How much time will I spend beekeeping?

[hailtryfan]

Hello everyone.

How much time am I likely to spend beekeeping weekly if I have one or two hives?

I'm a complete novice with no beekeeping experience whatsoever but have recently been thinking of setting up one or two hives. I've been reading lots about the subject and am planning on going on a short course to get some practical experience.

My big concern is time. I'm a science teacher so am usually pretty busy in the evenings and time at the weekends is limited, especially as I'm keen on gardening and rock climbing. Hopefully beekeeping can be fun and relaxing rather than an additional stress.

 

[Dishmop]

Get your school to have some bees then you can look after them in thier time...

 

[VEG]

If you are thinking you dont have much time why think of getting bees. They are not something you can just fit in whenever you have half hour to spare. Not having a go but you sound as if you have a very busy life as it is. It can be very relaxing and very stress full as well.

 

[nonstandard]

Welcome aboard hailtryfan,

IMHO as a minimum, April to July 1hr a week should do it for hive inspections, August & Sept 1hr a fortnight again for feeding and inspections. However you will need to set further time aside for extracting and bottling your honey as well as equipment maintenance.

Bear in mind though once you have your head inside a hive time seems to slip past and other issues can pale into insignificance.

 

[adrian wilford]

million dollar question, at the beginning lots of time learning, especially between april and sept after that very little, so all your eggs are in one basket, all summer activities, could be the same time as keeping a dog i suppose, at least an hour a day with 2 hives. but, as i usually say, if you want anything doing, ask a busy person. they are usually well organsied.

 

[susbees]

Most bee work needs to be done in the middle of the day sensibly so if you work away in the week needs to fit in at weekends, so keep the rock climbing for the other half of the year/school holidays/bad weather and garden in the evenings. Bees are as time-consuming as you want them to be BUT really watching and learning takes time for the first few years. And is addictive.

We run our hives alongside the comings and goings of five children 9-21, lots of after school activities, kayaking, Sunday footie, cricket, and a farm with assorted livestock (hobby). BUT our day tips out at ten thirty every night all year round. And we don't sit round the tele.

 

[Dishmop]

Bear in mind though once you have your head inside a hive time seems to slip past and other issues can pale into insignificance.

and also with your bum in a garden seat and a beer in your hand, admiring your handywork and feeling pretty damned pleased with yourself............

 

[Moggs]

HTF. Bees take as long as they take. If you get around to making increase in numbers, you will have to spend proportionately more time in bee husbandry, making kit, extracting honey, preparing honey for sale (perhaps), etc. You would be well advised to start with at least two hives for ease of colony manipulation.

Bees can be quite demanding, especially when things don't go to plan. If you're serious about keeping bees, you will give them the attention and priority that they as living creatures deserve. That will I'm afraid mean that marking of homework, gardening and rock climbing may have to wait!

What is likely to be even more of a drain on your resources is the many, many hours of study that is a pre-requisite to successful beekeeping. Most of us here treat our beekeeping activities as a gentle and rewarding labour of love - one that certainly should not be hurried.

Beekeeping is very much more than assembling a box or two and throwing in a few bees....

If you choose to follow this path, you may find that the garden will be as overgrown as your bees (but maybe better not to ignore the science homework).

 

[Gardenbees]

It's a very good question to ask - I think quite a few people probably get bees and then can't always find the time when they need it. The thing is, they sometimes need very little attention - over winter, for example. But they sometimes need quite a lot of attention at short notice - an early spring such as this one will require a fair bit of effort to manage the bees' swarming instinct. (It's not a good time to go on holiday for a fortnight!) So I recommend going to a beekeepers' association meetings for quite a while, to get an idea of the seasonal needs of bees.

If you add up all the absolutely necessary time, it doesn't come to that much. Maybe half a day a week at most, and then only during the busiest seasons. But if you add some contingency time (for that unexpected swarm... or having to move your bees at short notice if they upset the landlord or neighbours) and sitting-watching-the-bees time (which would be most of the time if I got my way!) then it stretches to quite a lot. It's a mixed bag: bees can be very relaxing, incredibly rewarding, and the honey is divine. However, they can be quite a heavy responsibility. Technically if they lose their temper, in the absolutely worst case scenario they could fatally sting someone (including the beekeeper). This virtually never happens, but the associated worry is common and very real. What is more likely is that they could cause worry and neighbour problems by swarming, or by chasing passers-by. Good experiences far outweigh the bad ones, but a certain amount of commonsense "risk assessment" is a good idea.

