# Farm Market Display Hive



## ruthiesbees

ALWAYS take the queen, and make sure she is marked. I like one bar of capped honey/pollen and one bar of mixed brood. That way I can explain all the different parts of the hive to the people who stop by. It's also nice to have a 1/2 page handout to give them on ways they can help the honey bee population...like now mowing the clover and dandelions in their lawn to not spraying a swarm of honeybees with Raid.


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## ApricotApiaries

We have a single frame and a two frame that I built to travel. I always grab the queen because people always want to find her. We try to find "textbook" frames with open and capped brood, pollen, and honey, or for two frames, some mix that covers it all. It seems like there are usually a couple of drones that come with it. Our obs. hives have some screen holes for ventilation and I use screen to close the entrance. We usually give them a feeder with very light syrup for the day. 
Observation hives are awesome for markets, great attention getter. The only trouble we have had is with visiting bees attracted to the smell. I don't mind, but some people do. They always think the bees are "escaping."


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## sweetas

I just take two frames from the super. Why risk the queen. It is more than enough interest. Yes, it helps sell a lot of honey. Geoff


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## aunt betty

ruthiesbees said:


> ALWAYS take the queen, and make sure she is marked. I like one bar of capped honey/pollen and one bar of mixed brood. That way I can explain all the different parts of the hive to the people who stop by. It's also nice to have a 1/2 page handout to give them on ways they can help the honey bee population...like now mowing the clover and dandelions in their lawn to not spraying a swarm of honeybees with Raid.


I like your thinking! How about passing out some buckwheat, white clover, yellow clover, and some red clover seeds in a little packet with the handout? Explain how broad spectrum herbicides have eliminated these plants from our back yards and lots. Bee a friend to the bees.


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## Michael Bush

I have used several but the simplest to haul around is a "Tew" hive from Brushy Mt. I put some extra notches in it so I could put a Dadant Deep, a Deep or a medium and an extra shallow in it. It's small and light and easy to carry around. I have an ulster, but it's a deep and I have only mediums so it's not quite as convenient and it requires me to have five frames of bees (or two frame feeders...). I have a medium ulster that I keep meaning to build, but it got lost in the shuffle of moving and I'll have to find it. The ulster has the advantage of more bees and more ability to handle the stress. If you keep a five frame nuc fairly strong without letting it swarm, then you just find the frame with the queen and move it up and add a feeder. It works pretty well. It's just heavier and works best if you are maintaining the five frame nuc so it's easy to get it going in the morning when you leave. If you have to sort through a full size hive to populate it, it's more work... I've also taken the one from my living room, but it's a four medium frame with a lazy Susan and is much more difficult to haul around. But then I can just close it up and go and I don't have to find any queen...


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## aunt betty

Michael Bush said:


> I have used several but the simplest to haul around is a "Tew" hive from Brushy Mt. I put some extra notches in it so I could put a Dadant Deep, a Deep or a medium and an extra shallow in it. It's small and light and easy to carry around. I have an ulster, but it's a deep and I have only mediums so it's not quite as convenient and it requires me to have five frames of bees (or two frame feeders...). I have a medium ulster that I keep meaning to build, but it got lost in the shuffle of moving and I'll have to find it. The ulster has the advantage of more bees and more ability to handle the stress. If you keep a five frame nuc fairly strong without letting it swarm, then you just find the frame with the queen and move it up and add a feeder. It works pretty well. It's just heavier and works best if you are maintaining the five frame nuc so it's easy to get it going in the morning when you leave. If you have to sort through a full size hive to populate it, it's more work... I've also taken the one from my living room, but it's a four medium frame with a lazy Susan and is much more difficult to haul around. But then I can just close it up and go and I don't have to find any queen...


Could you post pics of your indoor observation hive plz? I've seen a few and I bet seeing yours would give me ideas. Thanks.


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## Michael Bush

Pictures here:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesobservationhives.htm


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## aunt betty

Michael Bush said:


> Pictures here:
> http://www.bushfarms.com/beesobservationhives.htm


Thank you sir. You just saved me a real mess. Was thinking of making it 1.25" between glass and that just would not work. I'd have learned he hard way eventually but you saved me 7 degrees of failing. 
1.75" it will be.


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## Michael Bush

Yes. 1.25" will not work at all. 1.5" will only work if they are drawing the comb in the observation hive.


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## mgzavri

This may be a dumb question... For a double wide observation hive, the width between the glass 1.5" plus the width of an extra frame, correct?


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## Michael Bush

I never had a use for a double wide... I want to see the queen and everything that is going on... so I won't be building one... but I would figure 1 3/4" (normal space between the glass) + 1 3/8 (a frame) which would be 3 1/8". I might even go 3 1/4" since some frames end up a little fat... I would NOT go 2 7/8" (which would be 1.5" plus the width of a frame).


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