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Bee keeping TME
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lon23
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24 Feb ’16 - 9:57 pm
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I'mSo I live in the midwest,  west central Illinois, specifically,  and a beehive and bees came with the property we purchased last March.   It looks as though the colony has made it through the mild winter, and I'm thinking it's 1-2 yrs. old and hasn't had honey harvested thus far.  I'm very anxious /nervous to actually open up the hive and do an inspection,  so am really looking for any advice or helpful links to how-to videos etc.  We don't have many beekeepers around here nor clubs that would be helpful,  so I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed,  yet excited bc i really do want them to survive for years.   

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Gravel Road
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25 Feb ’16 - 8:55 am
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That is awesome.  Last Saturday at the farm there were a few honey bees out (50f) I felt bad that they would probably die as the temp dropped...this warm weather is messing up a lot of things...We are concerned that our orchard might blossom too early and then with the heavy spring frost's we lose the crop. 

"The universe is wider than our views of it." -HDT
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K
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25 Feb ’16 - 8:55 am
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Hey ion

Here is an older video series from the University of Georgia that is pretty good

Have you tried the Illinois Beekeepers Association? They should be able to point you in the right direction

http://www.ilsba.com/

You might also look into contacting the state Ag department since hives have to be registered and inspected in your state, they should be able to help with resources and local contacts as well

https://www.agr.state.il.us/bees-apiaries/

How's the donkey?

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lon23
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25 Feb ’16 - 10:03 pm
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Ours were kind of doing the same thing last weekend and we're very active on Saturday.   We gave them a little sugar water, but sadly noticed about a half a dozen dead bees right by the entrance since it got cold again Saturday night.   This weekend is panning out to look to be about the same, just warmer for a few more days with a less drastic cold snap.   It's been such a strange winter.

Gravel Road said
That is awesome.  Last Saturday at the farm there were a few honey bees out (50f) I felt bad that they would probably die as the temp dropped...this warm weather is messing up a lot of things...We are concerned that our orchard might blossom too early and then with the heavy spring frost's we lose the c

Gravel Road said
That is awesome.  Last Saturday at the farm there were a few honey bees out (50f) I felt bad that they would probably die as the temp dropped...this warm weather is messing up a lot of things...We are concerned that our orchard might blossom too early and then with the heavy spring frost's we lose the crop. 

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lon23
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25 Feb ’16 - 10:08 pm
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KVR said
Hey ion

Here is an older video series from the University of Georgia that is pretty good

Have you tried the Illinois Beekeepers Association? They should be able to point you in the right direction

http://www.ilsba.com/

You might also look into contacting the state Ag department since hives have to be registered and inspected in your state, they should be able to help with resources and local contacts as well

https://www.agr.state.il.us/bees-apiaries/

How's the donkey?

You are the best, KVR.  I'm goin to have to watch this video this weekend, but I'm sure it'll be very helpful.   Also I greatly appreciate the direction with the Beekeepers Association.   Will definitely look at that as well.  I took a bee class a few weeks ago and the gentleman went into detail about having the hive inspected, which he strongly encouraged as well and I am hoping to have done this spring to help make sure we don't have any diseases/parasites etc.  This stuff is fascinating,  yet very overwhelming to me for some reason.

 

Donkeys are great!  The gelding is super happy and only and our old gal is quite the character.  She needs some dental work, but they've put on some weight and maintained it throughout the winter which is great too.  We'll be getting a dozen chicks this spring too, which is also very exciting!

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26 Feb ’16 - 9:47 am
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Good to hear, the video has 25 different parts and is pretty informative, I hope you find it helpful.

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lon23
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19 May ’16 - 5:50 pm
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Honey.1.jpeg

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lon23
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19 May ’16 - 5:51 pm
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Looks like we had a little honey stashed in the hive.  My uncle came out last Sunday and we opened up the hive.  The queen isn't laying, so I'm in the process of trying to find a new queen, but other than that I think we'll be good to go (as long as the queen arrives and does her job).  It was definitely a fun experience and I'm hooked!  Very cool experience!

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