Looking into getting bees, got a few questions

Poka_Doodle

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I'm hoping to get bees in the coming year. But I have a few questions before getting started. How far from the human activity should they be? Is it okay to have them at a vacation house? That's all for now but more to come later
 

Latestarter

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Typically the bees exiting the hive will fly "up and out" so as long as you give them say ~15-20' of "altitude adjustment" space, that should be adequate. This also gives them room when returning to descend down to the hive entrance. Typically, they won't bother a human unless said human is bothering them. I've had my dogs go right up and almost stick their snouts in the entrance and they've never been stung. They routinely walk in front of the hives and again haven't had any issues. On the other hand, I've lifted the outer (top) cover and gotten stung, or opened the hive completely and not been stung. Weather/light conditions/temp/previous disturbances/etc. all effect how the bees react to a given situation/scenario.

If your chickens decide they want to try and eat bees, they may be in for some stings. It would be best if you raised the hives off the ground (for many OTHER reasons as well) so the entrance is above the chicken's line of sight. Or in addition, place chicken wire around the hive at some distance to keep the chickens away from it.

I placed my hives on the back property line so they are equidistant from my house as well as my back neighbor's house. The lady I bought my bees from has a 4 deep hive in her back yard maybe 30 feet from her back door as she lives in a very closely packed sub-division on less than a 1/8 acre lot (can you say postage stamp?).

The thing you really want to consider is that hive boxes are HEAVY when full of frames drawn out with wax and filled with brood or honey. Wherever you place them, make sure you can either get to them with a wheelbarrow or wagon or something to assist with carrying/moving them.
 

Happy Chooks

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They need frequent tending in the beginning - they will need feed regularly to build up comb and stores before winter, and you will need to learn (which means getting into the hive and seeing what is going on). If this would work for a vacation house depends on how often you are there, but I would think it would not be ideal. I'm in my hive at least every couple of weeks to see how they are doing, whether they are running out of room, etc.

As for distance, I keep mine away from the house, so nobody is disturbed. As Latestarter said, they do tend to fly up after exiting the hive. However, during a strong flow, there is a lot of traffic coming and going from the hive, so it's best to have it pointed away from everyday people traffic. I've only been stung once while in the hive, and it was my fault - I was in a hurry and got stung through my pants. (learned not to inspect when in a hurry). I had a bee fly into my hair when I was out on my property, I bet my running away trying (unsuccessfully) to get stung was quite a sight.
 

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Ummm I think she meant trying to NOT get stung. ;) right?
 

Poka_Doodle

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Okay, thanks. It wouldn't be an issue with my chickens. I was hoping to get them soon but my mom wanted to get things done. I might see about getting them early this summer when we are out there for a bit, but not sure because we don't go out so often.
 

Happy Chooks

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Ummm I think she meant trying to NOT get stung. ;) right?

Of course! I don't try to get stung either, but it's going to happen, even if you don't have beehives. :p Probably a tad more often if you have beehives. But generally, I don't get stung while looking inside the hive. I'm usually doing something dumb when I get stung - like being in a hurry or saving a bee from a spider web. (with the exception of the one in my hair, that was just a freak accident)
 

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