The overall length of the hive is 34 34 inches and the hive is 19 inches deep. Material list kenyan top bar hive 1 sheet title 12. The design of topbar hives has its origins in the work done in 1965 by tredwell and paterson. As well as htbh such as the kenyan and tanzanian there are also vtbh vertical such as the warre. Beekeepingtop bar hive wikibooks, open books for an. Because the topbars are placed together touching each other bees cannot escape from between combs when the roof is removed. Construction of the fourth design of a modified kenyan top bar hive ktbh, the calkenyan kenyan hive adapted for california.
Combs are supported by bars of wood which lay across the narrow width of the troughlike hive body. Building a kenyan top bar hive tbh natural beekeeping. The length of the top bar is 315mm, the floor board can be measured from 15 to 20mm, the floor boxes should be 1mm and the entrance notch in the floor should be 40mm to stay rigid. While this obscures some of the effort involved in manufacturing a top bar, this simplicity is one reason it has been so popular. It doesnt have side bars, a bottom bar, or full sheets of beeswax foundation to deal with nor the costs associated with these elements. The kenyan top bar hive has a box with sloped sides, whereas the tanzanian top bar hive has a rectangular box.
This 5mm gap will act as a beespace between the follower board and the comb on the outer most edge. There are different types of hives used in beekeeping in kenya but the most important for commercial purposes are two, the kenya top bar hive ktbh and the langstroth hives. All the equipment needed for top bar hive beekeeping can be bought or made locally. The hive we are using is the size of three langstroth deep boxes turned sideways and placed in a row, only without the sides in between. T h e b e e k e e p i n g n a t u r a l l y k e n y a n t. This construction helps to control the defensive behaviour of african bees.
Harvesting the honey top bar bee hive, bee hive plans. How to choose the most appropriate beehive type in uganda. Installed at waist height and kept close to home, topbar hives are often popular with women. We used three standard ten frame inner covers and made a custom top cover. Mistress beek has an excellent description of each style and a rundown of the pros and cons here. Beekeepingkenya top bar hives wikibooks, open books for. I recommend using a standardized tbh design for innumerable reasons, including the ability to. The kenyan tbh is differentiated from the other common design, the tanzania top bar hive, by having sloped sides intended to minimize attachment. Beekeepingkenya top bar hives wikibooks, open books for an. This book is a great resource and will give you much more detail on the whys and wherefores of topbar beekeeping.
The hive has the sides and bottoms fashioned from a single sheet of curved, thin. And if youre ready to build, here are some designs. Nov 24, 2011 top bar hives are low tech, old style configurations of hives. Beekeepingtop bar hive wikibooks, open books for an open world. Joel govostes has made a catenary tbh, and has kept bees in it successfully. The topbar or kenyahives were developed as a lowercost alternative to the standard langstroth hives and equipment. Easy to follow stepbystep instructions will take you through the process of building your own top bar hive. How to make a home made bee hive the permaculture research. The top bar or kenya hives were developed as a lowercost alternative to the standard langstroth hives and equipment. Klift was established in 1994 with a goal to contribute towards poverty alleviation and food security through supporting livestock enterprises access to affordable credit.
Harvesting the honey top bar bee hive, bee hive plans, bee hive. Vital stats and materials list for kenya topbar hive dummies. Getting sweet on building your own beehives comb sweet comb. Build tbhs hives 3, 4 or 5 feet long a top bar comb growing straight with honey build syrup feeders, queen cages, pollen traps, and queen excluders for tbhs. One of the great things about beekeeping is the many ways that bees can be housed. Livestock kenya livestock farmers and businesses can get. However, topbar hives are becoming more popular among smallscale, backyard beekeepers. The book contains introductory chapters that teach you the basic carpentry skills. Jun 21, 2010 these hives are called top bar hives because a single bar of wood lays on top of the hive. I made a kenya top bar hive ktbh so the sides of my hive are angled down to an 11 inch width bottom.
