Replies

  • Janet Luke January 12, 2010 at 4:47am
    Hi Sarah, I will soon be selling asembled Top Bar Bee Hives from my website www.greenurbanliving.co.nz. They will be made either out of Redwood or Macrocarpa and will be made to order by a professional joiner so will be built to last the New Zealand weather.

    Sarah Heeringa said:
    Thanks for the link. Perhaps the thing to do is to download some plans and find a local builder to make me one.
  • Angie Gibbons December 2, 2009 at 1:09am
    HI

    This would be a good contact:

    The Shed was established 01/02/2008 for the health and well being of men in the community by providing a workshop and meeting facilities so that men of all ages could associate with each other in a friendly environment and do what men do in their sheds. Physical address: 1391 Waiuku Road, Pukeoware, Waiuku Postal address WFCMS, PO Box 454, Waiuku 2341 Ph 09 2358001 mob 021 15 15 808 wfmensshed@xtra.co.nz

    Angie
  • Angie Gibbons December 1, 2009 at 11:53pm
    You could always try to contact your local - mens shed! http://menssheds.org.nz/

    They have "work sheds" filled with tools that you can go and use for a small fee. Friend goes to one in Devonport, Auckland and they have every tool you can think of, even with people who for a small fee can do the work for you or show you how to use the tools.

    Its a great community project.

    Angie
  • Kenny December 1, 2009 at 5:29am
    Ok I have to go rent The Bee Movie now =P

    YouTube has 'How To's on top bar building, designs vary but the concept there.

    an informative top bar site I found is: http://www.bushfarms.com/beestopbarhives.htm
    and: http://www.top-bar-hive.com/my-beehive/searching-for-the-right-top-...

    A couple of us are about to build top bars, maby a building worshop is in order to kick-start the revolution??

    PS- I read the article too, and I also said "Yikes $1000!"

    for the bees,
    Kenny
  • Sarah Heeringa November 29, 2009 at 11:11pm
    Glad you liked the article. It was interesting talking to others while I was writing the feature, how many people are only vaguely aware of the problem of CCD. Once you take the time to consider just how amazing bees are, and think a little of the consequences of their disappearance it all seems more urgent. A number of my friends who've read the article now also want to get bees!
  • Sarah Heeringa November 28, 2009 at 6:20am
    Thanks for the link. Perhaps the thing to do is to download some plans and find a local builder to make me one.
  • Val Wilson November 26, 2009 at 11:04am
    Sarah,

    Not many places sell top bar hives (as most people do just make their own) but you can get them at http://bestbeekeeping.com/backyardhiveshop.html

    Hope this helps.

    Sarah Heeringa said:
    I've just researched and written a feature in Good magazine about the worldwide plight of bees. It's got me wanting to start keeping my own bees. I'd like to try Top Bar hives. Does anyone know where I can buy them or order them as a kitset? I'm keen on bees, but I'm no carpenter!
  • Sarah Heeringa November 26, 2009 at 5:38am
    I've just researched and written a feature in Good magazine about the worldwide plight of bees. It's got me wanting to start keeping my own bees. I'd like to try Top Bar hives. Does anyone know where I can buy them or order them as a kitset? I'm keen on bees, but I'm no carpenter!
  • Kenny November 26, 2009 at 1:23am
    Has anybody had any luck retrofitting standard 3/4 plastic frames (or wax frames) into a top-bar hive?

    Ive just been thinking in terms of causing less stress for the bees
  • Marcia Ann Meehan November 17, 2009 at 12:12am
    I believe it is a better way to keep bees, especially for a hobbyist, it certainly would not work for commercial beekeepers. I keep bee for their pollination skills which we are badly in need of, ( the honey is a wonderful bonus) and also to do my bit to help increase the bee population, world wide they are disappearing at an alarming rate.Also, the wax, having to be remade is for the most part, devoid of many of the sprays etc that can stay in the comb for decades. It is a personal choice and I am looking forward to comparing the varroa rate in both my Langstroth and TopBar.

    Val Wilson said:
    Top bar hives are very common in developing countries, particularly in Africa where they originated (which explains why they are also known as Kenya Hives). But there are an increasing number of people in Western countries now opting for top bar hives, mainly because they are thought to be a more 'natural' way to keep bees. The main drawback is that bees in top bar hives produce less honey (although more wax), so whether you go for this type of hive really depends on your main aims of keeping bees in the first place.

    There is a fuller explanation of the pros and cons at
    http://www.bestbeekeeping.com/top_bar_hives.html
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