# General beekeeping > Starting out >  Absolute beginner :p

## Dingus Magee

Hi there...I'm a total novice at beekeeping, but have been wanting to give it a go for years.  I'm about to join the Moray Beekeepers and attend their Intro course in August and hope to start up my own colony as soon as is practical after that.  Any information regarding costs of bees, equipment, hives etc would be appreciated.  I aim to have my hive at home in a large (1 acre) garden, but was enthused by some photos of folk taking their bees to the heather; now, I just live a short stroll from Bennachie...hmmmm...?  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): 
A'ra best 
DM  :Wink:

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## gavin

Nice to hear from you DM.  Get stuck in there!  The Moray group is very active and I'm sure that they will see you right.  Costs?  Too much.  Maybe you can get help from local beekeepers in the way of secondhand equipment that they can vouch for?  Otherwise look at the beginner sets at Thornes.

Folk often sell bees at £25 per frame but there may be cheaper ways, including just setting up a box and letting the bees come to you.

I was up in the Monymusk area a few Saturdays ago with a commercial beekeeper who has hives there.  We also have a forum member in the Cabrach which isn't too far away from you.  And yes, there is heather on Benachie so maybe when you get bees they will fly there for you?

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## Dingus Magee

Thanks for your prompt reply, Gavin  :Smile:   The beginner's sets look like an option that I could consider.  I would also hope to contact someone who would be willing to act as a mentor for me, and may manage this through the Moray group...anyone out there interested...?

I was intrigued to read of 'top bar' hives and, whilst I am unsure whether they would provide sufficient protection for the colony given our harsh winters in NE Scotland, wondered whether anyone had had any experience of them.  I was particularly interested in this type of hive as it would be easier to lug up onto the braes o' Bennachie than some of the other hives on the market.

However, I have read that bees will forage out to a distance of 3 miles, so they should easily manage to make Bennachie and back from my home...I am fortunate enough to live within a mile of the hill; t'would be good, though, were I able to ensure that the pollen collected was predominately heather, and I, to this end, have a hive area 'scouted out' already....we'll see how things go  :Wink: 

Thanks again for your input and advice and I look forward to learning more of beekeeping in the coming months.

Cheers,

DM  :Wink:

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## gavin

> I was intrigued to read of 'top bar' hives and, whilst I am unsure whether they would provide sufficient protection for the colony given our harsh winters in NE Scotland, wondered whether anyone had had any experience of them.  I was particularly interested in this type of hive as it would be easier to lug up onto the braes o' Bennachie than some of the other hives on the market.


I met a few beekeepers in your area over a decade ago and several were still using the polystyrene hives that Bernard Mobus had promoted.  Today the commercial beekeepers have largely moved over to polystyrene due to the insulation (better survival and build-up) and the lower cost.

You should get to know Drumgerry.  He's a Moray beekeeper (see the link to their website in the local associations are I think) and has shared with us his experiences of top bar hives.  Last I heard he was planning sawing off the legs to make a planter.

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## Hoomin_erra

Fit like DM.
Don't think top bar hives would be practical if yer lugging them up the hill. I use smiths, which are heavy enough with just the brood box. The supers i put on separately afterwards. I can imagine that a tbh full of brood and honey could weigh a fair bit. Also, with TBH (never used them so i might be wrong) the queen is "free range" so you might have an issue with brood in amongst your honey.

Coincidentally, i have 2 hives not far from you currently sitting on a OSR field. They'll be coming back up to the Cabrach mid august for the heather.

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## Dingus Magee

Fit like Hoomin,
Thanks for your response...I hidna thocht aboot the weight o' them once they were full of bees & honey! Och well, as I said, I'm not that far from Bennachie, as the bee flies, so maybe I'll just start off simple  and stick with one hive in the garden at first  :Smile: 

Have sent you a PM regarding the hives that you have near me, as I wouldn't mind observing what you do when shifting them (if you have no objections, that is)

Cheers for now,

DM  :Wink:

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## Adam

A (good!) mentor is the best option if you can find one. Otherwise this forum is excellent so you can ask away - any stupid question and you'll get a civil answer. We were all beginners once.

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## Neils

And some of us are still new enough at this to count as beginners I feel.

In a shameless act of self promotion can I suggest a thread exploring the aftermath of my first year's beekeeping?

It might be getting late in the season to actually get your own bees this year, but it's a really good time to get some hands on experience, do some research and reading and get planning to be up and running next spring.  I'd definitely suggest getting some hands on experience before you start shelling out any (serious) quantities of money buying kit.

With regards to top bar hives I'll leave others more qualified than me to discuss their suitability to your location, but as someone who also looked into them when I started out I eventually opted to go with Nationals specifically because they were much easier to move than a top bar hive.

Also second Adam's suggestion that you feel free to ask any questions, no matter how "stupid" you think they might be, we won't bite, promise  :Big Grin:

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## marion.orca

Absolute beginner myself too and I bought my first hive - flat packed from Thornes, along with the basic kit, which includes all the basic bits and pieces you need to get started. The only thing I found a bit lightweight is the correx floor which tends to be blown out if the wind gets underneath it. So , rather than go to the expense of buying another sturdier floor or using tape, I attached a small piece of wood on a screw to the back of the hive base centrally  and can now swivel the wood to the "open or closed"  position which keeps the floor in place and the wind can blow as much as it likes - the floor won't move - only when I want it to !

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## Trog

Good idea, Marion.  One beekeeper here surrounded the hive stand, including the floor, with a sort of skirt for the winter to keep the wind out.  How are things over in Lochaber?  Did you have any trouble getting your first bees?

