# Average haul from a hive in northern climates?



## Summerland Bee (Aug 16, 2014)

I was seeing 2 1/2 qt for 2 standard frames last week from first year hive. Here in BC Canada


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## OrganicBeez (Jun 6, 2014)

Okay, but that doesn't tell me how much you're getting from an entire hive on average.


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## Adrian Quiney WI (Sep 14, 2007)

Last year 1392 pounds from 11 hives came out to be 126 pounds per hive. This year 1080 pounds from 11 hives which came out to be 98 pounds per hive. No chemical treatments, I do use drone brood removal. All hives were started from my overwintered 5 over 5 frame nucs. The nucs were established using MDA splitter methods.


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## Summerland Bee (Aug 16, 2014)

Sorry. We where pulling from a number of hives based on total weight of 9 frame hive. Getting ready for fall and didn't want the girls to go hungry if we have an early winter. Regards Joe


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## mitch30 (Feb 8, 2014)

Adrian Quiney WI said:


> Last year 1392 pounds from 11 hives came out to be 126 pounds per hive. This year 1080 pounds from 11 hives which came out to be 98 pounds per hive. No chemical treatments, I do use drone brood removal. All hives were started from my overwintered 5 over 5 frame nucs. The nucs were established using MDA splitter methods.


Very nice. Are you putting them on drawn comb or foundation?


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## Adrian Quiney WI (Sep 14, 2007)

The bees are moved with their 10 frames into single deeps when they are crowded in the spring. After they have sealed 2-4 frames of brood it is removed and placed above an excluder into a deep that is filled out with drawn frames for honey. Empty drawn brood frames replace the frames that have been moved up. 
Between inspections the queen lays up more frames below, and the brood in the frames above the excluder emerge. At the next inspection sealed brood from below is exchanged with empty (emerged) frames from above. This is repeated through the season. I place one completely empty frame in the brood nest. As drone comb is drawn and sealed it is cut out and fed to the chickens. Above the two deeps I add boxes of drawn medium comb. This method is courtesy of "Roland" here on Beesource. I like it. It allows you to balance frames of sealed brood between hives so the boomers don't swarm.


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## marshmasterpat (Jun 26, 2013)

Adrian - A few questions to clarify some things. Do you have issues with bees filling in the empty brood frames with honey? If not how are you stopping that.

Are your inspections weekly?

Thanks

Sounds like a good system. All I need is drawn comb.


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## Adrian Quiney WI (Sep 14, 2007)

The bees don't like honey below the brood. When it is time to exchange the emerged frames with the newly frames of sealed brood they often contain nectar. They move this out of the brood nest and above the frames of sealed brood into the supers.

With this system, if you inspect weekly the frames you moved up the previous week will not have emerged. Inspecting on a 10-14 day cycle will allow you to exchange frames. I inspect weekly and keep a note of who is building the fastest and try and equalize brood between hives so that by July the colonies are as balanced as possible to take advantage of the main flow. This year I clipped a wing of each production hive queen as Roland does to allow me to worry a little less through swarm season. A clipped queen won't stop a swarm issuing, but it buys you some time as a swarm can't depart for good until the first virgin emerges.


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

I can support MOST everything Adrian has posted, except for the recent hive averages. The 80 year average is what he has reported(around 100 lbs), but our recent 10 year average has been closer to 50 lbs per hive. Too many ectremes in weather, too cold/hot and or wet/dry. We are fairly close geographically(half a state apart), but get much different weather.

We inspect every 12-14 days. You get in a rhythm of what to expect, especially with cell hatches/new queens laying. If something goes wrong, the rhythm is upset, and remedial action can be taken immediately.

Crazy Roland


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## Juhani Lunden (Oct 3, 2013)

Answer to the thread question: about half what normal treating beekeepers get.

And mostly because of many so week hives, that they produce no surplus. Average counted on the hive number in the previous autumn.


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## Kirk Osborne (Oct 7, 2012)

I'm in SW Wisconsin. 

I harvest an average of about 80 pounds of honey per residential hive. I live in a residential area that is about 35% agriculture, 55% Residential, and 10% wooded in about a 2 mile radius around the hives.

I have a second location which is more like 70% agriculture, 20% wooded, and 10% residential. Those hives produce about 60 pounds per year. 

I hope this helps.


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## woodedareas (Sep 10, 2010)

I am averaging about 50# per hive. That does not count some hives that simply have not produced due to swarming and robbing. I have decided to let the bees do their thing and do not micro-manage as they are more expert than I am. I am concerned about mites and know this is an issue. I like the concept of drone removal.


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## crofter (May 5, 2011)

Unless it is stated whether the hives are fed after harvest or not, very different yield figures can be put forth. Perhaps fall feeding is taken for granted. Comments? 

