Poorly chicken

[Cinnamonhot]

Hello everyone,

I just found this and thought it'd be great to share it here.

 

I don't keep bees but I've been considering. I keep chickens but that's about it.

 

Anyway - check this out. This looks amazing. I am considering getting one after I convince hubby...

 

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/flow-hive-honey-on-tap-directly-from-your-beehive

[Olly]

I've seen this as well. It would be wonderful, but I'm sceptical for a lot of reasons.

[Eggasperated]

I'm sceptical for a lot of reasons.

.

 

Can you expand on that Olly? I'm interested in keeping bees eventually and this looks like a miracle hive (in fact if it was April 1st I'd definitely have my doubts).

[Old Speckled Hen]

Amongst other things.

The frames would get clogged up with crystallised honey/wax and propolis after more than a season. The "inventors suggest that they are taken out of the hives and cleaned twice a year to combat this....ummmmm, you take the frames out ONCE a year to harvest honey in the normal way.

Having a bottle of honey being poured OUTSIDE the hive is going to attract other bees and wasps and lead to swarms of robbing.

 

They are going to reach 5 million USD on their crowd funding site then do a runner.

It's not beekeeping it's a scam.

[Daphne]

Indeed - it would be impossible to pour off honey in the open air without attracting robber bees and wasps in an almighty and aggressive 'swarm' (not a real swarm as they would just be miscellaneous robbers from goodness knows where). Doesn't bear thinking about.

[Olly]

OSH and Daphne have just identified my main source of scepticism - the risk of 'robbing'.

 

I haven't been able to see how it works, but generally when honey is extracted from the hive it has pollen, wax and bits of dead bee in it, which is why it is always filtered before putting into jars.

 

Not to mention also the hygiene requirements - I sterilise my jars before bottling and do the bottling in a clean kitchen, I can't see me carrying my jars up the garden and filling them! Also I think the honey flow they show in the video is exaggerated - the thin trickle also shown would be more likely IF this worked, it would take ages to fill a jar.

 

I also don't see how you would know when the honey was ready - typically you don't extract a frame until 80% of it has been capped with wax by the bees/no free nectar is falling from it, because then you know the honey has been evaporated to the right level for storage. If you extract it before the bees have reduced it by evaporation, it will ferment in the jars. Ask me how I know!

 

Sorry to rain on your parade, Eggasperated - beekeeping is fascinating, brilliant fun at times and frustrating and hard work at others but I don't think there is an easy way to do this. Even if this system worked, it would not remove the need to inspect the bees, treat them, change frames etc which is all part of beekeeping. Don't be put off, it is worth the time and energy so if you're seriously thinking of keeping bees I would look at joining your local Division and finding out more.

[Eggasperated]

Thanks Olly and everyone else , not raining on my parade at all, I knew there were things wrong with this system but couldn't put my finger on what there were.

 

We have already looked into joining the local Division and attending all the courses - at the moment we think a move may be on the cards, so if that is the case we will wait until we move before doing anything as I don't think I would want to move bees 300 miles down the country.

 

OH is a great deliberator so I know he will look into everything very carefully before we go into bee keeping, in fact I think we would still be deliberating about chickens if I hadn't put my foot down 6 years ago and ordered the house after 6 months of him wondering whether to buy a Solway or an Eglu .