know for sure if you were getting fresh nectar but it will drip out of the comb if its fresh. uncapped honey will look fresh as well. It trips me up sometimes! glad you're happy with the new hives
thumbs up just for the degrees farenheit to celsius convertions
I have been adding supers and making splits in the 2nd week of April for the very first time
Please do a video or release the plans of your version of the new hives you built!!
Have you ever thought of putting a flow hive super on top of the brood box?
You're there Bernie Sanders... get treated great, they work great
Wonderful watch. Thanks.
Have you thought of putting the flow frames on one of these hives ?
Hi can I get information we're to buy hives
Another bee having gas!!! 😉🤣🤣🤣
Holy-moly, macaroni! That is a lot of bees.
Another reason to put the pollen in the center
The mold was around the outsides of the top covers. Putting the pollen in the middle avoids the moisture and mold
THIS IS SO EXCITING!! KEEP LEARNING AND DOING WHAT YOU FEEL IS BEST FOR YOUR HIVES!!
Thanks for sharing! The bee barn is a cool idea! Do you use queen excluders? I'll be very interested to see how honey production does this year! Too many nucs is a great problem to have! lol
Yes. I showed three queen excluders in the video!
@@vinofarm OK sorry I guess I missed it. Thanks for answering! Keep up the great work!
Crabapple, Hackberry, Pussy Willow? Wolfs bane, Buttercups??
None of that is open yet. Maybe pussy willow, but I have no idea where any of that would be. We’re still at daffodil stage. It’s most likely red maples.
Really impressive! Thanks!!!
Where do you get those deep frames?
He custom made them as the B-barn!
Go for the Flow Frame Supers.....
Just waiting for the honey dance now lol 😆
Do you have a video on how you made the frame
Jim, can you show us how you constructed those big frames?
Yes. Stay tuned.
And any tips on how to transition a standard hive on mediums to your rocking deep frames! Switching to the barn itself seems simple enough, but transitioning an existing hive to your frames is the part I can’t seem to work out in an efficient manner.
@@HaveFaithFarmIL yes, I’d like the same info.
@@HaveFaithFarmIL watch the Bug Farmer - He goes through what he did to switch from standard to a bee Barn
I'm curious how much bearding will happen with the bee barns in the hotter weeks.
It seems the bee barns are a pretty darn good place for bees to build a hive, so I expect swarming to happen. Swarming is only a bad thing if it happens at the wrong times, otherwise it's a sign the hives are thriving and propagating the species by establishing new colonies. Unfortunately for any swarms, the places they'll find to build a new hive won't be even close to as good as the bee barns.
As for the frame size; It seems about right. 2 deep frames would probably be too much when compared to what is normally seen in the wild. I think you've been proven correct about a continuous frame vs a deep and a medium box on top of each other.
As Jim highlighted last summer, the insulation works both ways. The internal temperature stayed consistent no matter what the exterior temperature was.
"Shut up and take my money!"
I was thinking pussy willow may be your nectar source. Our pussywillows bloom before or along with our early daffodils.
Do you have any on your property? If not, take cuttings from one, and they root really easily. You could put a stand of them in for your bees. 12” pencil thick cuttings, stuck into wet ground and kept wet. They take off and grow fast. (I know you are crazy busy right now, but not everyone realizes how easily they can be propagated, so I wanted to share.)
Amazing video and progress!!
I know we don’t have them, but they’re probably around somewhere. We don’t have any water on our land, but we are surrounded by ponds and swampland.
What is your varroa count?
Nice Mandalorian reference! I would suggest taking that ring off while playing with bees. It wouldn’t be good if you got stung on that finger. That fact that it’s black may make it a target.
It’s silicone. I made a whole video about it.
Way to go maan!! keep it up !
I am also in Massachusetts. Our biggest challenge is getting the hive through late February and finally March. They will be strong, I unwrap and unpredictable disaster. Especially this year and last with unseasonably late frosts lost some weaker hives to cold. I have friends who sprayed sugar water on the bees to hive them. It is a bad strategy for our climate. The cold nights killed half their bees. Massachusetts beekeeping is frustrating. Might be going for Russian hybrids next year.