I took close to 320 lbs off 4 overwintered hives (one of which swarmed) but it is highly unlikely they would be able to ovewinter without feeding each one about 20 pounds or more sugar.


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## Juhani Lunden (Oct 3, 2013)

crofter said:


> Unless it is stated whether the hives are fed after harvest or not, very different yield figures can be put forth. Perhaps fall feeding is taken for granted. Comments?
> 
> I took close to 320 lbs off 4 overwintered hives (one of which swarmed) but it is highly unlikely they would be able to ovewinter without feeding each one about 20 pounds or more sugar.


true,
I average about 30kg/hive, but I have to give them 20 litres of sugarsolution(67%).


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## Adrian Quiney WI (Sep 14, 2007)

Crofter's point is well taken. Roland's method maximizes the amount of honey that is above the excluder and can be harvested by the beekeeper. If there is a dearth in the fall they need to be fed if they are to be overwintered.


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## marshmasterpat (Jun 26, 2013)

Thanks everyone - I might not be in the northern area, but as a new beekeeper I appreciate the tips on hive management very much.

Think I mostly just added to the feral bee population in my area. But now I know I need more supers and drawn frames. A lot more.


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

Juhani - with respect - I do not understand why a treated hive would make more honey than an untreated hive IF mites are controlled in a chemical free manner. It is the cost of controlling mites without chemicals that cost so much more, and therefore you get less honey per manhour. If mites are controlled, and the hive has proper nutrition going into winter, we have quite healthy, populace hive in spring, if it comes on time.

If I am wrong, please enlighten me.

Crazy Roland


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## Juhani Lunden (Oct 3, 2013)

Roland said:


> Juhani - with respect - I do not understand why a treated hive would make more honey than an untreated hive IF mites are controlled in a chemical free manner.


My stock has changed, dramatically, because of breeding work during 2001-2014.

Some hives are very week, but the ones which are ok produce a normal crop. Only slightly under what normal strong hives would produce, because their brood areas are smaller and therefore the colony strength is much less. 

My bees produce, per bee, the same as before this project, but there just are less bees in my hives.
Some hives produce more than 100 kg, but I´m talking about averages.


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## Kirk Osborne (Oct 7, 2012)

Just to be clear... my previously posted numbers do not account for the 30 pounds of honey I leave on the hives. By the time it starts freezing, they have about 50 or 60 pounds of honey stored and ready for winter. No need to feed.


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## StevenG (Mar 27, 2009)

I envy you folks in the clover regions of Wisconsin. Hi Roland! :lpf: I harvested this past weekend, and my average is like the Missouri state average, 40 pounds. Very disappointing. I didn't have a single colony this year break 100 pounds, last year I had two colonies hit over 160 pounds each. In my back yard, suburban. Oh well, there's always next year.
Regards,
Steven


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

No envy needed StevenG, with all the cold and rain, thinks look pretty disastrous up here. Ain't much to be proud of.


Crazy Roland


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## woodedareas (Sep 10, 2010)

Sorry
I am closer to60#/hive. Its really not a meaningful number as each hive is different. I am also talking about only productive hives. I have some dead hives I have not counted, and left them alone for various reasons.


woodedareas said:


> I am averaging about 50# per hive. That does not count some hives that simply have not produced due to swarming and robbing. I have decided to let the bees do their thing and do not micro-manage as they are more expert than I am. I am concerned about mites and know this is an issue. I like the concept of drone removal.


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## crofter (May 5, 2011)

I took an average of 80 lbs. each off of 4 overwintered double deep hives *but* from the amount I am having to feed back, it looks like I should have taken much less. We have a bit of golden rod and aster coming in but the hives dont gain if I back off on the sugar syrup. They are brooding up well and bearding and low, low mites but the season is just too short if we get much dark weather.


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## JWChesnut (Jul 31, 2013)

Less than 20# per hive this year (late April extraction). The May honey has all been eaten, the hives are dry. If you count sugar fed back, I am thoroughly negative. Am used to summer dearth, but the current drought is extreme. I have no idea how the hives will survive December.

I don't see how many nucs and packages are going to flow out of California next year. Better be prepared to make your own increase.


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## Juhani Lunden (Oct 3, 2013)

woodedareas said:


> I am averaging about 50# per hive. That does not count some hives that simply have not produced due to swarming and robbing. .


It would be good if all of us would count averages in the same way. 

If average is counted on the hive number which was wintered in the previous autumn it takes into account winter losses as well. Total amount of harvested honey divided with number of hives which were prepared for winter.

Here you can look at the crops collected in Finland:
http://koti.tnnet.fi/web144/vaakapesa/selaa.php

The dot in southern Finland "Ruovesi" is my yard. But note: behind one dot on the map there is only one scale and one hive. It should represent average hive, but usually beekeepers tend to put one of their best on the scale. 

Date on horizontal axel, honeycrop (kg) on the vertical axel.
All honey was collected in one month.


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