T h e b e e k e e p i n g n a t u r a l l y k e n y a. See more ideas about top bar bee hive, bee and bee keeping. Here we evolved and developed the beehive fence design to incorporate the more advanced kenyan top bar hive with an embedded queen excluder. All the equipment needed for topbar hive beekeeping can be bought or made locally. There are over a dozen plans in all, including the traditional langstroth hive, the eight frame garden hive, designs for elevated hive stands, the warre hive, screened bottom board, the kenya top bar hive, fourframe observation hive, hive top feeders, and more. The design of the top bar hive allowed for the construction of the hive with only needing to cross cut the boards to length, a task that could be. We have two, one with a flat roof, the other with a peaked roof. This hive was invented in the mid1960s in england by w.
Top bar hives are low tech, old style configurations of hives. Also known as tiered or supered top bar hives, a vertical. The floor warre hive construction guide the bee space. Free diagram and plans for a top bar hive mistress beek. The top bar hive was produced by multisweet group, multisweet group. The kenyan tbh is differentiated from the other common design. The kenyan top bar hive is a troughshaped hive that originated in kenya under the direction of canadian bee researcher dr. The top bar hive could he hung from trees keeping the predators from getting to the hives. This book contains all you need for a completely sustainable topbar hive beekeeping system. Kenya topbar hive frame hives bees are encouraged to build their comb within a provided frame which can then be inserted into a. Others are the log hives made from hollowed out tree trunks, basket hives made from. At a high level, it is effectively a box on legs, with a cover. A warre hive is a vertical top bar hive that is simple to build and easy to use.
Topbar hives the hive body is a simple box with a series of separate bars set sidebyside on the top, the bees build one comb on one topbar e. The kenyastyle top bar hive is a lower cost alternative to the standard movableframe hive, but produces less honey. Build your own top bar hive and experience an alternative beekeeping method. There are two main classifications of top bar hives the kenya top bar hive and the tanzania top bar hives. Vital stats and materials list for kenya topbar hive. Alternative beekeeping using the top bar hive and the bee guardian methods duration. This is a variation on the topbarnatural comb concept. They are becoming very popular in the us due to their alignment with the organic, treatmentfree philosophies of many new beekeeping devotees in the united states. Livestock farmers and businesses can get loans from kenya livestock finance trust written by beatrice wendoh.
A warre pronounced warray hive is simple to manage and maintain. It is a hybrid between the topbar hive and a langstroth hive. John corner kenya top bar hive beekeeping forums your bee. Gordon townsend from the university of guelph in canada, sponsored by the canadian international development agency cida under an initial four year overseas project which began in kenya in 1971. Sweet honey from your own bees will be the reward for your work. Constructing a kenya top bar hive written by george. The hives sloped sides tend to result in stronger combs and discourage the bees from attaching the comb to the bottom of the hive. Rip a small channel down the centre of the remaining 29 top bars, about 5mm. You will get enough top bars for one hive from one 6metre length. Fit the tongueandgroove pieces together, use a hammer to tap them snug, and then slip on the end rails.
The hive commonly referred to as the kenyan topbar hive was developed by dr. Wilson modified crowders design slightly, primarily in adjusting the length of the bars to allow easy transition to a langstroth hive. I even baited one by bringing a comb down and they still wouldnt go. I made the hive long enough to handle 30 hoffman top bars. Nov 29, 20 the top bar hive could he hung from trees keeping the predators from getting to the hives. Livestock enterprises can access loans for their farming or business activities through the kenya livestock finance trust klift. Now make sure that the boards are nested together tightly, with no gaps in between the pieces, and place 1. Others are the log hives made from hollowed out tree trunks, basket hives made from woven sticks which are smeared with mud, and pot hives made of clay that are only used for small scale honey production. Although the two most wellknown styles of long topbar hives are named kenyan and tanzanian, the kenyan hive was actually developed in canada, and the socalled tanzanian hive is not the same as the topbar hive that was developed in tanzania.
