# Honey production terrible in Top bar hives?



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

You have to work to keep the brood nest expanding in any horizontal hive. Once they start storing honey that capped comb of honey restricts the brood nest so you have to feed bars into the brood nest. If you don't, the colony never quite gets big enough for a large take of honey. You also have to harvest more often so they don't run out of room. A Langstroth requires less frequent intervention.


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## Delta Bay (Dec 4, 2009)

djjmc said:


> A friend of mine with 3 langs has taken over 200 pounds of honey off each of his hives this year.


Are you sure your friend wasn't on the Rodger's honey flow! 200lbs per hive is pretty unrealistic for Vancouver even for this year. It's not that difficult to have a TBH produce 30 to 50lbs from a healthy colony. Are you sure your TBH's haven't been swarming or maybe there is an issue within the colonies?


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## Duncan151 (Aug 3, 2013)

This is my fourth year running all TBH's, though I am babysitting a couple of Langs too. The TBH's in the same spot with the langs are doing about the same for honey production, but I personally feel that TBH's produce less honey. Works for me, I am not in this for honey, and I tend to leave more than they need anyway. I harvest enough for me and the 10 or so people who want to buy from me. My friends running langs seem to consistently get more honey than I.


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## Chuck Jachens (Feb 22, 2016)

With a TBH you are trading honey production for wax production/replacement. I think TBH is healthier for the bees and honey production is enough for my family.


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## bentonkb (May 24, 2016)

How much honey do you really want? If it is just for personal use then your TBH should have you covered. It takes a fair amount of skill and effort to keep a TBH in production mode.

If you want to sell honey at a good profit then you probably need to invest in labor saving devices. Langs and extractors fall in that category.


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## djjmc (Feb 6, 2015)

Delta Bay said:


> Are you sure your friend wasn't on the Rodger's honey flow! 200lbs per hive is pretty unrealistic for Vancouver even for this year. It's not that difficult to have a TBH produce 30 to 50lbs from a healthy colony. Are you sure your TBH's haven't been swarming or maybe there is an issue within the colonies?


I saw the stored supers, with frames full of honey, waiting for extraction. His bees are "survivor" bees and he doesnt feed or treat. He leaves them with all honey they collect from July onwards. 
His hives are, what I would consider, hot. Walking near the hives = no problems. But as soon as you open the hive they land on you and start crawling until they find skin to sting! Full suit required.

And no = my hives have not swarmed and are healthy. I inspect generally every week. (especially in hot weather as the honey comb tends to collapse if there is a big flow + new comb)


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## buffaloeletric (Mar 11, 2010)

I'm a newb, but my thinking of people creating strains of bees that don't need treatment, is that it makes sense these bees are more aggressive. I can see where decades of breeding gentler bees would create a lazy bee that just wasn't concerned about intruders like varroa or hive beetle. Much like they tend not to be concerned with the beekeepers going into their hives.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>I'm a newb, but my thinking of people creating strains of bees that don't need treatment, is that it makes sense these bees are more aggressive. 

It might make sense, but I have not found it to be true. The hive with the most resistance to Varroa may or may not be more aggressive. A Varroa mite is a very different trigger to behavior than a hive inspection or a human nearby.


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## Delta Bay (Dec 4, 2009)

djjmc said:


> I saw the stored supers, with frames full of honey, waiting for extraction. His bees are "survivor" bees and he doesnt feed or treat. He leaves them with all honey they collect from July onwards.
> His hives are, what I would consider, hot. Walking near the hives = no problems. But as soon as you open the hive they land on you and start crawling until they find skin to sting! Full suit required.
> 
> And no = my hives have not swarmed and are healthy. I inspect generally every week. (especially in hot weather as the honey comb tends to collapse if there is a big flow + new comb)


I don't carry what you think you saw. 200lbs per colony in Vancouver doesn't happen unless, the colonies are being feed, they have found a sweet source other the from flowers, or they are robbing collapsing colonies. It just doesn't happen in Vancouver. 
If you explain your management plan I'm sure some one on the bee form can suggest something helpful.


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