How to organize a mini-farm bee

Apiary - a rare form of mini-farms. Much more often people are taken for rabbits, poultry, cattle. Bees require not so much investment money, how much knowledge and time. For example, in Russia, farmers hold 3% of the total number of bee colonies and produce only 20% of marketable honey.

Experts believe that a good income brings an apiary of one hundred or more hives. Then we can talk about the high profitability of production, large volumes of sales and so on. But we offer a look at the apiary, not as a business, but as an activity that will provide apiculture products "for himself" and become a stable source of income for the family.

It is such an apiary from a resident of the Altai Territory Anatoly Fokin. When the factory where Anatoly worked as an engineer, went bankrupt, he immediately decided that now it will feed the remainder of his father's small house. The house is situated in the foothills of the Altai Mountains, 150 kilometers from the city. Over time, the beekeeper came to the system, which adheres to the 20 years.

Apiary Anatoly lives from April to October. Every spring, he exhibits 25 hives.

Over the summer, the number of bee colonies increased, and all hives are sent to winter. In winter, the beekeeper lives in the city, and for omshannikom watching his village neighbor. In the spring the beekeeper sells the extra bee colonies and again exposes the 25 hives.

Its first marketable honey Anatoly sold neighbors in the entrance. But as the honey he has always been a mature, high-quality, word of mouth gradually have built up a solid customer base beekeeper.

This summer, he sells the honey at 250 rubles per kilogram. This is the average price of "normal" honey in the Altai Territory. The beekeeper sells and Podmore bees, pollen, propolis, beeswax, royal jelly. But 70-80% of the revenue it brings honey for sale. Money obtained for the season with apiaries, enough to provide a family of four.

Even a small apiary 5-10 hives fully covers the standard needs of the family in honey and even allows you to sell the surplus.

Apiary Anatoly until recently worked for one, now, when he was already 75 years old, took his nephew assistants. It turned out mutually beneficial cooperation: assistant wants to have his apiary and so, in practice, studying beekeeping.

In addition to hives on the site there is a small fruit and vegetable garden. Since the house is on the banks of a small river, Fokin bred geese and ducks - is not for sale, but is completely self-sufficient in meat for the winter. Garden, vegetable garden and poultry were always optional classes - from the hungry 90s Fokine feeds it apiary.

Where to begin

Beekeeping - employment, which is not for everyone. To begin, make sure you are not allergic to bee stings or insurmountable fear of being stung. Sometimes the desire to engage in beekeeping disappears after the first summer of the apiary. By the way, why experienced beekeepers are not recommended for beginners to buy expensive hives and excess inventory. Your investment in the apiary "for himself" should be minimal, at least at first.

FORUMHOUSE experts believe that it is necessary to engage in an apiary or "grown-up", or, if the beekeeping is really drags. We'll have to study more than one tutorial to understand how the bee colonies, learn about honey plants that grow in the area, to become bee doctor, treat and prevent disease. Think about where to put the apiary, it will be fixed or nomadic, what form of hives you choose where to store the containers take the honey who will sell it.

On the one bee colony can not start. Buy three to start. This will reduce the risk of losing all the bees during the winter, will strengthen the weak spring family, etc. And, in principle, three beehives enough to feed the bees and even swing to your tea. The most economical option: buy one bee packages and set traps in the area: in June, they will most likely settle swarms.

Bees buy only at the beginning of May, although at this time they are more expensive than in the fall. Having bought a strong family, you have a chance to get and honey, and strains. And if all goes well, it will justify the costs of bee colonies and give income in the current season.

What's more profitable - bee packages or bee colonies with hives, depending on the region. Somewhere cheaper to buy bee packages (standard spring strains: ambrosia frame, frame honey and two frames capped brood) and the hive, and in some cases cheaper costs the family (fetal uterus, several thousand worker bees and a few hundred drones) immediately with hive.

There is a formula that allows you to calculate the required amount for a beginner beekeeper equipment:

Hives Number = 2 x number of bee colonies.
Number of sets = number of frames x 3 hives.

That is, in our case it will be a 3 bee colonies, hives and six sets of nine frames. Hives to start - just b / y, by the way, used to buy hives and experienced beekeepers: Replace one or two tablets, and they will last another 10 years. The main thing that the hive bottom was detachable, and all its parts interchangeable. If nekochevaya apiary, the hives themselves, and quality are required. Information on the sale of used beehives can be found in the relevant fora, in beekeeping stores, newspapers. The only thing: to determine under what standard framework "sharpened" your hives. Even a very small apiary will be difficult to convert from one standard to another.

Over time, as your beekeeping business will go smoothly, and you want to change to the new hive, the old you will still need: storage framework for traps, etc.

Do not buy excess inventory! All you need to get started, this is the framework, a chisel and a smoker. Even the costume is not necessary, enough jacket with a mask, as long tulle was dark and made of a thin, thin thread. Through such clearly visible. Everything else then buy. If in the first year you will have honey for pitching, extractor, you can ask someone to rent. By the way, do many beekeepers hives and other equipment themselves.

