Beekeeping

F

Fykus

Member
Silver Stacker
Just thought of this not long ago. could be a way to add a few extra ounces to the stack if you produced enough honey and sold at local farmers markets or something.

anybody know anything about beekeeping? does it make much money/is it profitable to do? has anybody tried it before?

any info would be appreciated.

cheers
 
It is regulated, the council has a list of rules about what you can keep and how you go about it, I would not be surprised if you had to buy a bee keeing licence and register them.

I did download a very helpful book off one of the local government websites, there is probably something similar for NSW.
 
I wouldn't go all in into the apiary buzziness.
Bee keeping does require a bit of mucking around, depending on where you keep them. The father in law's were next to a canola crop which gets sprayed at harvest. Canola makes the tastiest honey imo, not too strong. Unfortunately the farmer didntell him so the colony was affected.
 
I have a hive of Native Bees that moved into my back yard and set up home inside an upturned clay pot years ago. I think they were attracted by a lilly pilly hedge that I had planted about 18 months prior to that.

I have never robbed the hive, although have had to move it a couple of times, I see it as my SHTF sugar hit supply :P :lol:

I like the fact that they don't sting as I don't like getting stung, it hurts! :)
 
theres a piece of log with a hive of them in it thats been there for longer than ive been alive i think down at my grandmothers.
 
-Bee's are necessary for the pollination of most of our crops, fruit and veg not to mention honey.
-they're slowly becoming extinct due to disease.
- beekeepers are slowly becoming extinct because it's tough dealing with disease.
-How many young commercial beekeepers do you know? I know plenty of old hands looking to get out.
- Anyone who runs a business knows how hard it is to find good labour. Imagine trying to get someone to work AND get stung by bees!


So we'll have rapidly rising demand for food, an increasing number of threats to bee numbers and in around 20 years time there'll be a lot less people around that know how to manage them.

If there is a better industry to become involved with then I'm yet to find it.

I'm investing as fast as my knowledge of beekeeping will allow me.

C
 
I have never kept native bees, but I believe that you can only get 1/2 - 1 Kg of honey per hive. As Fukus stated, it is apparently, very pleasant.
 
I saw someone on the net selling hives of native bees (the hive plus bees) for about $450. Wouldn't send to WA though. Just QLD and NSW, both due to climate and customs. I'm sure if I looked hard enough I could find a WA supplier.
I would be keen to get into it when I move back to Perth.
 
in my quick googling this arvo it said something about native bees needing most of their honey to be able to survive through the winter time.

also im not sure if it was native bee honey or if it was just bees that only got their nectar and whatnot from native trees..... anyway it was real red/dark in colour and it was really sweet. so it coulda been native bees or something else.

but yeah it seem like bee keeping might be a good thing to know if there arent any younger people learning to do it.
ive been looking for a productive hobby, maybe this could be it.
 
Fykus said:
also im not sure if it was native bee honey or if it was just bees that only got their nectar and whatnot from native trees..... anyway it was real red/dark in colour and it was really sweet. so it coulda been native bees or something else.
Click to expand...

Being a dark colour and really sweet this would seem to be from native bees. They dont provide as honey as honey bees but they do have a bit of extra that can be harvest from their hives.
I am about to build a top bar hive and will be video the process, you might be interested in seeing this.
As far as councils go you would have to check with your council for their requirements but many councils throughout Sydney allow beehives in residential areas so I cant see Port Macquarie beig a problem. Your hive does need to be registered with the dpi but I have heard that this may be free for hobbyist keepers in the near future.
I would also recommend joining a local amatuer beekeepers group. They are great for information and help with geting your hive established and keeping it running and many will also provide you with a swarm when they are available which probably wont be until next spring.
I hope this helps.
 
Southern Cross posted just recently about the asian honey bee appearing in the Cairns area.

I am sure if he sees this post he will only be too happy to tell you all the story of the current position of the Asian Honey bee and what a danger it posses to the Australian honey Industry as well as farmers.

Regards Errol 43
 
Naphthalene Man said:
Bee keeping does require a bit of mucking around, depending on where you keep them. The father in law's were next to a canola crop which gets sprayed at harvest. Canola makes the tastiest honey imo, not too strong. Unfortunately the farmer didntell him so the colony was affected.
Click to expand...

+1 to this too. Be careful on the spraying. My old man keeps bees, but he has often lost his thanks to others spraying.
 
I agree with r0dan and Naphthalene Man, spraying can be a problem especially if you live near agricultural land such a canola and wheat or even market gardens where they might spray for pests.
You need to pick your site, although though this might not give you many otions if it is to be on your own property as I imagine it would be.
 
got an idea for a few places. im on a few acres where i live, or i could put some down on my parents farm, though they dont really grow crops anymore, only beef cattle so the bees would be going to all the clovers and things i suppose.
 
thought this was nice. explains a bit, interesting to see how you harvest honey.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4FWO8NFKMo[/youtube]
 
Also you can hire out hives to market gardeners and farmers the ones near me pay about $10-$20 a month for the service. Not much for one but would soon add up if you have a few hives.
 
Hiring out the hives, like Franko says, is a good way to make some extra money from the bees. This way you get some money for the hire of the hive and you still have the honey that is produced to sell.
 
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