Tweet
Kenya Top Bar hives
This is an alternative to the standard "Langstroth hives" that are commercially used by many beekeepers today. These hives appear to be something I could put together with time, nails, enough scrap lumber, a compass (for angles), hammer and saw.
"Beekeeping in hives with movable combs rather than frames. Equipment can made from recycled, scrap wood. An inexpensive way to keep bees ..."
snip...
"The greatest disadvantage of top-bars vis-a-vis frames is that the combs are not reinforced with wires, foundation sheets etc. For this reason, it is difficult to move such a hive, especially in a vehicle. It is also virtually impossible to use a centrifugal extractor to extract the honey. You will also have to be careful, when handling combs, that the comb remains in a vertical orientation. It will otherwise break off the top-bar."
############
Here is another site with more information including pros and cons of using KTBH.
This is an alternative to the standard "Langstroth hives" that are commercially used by many beekeepers today. These hives appear to be something I could put together with time, nails, enough scrap lumber, a compass (for angles), hammer and saw.
"Beekeeping in hives with movable combs rather than frames. Equipment can made from recycled, scrap wood. An inexpensive way to keep bees ..."
snip...
"The greatest disadvantage of top-bars vis-a-vis frames is that the combs are not reinforced with wires, foundation sheets etc. For this reason, it is difficult to move such a hive, especially in a vehicle. It is also virtually impossible to use a centrifugal extractor to extract the honey. You will also have to be careful, when handling combs, that the comb remains in a vertical orientation. It will otherwise break off the top-bar."
############
Here is another site with more information including pros and cons of using KTBH.