Think about where the bees will collect nectar: ​​with wild honey plants, farm fields, or you will have to sow honey plant? If next to your apiary great Gardener's Association, it is not very good. Meadows and fields are preferable: a hectare of garden bees collect 20-40 kg of honey, and a hectare of fireweed and clover - about 500 kilograms. The territory, which the bees fly around - a circle with a diameter of 4 kilometers from the apiary in the center. And how much of this range covers gardening, the less you will be able to get honey.

But when it comes to small, up to 10, the number of bee colonies, they will find their honey plants virtually anywhere.

Pragmatist (FORUMHOUSE user, the beekeeper from the Leningrad region):

- I once doubted, too, whether the good of beekeeping field around thickets of willows and aspen, clean place left (long-extinct village). But every year a good harvest of honey. Sometimes you get tired swing!

Quite quickly beginning beekeepers to increase the number of bee colonies. Pragmatist He says that 2-4 families that hold 8-10 - money, time and labor spent almost the same. Anatoly Fokin He believes that labor costs increase dramatically, starting with 20 beehives. And before that there is a big difference, but, of course, 20 families keep far better than five.

According to estimates FORUMHOUSE experts, even a small apiary 5-10 hives fully covers the standard needs of the family in honey and even allows you to sell the surplus.

According to Anatoly Fokin, strong family, if it is to take out honey plants for the season gives up to 100 kilograms. Not for nothing that beekeepers have a saying: "He who wanders, the winters with honey." But if you take out an apiary on migratory beekeeping, then most likely, it will be necessary to protect it, or at least, often to travel - Consider the cost of gasoline. On average one bee colonies manage to get 25-25 kg of honey - but it depends on the characteristics of the region, the weather, the skill of the beekeeper, hive devices and even a variety of factors.

The device apiary

The apiary should be protected from the wind and warmed by the sun well. Usually, it is done on the south side of the site. On the way from the apiary for honey plant need not be expensive, industrial enterprises and other apiaries. It does not matter if the bee route will be a small river, but if the lake or a large river, the situation is bad: in windy weather the bees will sink in the water. Also, do not place an apiary in the basins where the morning fog lingers for a long time, and in those places where the field of aircraft handled pesticides.

ONLY buy bees in early May

If the territory of the apiary small hives put on one or in pairs at a distance of about a meter. To bee hives have not mixed their paint in different colors.

Hives give tap holes in the south-east, sloped 5 degrees (so that no water enters the notch) for bricks or the base. Typically, the height of the stand is 30-50 centimeters, but you can make the stakes higher, for its growth, so as not to bend during operation.

The methods of beekeeping

Every beekeeper bees leads in their own way, each has its own method to which comes with experience.

user FORUMHOUSE samperBeekeeper from Nizhny Novgorod, refers to the bees, "like a pet dog." Here's how it is organized beekeeping. All apiary is divided in half. In the first half included the family, which gave marketable honey last year. does not undertake, and provokes a young family at the conclusion of the uterus This year the beekeeper honey from them. Second half - a family that brought the young of the uterus in the last year - that they give honey. From the first half to the second, you can take the brood, as a family with young queens to July 20 have at least 6 streets (so called in beekeeping bees occupying the space between adjacent cells) and in the supply of honey winter.

wearer FORUMHOUSE Holguin farm after thirty years of experience has found that in the Pskov region the best option beekeeping - catching swarms.

Holguin farm (FORUMHOUSE user, the beekeeper from the Pskov region):

We have bee roylivye, due to the specific weather conditions. And we had the old hives. We put them in the yard as unnecessary, and the bees appreciated the 24-frame DADA. Such Rojek came that by the fall of the whole nest and store were covered with honey. Then pyltseulavlivatel still set. Pollen mixed with honey - this product has turned out!

And in order to prevent their swarming bees in late May-early June, a beehive Olga puts the new building and divides the slot. Bees do not swarm until they straighten urgently nest.

Previously, Olga lived in Kyrgyzstan, where beekeeping - only nomadic. Now, in the Pskov region, she wonders: nowhere to go for the honey do not, bees do fly themselves inflict honey - just take it.

In PrusMsl always interesting: his four hives throughout the year are in a rustic house in the Leningrad region. In winter, the house no one lives in the summer - on the first floor of the bees, the second - the people.

Bees have exits to the outside - the tunnel consists of a hole in the wall, the gap from the hive wall to wall of the house and the house wall itself - a total of slightly more than 60 cm. The door opens onto the street, but when the beekeeper working with bees. Hives - homemade double wall, insulated foam or moss. Swarm beekeeper does not allow - at least the last 10 years there was no swarms.

Many farmers give birth not apiary for honey, but to increase the yield from their fields and orchards. But, fascinated by beekeeping, then did not have pity on the elapsed time and efforts - regret that they have not done this before.

Those who make the first steps in beekeeping, we recommend here this section our portal. A selection of videos about bees, you will find right here. An article about how to organize the winter bees, read here.

Discuss the article and read other materials devoted to country life you can on the websiteFORUMHOUSE.

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