If you decide to have bees, I recommend teaming up with at least one other beekeeper so that you always have the option of at least one other person on hand.

 

[grizzly]

Hi Hailtryfan

The largest issue for me has not so much been inspection regularity but time needed when things dont go to plan, if they swarm, or a routine inspection uncovers issues that need attention.

Bees wait for nobody, there will be times when you need to rearrange your plans, if you cant, then amongst other things your Bees could do what mine did today.

They swarmed because apart from the good weather for the last 2 weekends i failed to do an inspection due to family commitments and being away, i was lucky as i am on leave this week, but could so easily have lost them.

Many manage to juggle family, work and hobbies, alongside keeping bees, i manage it ...... most of the time, im sure you can do it, but just be prepared for the unexpected, it will happen.

 

[TBRNoTB]

Hello everyone.

How much time am I likely to spend beekeeping weekly if I have one or two hives?

I'm a complete novice with no beekeeping experience whatsoever but have recently been thinking of setting up one or two hives. I've been reading lots about the subject and am planning on going on a short course to get some practical experience.

My big concern is time. I'm a science teacher so am usually pretty busy in the evenings and time at the weekends is limited, especially as I'm keen on gardening and rock climbing. Hopefully beekeeping can be fun and relaxing rather than an additional stress.

Give up the rock climbing
Give up gardening
Make time for the only true hobby!

 

[Queens59]

I started keeping bees as I had wanted to for years - and when forced early from teaching due to ill health I thought it would kill and hour or so a week...whoops! There is the early study, the research on what to buy, where to site, and the other'bits' required. After that comes the further study on splitting hive, breeding, frame size, queens, breeding probs, weather issues, robbing, increase or not increase etc etc (plus I have now read in excess of 25 book).

If you have time for a relaxing and absorbing hobby go ahead - BUT if you have lesson plans, marking, risk assessments, out of hours extras and a busy social life...look forwad to retirement or (as mentioned) persuade your school to place hives on site so that it is at least paid for!

 

[mexbigshow]

Bee keeping can be a very time consuming hobby, i found this out last year when i made a top bar hive, its not the inspections that take all your time it's the pure addiction of sitting and watching the bees go about their business they are truly fascinating creatures.I have the best of both worlds at the moment because i work on a community allotment project so i get to grow fruit n veg as well as care for the bees, i think you should ask your school to invest in 1 or 2 for the kids to study. I have a polystyrene langstroth this year to try and keep the cold winter out

 

[RogueDrone]

I find that it is not the time it takes to do the inspections, but the thinking time trying to outwit the swarming instinct, wondering which colony to pinch brood from to correct or check for that queen or eggs that you could not see but damn sure she's there somewhere, but give colony chance to show you other wise.

Inspection time allow1hr/hive + thinking time 16hr aday


I will say when first starting I use to always inspect my colonys just before the club meet. If I saw what I thought to be a problem take a photo and show the experts. This is also handy as when you only have a colony or two with some luck someone at the club apiary will have some brood or a queen cell to help you out.

 

[hailtryfan]

Thanks everyone for your replies. An interesting mix of viewpoints and advice.

I've thought about siting hives at school, but think I would need very close support from my local association if I were to do this. Food for thought though.

No way going to give up my present hobbies

Think that I could spare a couple of daylight hours per week with the occasional afternoon for extraction or dealing with issues. Extra study and reading would fit around the edges.

Hmmmm.....

 

[Hebeegeebee]

My Wife says that she is a bee widow in the summer!

 

[Poly Hive]

If you start the answer is,


the rest of your life.

PH

 

[starflex]

Do not forget all the winter hours spent in the shed/garage making up all the extra kit you find you need during your first year!

You alway need a spare roof/floor/super/BB etc etc the list goes on and on

 

[susbees]

Do not forget all the winter hours spent in the shed/garage making up all the extra kit you find you need during your first year!

What? Doesn't everyone make up frames on a wooden block on the kitchen table and supers in the living room ?

 

[milkermel]

What? Doesn't everyone make up frames on a wooden block on the kitchen table and supers in the living room ?

A person after my own heart!! frames are done on the breakfast bench usually by my OH who taps the nails a bit too farm so work unit is now slightly pitted

My life is very hectic, but the great thing I find about having bees is that it gives me an excuse once a week to stop and spend time with the bees. I can justify it to everyone . . . . Sorry have to check the bees. Its not being lazy or selfish the bees need me!