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## marion.orca

Hi Trog. Originally I had ordered bees from Thornes - but given the varroa situation here in Lochaber, I agreed to cancel the order and just bide my time and wait until local bees were available from Lochaber Beekeepers. I got my bees on the 29th June, so still very new to me, but most welcome. [Thanks again Kate ] I'm not sure I would skirt the hive as it has trees on 3 sides anyway and would probably then start worrying that they haven't got enough ventilation to circulate through. I will strap them securely down mind you, given the gales we tend to get on this coast, as I'm sure you are only too aware of living on Mull. We were there the other week having a peek at the Sea -Eagles at Killiechronan - spectacular birds !

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## The Drone Ranger

Marion if I was buying bees I would buy them in a sturdy nucleus hive As to the cost per frame it can be around £25 but next year when your bees have built up to a full size colony that Nuc hive will be invaluable for making a split or collecting a swarm.
Then you will be able to sell the nuc hive with bees to another beginner
That helps someone else get started and you will recover all the cost of your bees and the nuc 
So really the bees cost you nothing in the long run 

When it comes to buying a hive though that isn't cheap, but by buying a strong cedar hive as you have, you will get many years of service from it
There are quite good instructions for making a varroa floor on the SBA website downloads and you will be starting with one which is halfway made already
Good luck

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## marion.orca

Thanks for the advice Drone. I actually bought 2 hives [ but only one basic kit ] before the VAT hike, so I've sort of saved anyway. Father Christmas [ is it really getting near that time again ? ] will be taking care of a nuc box for me - providing I'm a good girl ! My bees were kindly given to me, so I only had to cover the cost of the frames - pretty amazing. It's something I'd like to do myself, but that will be somewhere in the future. For now I'm just enjoying and caring for my new additions.

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## The Drone Ranger

> Thanks for the advice Drone. I actually bought 2 hives [ but only one basic kit ] before the VAT hike, so I've sort of saved anyway. Father Christmas [ is it really getting near that time again ? ] will be taking care of a nuc box for me - providing I'm a good girl ! My bees were kindly given to me, so I only had to cover the cost of the frames - pretty amazing. It's something I'd like to do myself, but that will be somewhere in the future. For now I'm just enjoying and caring for my new additions.


Thats really great hope you have a lot of fun with them  :Smile:

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## Mellifera Crofter

> ...  I'm about to join the Moray Beekeepers and attend their Intro course in August ...





> I would also hope to contact someone who would be willing to act as a mentor for me, and may manage this through the Moray group...anyone out there interested...?
> 
> I was intrigued to read of 'top bar' hives and, whilst I am unsure whether they would provide sufficient protection for the colony given our harsh winters in NE Scotland, wondered whether anyone had had any experience of them.  I was particularly interested in this type of hive as it would be easier to lug up onto the braes o' Bennachie than some of the other hives on the market. ...


Hi Dingus,

At the risk of telling you the obvious: Aberdeenshire has a beekeepers association (http://http://www.aberdeenbeekeepers.com) and they run beginners' courses.  Isn't Aberdeen nearer to you than Elgin?

If you're interested in top-bar hive beekeeping, Biobees will be running a course in Aberdeen.  Details here (near the bottom of the page).  I have no experience of top-bar hives (or about the course) but, like others have said, I think once you have chosen a site for your TBH, you should preferably not move it again.  I think the combs are more fragile than combs contained in frames.

Kitta

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## Dingus Magee

> Hi Dingus,
> 
> At the risk of telling you the obvious: Aberdeenshire has a beekeepers association (http://http://www.aberdeenbeekeepers.com) and they run beginners' courses.  Isn't Aberdeen nearer to you than Elgin?
> 
> If you're interested in top-bar hive beekeeping, Biobees will be running a course in Aberdeen.  Details here (near the bottom of the page).  I have no experience of top-bar hives (or about the course) but, like others have said, I think once you have chosen a site for your TBH, you should preferably not move it again.  I think the combs are more fragile than combs contained in frames.
> 
> Kitta


Hi Kitta

Nothing wrong with stating the obvious...all suggestions and advice gratefully accepted  :Wink:  As I said in my opening to this thread, I have been wanting to become involved in beekeeping for years and, over the past four years, had e-mailed the Aberdeen beekeepers on a number of occassions, but received no reply.  When I looked at their site, it seemed that there wasn't much going on until the winter and, being the type of fella that I am (ie impatient), I decided to 'shop around' for another group; perversely, after having made enquiries to the Moray group and receiving a prompt and informative response from them, I noticed that the Aberdeen group's website had been updated, so I am now swithering as to which would be the best group to link up with.  (To be fair, I may previously have been using an out-of-date link to Aberdeen group, as my last visit was via a link on this site)  The Moray group may well be further from me, but not by far...at any rate, I will attend their beginner course later this month and may, or may not, decide to join that group.

But thanks for your response, and I will definitely look into the Biobees link  :Smile:   It is early days for me, as yet, as I have still to prepare a site and it will be next year before I make a final decision on hive type...Gavin told of someone who had TBH's and was considering cutting the legs down to make the hives into planters!  :Smile: 

Cheers for now

DM  :Wink:

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## gavin

> ..... so I am now swithering as to which would be the best group to link up with.


That's easy.  Both!  Some folk around here join Fife and the East of Scotland, Stirling/Dunblane and Fife, Fortingall and East of Scotland.  And don't forget the SBA too.

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