3 Important Tips To Start Your Own Beekeeping Business
1. Beekeeping needs hard work and dedication
For anyone who wants to start a beekeeping business, one thing that they should remember is that it involves a lot of hard work and is not something that is easy to maintain, especially if they want a good profit from this business. Doing it as a hobby may not need as much of an effort as when it is one’s livelihood and takes up most of one’s time. More money would be invested in beekeeping as a livelihood than if it was just a hobby and if you done this then you definitely need to earn that money back. Not only would you need a good quantity of produce from the beehives you would also need the top quality honey so that your products are sold more in the market. The beekeeper should also get the latest equipment and keep to the latest technology to make sure that his produce of honey is the best in every way.
Most beekeepers have been in the business for a long time and know all the ropes of the trade. They also have a website which advertises their goods and gets them a lot more customers. If you do not have a website then the number of your customers will be very limited as you will not be able to spread the word about your farm products to anyone else apart from those who stay in your locality.
2. Beekeeping is a competitive business
When compared to the commercial beekeepers the small business beekeepers will have a hard time competing with them. It takes a lot of effort to produce even a small quantity of honey and if the technology and equipment is not the latest in the market then the produce falls even lower and the profit after all the hard word will be negligible at the end of the day. To make the smaller beekeepers remain in business the commercial ones usually take advantage of the situation and buy up or sub contract the produce of the smaller business’s and add it on to their own. Other agricultural businesses have co operative societies but bee keeping does not have any such way of helping the smaller beekeepers. However, by subcontracting the smaller beekeepers this is beneficial to both parties.
3. Sub contracting is not a safe bet
Though subcontracting may sound like a very good idea it is not all that secure as the company that is subcontracting you could suddenly back off if they are not happy with the products or for any other reason. So this could run out to be a risky affair as you cannot tell what he outcome of the business will be and how the season will be for your products. Beekeepers have to worry about their financial gain and keep wondering whether the market demand would be worth while or not in the future. There produce is not as dependable as a farmer who knows what his farm will give him if the climate is suitable and the weather good for his crops.
When you are in the beekeeping business you have to depend on the activities of the bees and how much they produce. This also depends on the weather and the temperatures which have to be suitable for the bees.
- Abhishek Agarwal
Moving Your Bees From One Home To The Next
You’ve done your beekeeping homework. You’ve chosen a site for your beehive where it won’t be knocked down in a strong wind, or be bothered by pets and humans. You’ve purchased all the right equipment and are comfortable using it. You’ve tried on all your beekeeping gear and are comfortable that it fits you properly and are confident that you are reasonably protected from bee stings. During the cold winter months you placed an order for your bees and were notified that your bees were successfully shipped. Now you have gotten the call from the post office where a frazzled postal worker has politely asked you to please come and remove your package of angry stinging insects from their work environment.
You’ve picked up your bees and noted that other then a few dead ones at the bottom of the container (you should really be prepared for a few to not survive the stressful travel routine they have been asked to endure) the bees look healthy. Now all you have to do is transfer the new bees from the screen container they were shipped in to the hive you have set up for them.
Have your smoker handy when you are ready to transfer your new bees from their shipping container to the hive. Also make sure you have your beehive gear on.
You should notice a small container within the bee’s shipping container. This small container is where your new queen is being kept. The top of her personal shipping container is covered with a cork. Remove the cork and you will see a second cap that is made out of sugar.
Hang the queen’s container in your hive. Your going to want to put it in between the two frames that are in the center of your newly constructed hive. Pierce the top of the candy top with a nail. The worker bees will have an easier time freeing the queen if there is already a small hole in the sugar barrier. When using the nail be very careful that you do not inadvertently stab the queen. You won’t be able to purchase a replacement queen after the winter months. Once the workers have chewed through the sugar barrier the queen will be able to escape into the hive.
Once you have the queen in the hive use your smoker and place a puff of smoke into the shipping package. Gently shake the bee’s shipping container, gently allowing the bees to spill out of the container and into the hive. When you are no longer able to coax any bees out of the container, set the container down near the hive, any bees that are still in it will eventually find their way out of the container and into the hive. Make sure you inset a feeder filled with a simple sugar recipe into the hive.
Leave your new bees alone for a week. During this week the bees will become acclimated with their new home. The queen will start laying eggs and the bees will start to make honey.
Bees like to be transferred from their shipping container to the hive either early in the morning or late evening.
- Jack Stanley