Bee Vlog #85 – April 6, 2013 – Cutout in a chicken coop
I got a call about some bees living in a chicken coop. I was told the hive has been there for 2-3 years, which seems about right judging by the color of the …
Category: Chicken Coop
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How well did the vacuum work? Was it successful at getting them off the
comb safely?
Bees are really good at holding on to each other and the comb, so it took
more suction to get them to let go then I thought it would. Then they were
“pinging” the inside of the bucket. I only vacuumed a small portion of them
to test out the vac, and they seemed to survive but were a little stunned.
I’m still working out the bugs (hehe) and will post a video with more
details sometime soon.
Very cool. Those were some pretty long combs! So were you intending to
smoke them at all and decided not to because they were so calm?
While looking at the queen (around 10 minutes in) it looks like the comb is
upside down in the frame. Was it placed correctly? If its upside down the
comb will not be able to be reused next year because they cant fill it with
nectar, as soon as its uncapped the honey will pour out.
We gave them a little smoke when we first popped them open (and they came
out to investigate) mainly as a preventative measure, and again once they
were open just to be safe, but after seeing that they were not going to get
aggressive we didn’t find any additional smoke was necessary.
Here’s a tip from a builder/remodeler/beekeeper. Use a heavy nail set to
drive the desired nails inward past the board to be removed. The board will
them remove easily and in one piece. Use a larger headed nail to cover the
hole when replacing the board. Also number your boards so they are replaced
in the proper location. Great cutout. HONEY B GUYS on facebook.
It looks alright to me, but since I didn’t frame it I can’t be absolutely
certain. But those who were framing it were very careful about orientation.
nice job!
Wow, I still think you are scary crazy to do that. But well done! Good job!
Nice work there Bill. Yuo were lucky to have lots of helpers. Glen
Thanks for the quick reply
I love your videos. You started keeping the
same time I did so its been such a pleasure to watch your progress compared
to my own since I also believe in going treatment free. I must admit you
have far surpassed me in experience because even though I am a member in
two clubs in my area I cant find anyone who also goes treatment free or
bothers to catch swarms or do cutouts. My mentor has become youtube and
online chats. Congrats on such a successful year so far!