A tbh is nothing more than a cavity with tbs and bees. It was built mostly from scrap wood, the bars, roof, trim and legs. The top bar hive is designed with the beekeeper in mind, both in terms of the construction effort and the management of the hive once installed. Bees for development brood nest arrangements in topbar. Attach each follower board to a top bar, 5mm from one edge of the top bar. The results rest on scientific principles and careful observations from managing 200 topbar hives with over 25 years experience. At 25th hive, there is assortment of products from trusted classics to emerging favorites. The two main types of top bar hive in use today are distinguished by their shape and origin. Buy kenyan topbar beehives beekeeping naturallybeekeeping. The beekeeping naturally kenyan top bar hive is a high quality product designed and built for the australian climate by people who care about the environment and who are passionate about caring for bees. John corner kenya top bar hive beekeeping forums your. There are over a dozen plans in all, including the traditional langstroth hive, the eight frame garden hive, designs for elevated hive stands, the warre hive, screened bottom board, the kenya topbar hive, fourframe observation hive, hive top feeders, and more.
Design intent the top bar hive is designed with the beekeeper in mind, both in terms of the construction effort and the management of the hive once installed. The cost is about onethird to onefourth the cost of one standard ten frame langstroth hive. Sep 19, 2010 however, topbar hives are becoming more popular among smallscale, backyard beekeepers. Making sure that the boards are flush with the end of the rail, place 1 nail 1 38 galvanized toward the end of the side rail. It allowed for hive manipulation for easy access for removing honey and moving brood to make more colonies. While this obscures some of the effort involved in manufacturing a top bar, this simplicity is. Our research here was entirely participatory and all 64 farmers in the community were involved in the project in one way or another. Others are the log hives made from hollowed out tree trunks, basket hives made from woven sticks which are smeared with mud, and pot hives mad. Top bar hives kits, books, classes, bees gold star honeybees. Installed at waist height and kept close to home, top bar hives are often popular with women. Found plans on the internet and modified them to suit my needs. The beekeeping naturally kenyan top bar hive is a high quality product designed and built for the australian climate by people who care about the environment and who. Design options and construction tips are complemented with many photos and drawings.
Colony managementthe kenya topbar hive is typically around 90 cm long and has no super. Why i got a top bar hive our free bees june 15, 2014 places online that talk about the advantages and disadvantages of lang vs. Gold star honeybees po box 62 spruce pine, nc 287770062 8285525225. Built using all screw construction, our hives provide superior strength and longevity. It is well described in his book, home honey production. Lumber in a store is identified by its nominal size, which is its rough dimension before its trimmed and sanded to its finished size at the lumber mill. The following tables break down the kenya topbar hive into its individual components and provide instructions on how to cut and build those components. Top bar hive construction by daniel garber paperback lulu. This is a building bee hive plan for the warre or vertical top bar bee hive. Long box hive edit the long box hive is a single story hive utilizing fully enclosed frames per the dimensions of langstroth hives or deeper by variation but is worked horizontally in the manner of kenyatanzanian topbar hives.
An embedded popsicle stick, or, as i do, a simple piece of jute string lain along the middle of the bar and glued by dripping hot wax melted with a cheap soldering iron from an electronics store, gives the bees a guide to build their comb along the bar. The object of a top bar hive tbh is to be easy and cheap to construct, easy to work and having natural sized cells. The kenyan was designed to be low tech, low cost and simple to build using available materials. Smith, sponsored by the canadian international development agency under an initial four year project begun in 1971. Top bar hives are often introduced by projects keen to promote. Combs are supported by bars of wood which lay across the narrow width of the troughlike hivebody. These hives are called top bar hives because a single bar of wood lays on top of the hive. Our top bar hives sustainable kilndried western red cedar or sugar pine. My kenyan top bar hive is performing beautifully, so im sticking with langstroths and horizontal top bar hives. The kenya topbar beehive has many design variations, but they all consist of a long, horizontal hive body with sloped sides, top bars instead of frames, and a roof. I tried a couple of years ago with a kenya hive and a few gift bees but they did not make it through the. A kenya style sloped sides is so that the combs are more naturally strong and less likely to break and collapse when they are full of honey. I know some of you have been waiting to see the kenya top bar hive i built and meg painted. Top bar hives with sloping sides have come to be known as kenya top bar hives.
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