I have zero fear of frosts or freezing nights year round with these hives. The insulation is permanent. These hives have taken so many old worries off my plate and I’m really only left to worry about varroa and swarming. Weather is a non- issue now.
Nice looking hives, good job
I have a question regarding the "paint" you use for your hives. I vaguely remember you saying that you dont use colored paint but instead use a more natural product that lets you keep the woods natural look. Could you remind me what you use on the hives?
These are just coated with linseed oil because the cedar should last for decades even with nothing on them. The pine boxes are treated with Vermont Natural Coatings Exterior Penetrating Stain. Search “I don’t Paint beehives” on UA-cam.
At 12.44 through 12.52 is that 2 queen or drones one black and one tan left side just above the center block
I saw those. Just uncapped drone cells.
Would you consider selling your hives, selling the plans, or getting someone to make them for sale? I think the design is brilliant, and would love to start using them.
I will make a build video soon. I do not plan to get into the hive making business. The concept is open source. “Insulated deep brood boxes.” That’s it. I was hoping hundreds of other people would expand on the idea and share their designs and findings. Give it a year. They’re coming out.
ok, Stupid question, do they ever make queen cups? cells/ and just keep them? like have them just in case? or is it only made to use immediately? out of emergency?
Bees sometimes make cups without using them. Those are called play cups.
You can usually see if they want to use them or if they're just play cups by looking at where they're placed.
Been barn 2.0 suggestion.... buils a base so you can have a pull out screen and pull out trash tray for easy maintenance
These already have that. Screen bottom boards with pull out trays.
I was wondering if your bees are "gluing" (for lack of a better term) the extra long frames frames together. Mine seem to put wax and propolis between the frame ends to lock them in place.
No. Did you leave them full dimension all the way to the bottom or shave down the sidebars for bee space?
Maşallah
too much smoke to start
You live and learn
Jim, your redesign really is amazing - it's turned great for both the bees and the beekeper. Or, should I say beekeeperS, since the Bug Farmer is likewise enjoying success with his. I asked him (because I keep forgetting to ask you) - what kind of weight is going on with those deep frames in the bottom, now that you have bees and resources and woodware combined in a full manner?
And a question that occurred to me while I was listening to you as I was getting through what turned out to be a two hour trip to go about 35 miles: what about splits? Have you thought about how you would handle splits from a bee barn? Would you only do splits into another bee barn? And while I'm typing THIS, it occurs to me that it could be done into a bee barnified nuc, and maybe with as few as two of those deep frames. However, I'm considering selling nucs in the next year or so, and I doubt most consumers would be in the market for a barned nuc.
I made 6 nuc splits last summer. All my double nuc resource hives are bee barnified. So my “nucs” are four-frame bee barns. If I knew people near me with bee barns or same dimension deep/medium hives, I could sell or give away nucs and that would make splitting and/or swarm prevention easier.
@@vinofarm Very cool.
You can always just shake extra bees into a nuc or hive a customer provides and make sure the queen is with it and voila you have a split on whatever frames they provide you without frame size difference issues. Your base hive barn will make your fresh queen of the year. Yay for healthy bees! I’m selling my first nuc this year- feels like I’m a real beekeeper now 🙌🏼
That would be fine; however, the whole point of nucs is so the purchaser has a ready made colony with the traditional group of frames (food, pollen, brood in various stages) and a laying queen. If they're new, or have no drawn comb, they're paying the premium for a nuc but not getting everything that's typically included for that premium. While some new beeks probably wouldn't know the difference, I would, and I'd feel badly about selling someone a nuc that's basically just shaken bees with a queen - something they could get for less by just buying a package.
Don't forget Mark Huelskoetter with his Bee Sauna near Anchorage.
Not a beekeeper here....but you really should try and patent this.
...or release it on Creative Commons if you have not already.....
A lot of your principles seem to be similar to the traditional layens hives
You mean the Layens hives that are horizontally oriented and not able to be supered?
What’s a nuc?
do you have a top entrance for winter? or just the ventilation holes?
NO VENTS. Only lower entrance.