Cost of your honey

solargain

After you add up all your outlay costs frames foundation , boxes , etc . What does your jar of honey really cost . In my first year I maintained it was approx Eur 120.00 per jar

nekuchi

€120???? Really? I take it that's not apportioning the cost of the frames etc to their expected lifetime?

Was in Mayo the other day and got a standard size jar for €7.00, how does that fair on prices? Haven't tasted it yet so can't really say anything on quality...

solargain

For a beginner starting off they need a stock of bees , frames wax , hive q excluders , then they need a second set in case of artifical swarming , the suit , smoker , hive tool etc. A few nuc boxes etc Then how are they going to extract the honey. Cost of the beginners course.

Well my first year I got a grand total of 12 jars of honey but had Euro 1200 spent. Its not the cost of the frames, the brood nest wax has to be replaced on a regular basis , its the inital cost of starting out .

Oldtree

How many hives do you have now and how many jars do you get? After you have the basic stuff as a beginner, what are the ongoing costs? Could a start be made for less than €1200?

coley

I came across an excel sheet which calculated your sales price given your investment, hive numbers etc. I'll go and search and see if I can find where I downloaded it from.

Couldn't find online source for this file - dropbox link gone, I've attached what I had.
-Coley.

nekuchi

Is that meant to be a php file or xls? It downloads to my computer as php.

coley

nekuchi wrote: »

Is that meant to be a php file or xls? It downloads to my computer as php.

supposed to be xls - seems to download OK here.

Oldtree

nekuchi wrote: »

Is that meant to be a php file or xls? It downloads to my computer as php.

same here?

coley

Ok, same file via dropbox link
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/75705879/Bee%20honey%20cost%20price%20for%20windows.xls

-Coley.

solargain

I was just counting equipment spend, they are also looking at a cost per hour for packaging and looking after the bees as well

Effects

Oldtree wrote: »

How many hives do you have now and how many jars do you get? After you have the basic stuff as a beginner, what are the ongoing costs? Could a start be made for less than €1200?

That's crazy money. Get the bees on a budget hive and supers, a bee suit etc. from Thornes and a nuc of bees here and you're talking €500 max.

coley

solargain wrote: »

I was just counting equipment spend, they are also looking at a cost per hour for packaging and looking after the bees as well

Well I suppose it all adds up when you are looking at net cost of your honey. You can always leave your hourly rate at 0 and hours spent at 0 to exclude a labour cost.

-Coley.

nekuchi

Great idea to spend as little as poss, but surely, if part of the reason for keeping bees is conservation, shouldn't we be aiming to reduce the carbon footprint as well as supporting Irish jobs? Not only that, but buying from abroad, you don't have the support you need if things go wrong, what if the hive gets damaged in transit - where are you going to house the bees you got with the order?

solargain

If you get a nuc , the following summer they are going to swarm , now you have no equipment for swarm control either.

Native Honey Bee

It is usually best for newcomers to beekeeping to temper their impatience, join an association, attend every open day possible and avail fully of any courses and summer schools available. Often a newcomer who has demonstrated commitment, will be invited to accompany an experienced beekeeper for a few hours now and then - a most useful experience.
By now the person involved will have decided he / she either does not wish to continue, or is fully committed to becoming a beekeeper and already possesses the fundamental knowledge and experience needed to begin. In the former case considerable money will have been spared.
My own view is that it is best to start with two hives, then there is the opportunity for comparison as owner progresses and also a chance to rescue the situation if necessary or to expand if all goes well.

conor t

ye should be able to get set up for fairly cheap starting off, I can stick a full hive together for under 80, a nuc for 10-15, bees can be gotten for about 100-150 a nuc by the sounds of it, then 100 for suit and borrow association extractor for first year or two

solargain

You are talented & have the equipment to make the hive , most don't , you still need to buy frames , wax , Q excluders ( you may make your supers ) but again a beginner wouldn't even know the dimensions

conor t

solargain wrote: »

You are talented & have the equipment to make the hive , most don't , you still need to buy frames , wax , Q excluders ( you may make your supers ) but again a beginner wouldn't even know the dimensions

A chisel,saw and drill is all you need less than 150 to buy, my prices included frames,wax,roofs,floors,supers+qx.
Made all my hives straight from plans, never actually bought a hive

solargain

Thats another 150.00 you have to add to the costs , they you need the skill to be able to use the tools . Do you think most women have that not to mind the time

conor t

solargain wrote: »

Thats another 150.00 you have to add to the costs , they you need the skill to be able to use the tools . Do you think most women have that not to mind the time

The point was you can get started cheaply if you want to, anyone can be good enough at woodwork to make their own hives, just measure/mark out properly and take your time , bees don't need a palace to live in.

Oldtree

Any chance of a peek at your hives conor t? do you still have the plans?

Effects

nekuchi wrote: »

Great idea to spend as little as poss, but surely, if part of the reason for keeping bees is conservation, shouldn't we be aiming to reduce the carbon footprint as well as supporting Irish jobs?

Isn't there only one place in Dublin to buy bee supplies? They've left me in the lurch a number of times, don't answer their phone and get back to emails 50% of the time and a week later.

nekuchi

solargain wrote: »

you need the skill to be able to use the tools . Do you think most women have that

I don't want to lower the standards of the beekeeping forum but please tell me I'm misinterpreting your message? Any reason why you question whether women have the skill and not the population in general?

solargain

Never meant to lower the standard ( apologies for that) , but I have no inclination to pick up a circular saw or a chisle to start putting hives together, nor have I the time. I have seen both genders struggling to put the frames together trying to drive those pins in at an angle.
I am only speaking for myself ( as a woman) .
The average person starting out beekeeping never envisaged the need to become a carpenter, and for those unskilled persons ( so as not to lower the standard) , the suggestion that they can knock out a full hive for Eu80.00 is dream that only a few can attain.

coley

I think starting off you need off the shelf kit, whether it be pre-assembled or flat-pack.
You have enough to be thinking about setting up your first hive and those first few inspections than wondering if your homemade hive is going to be ok as a new home for your bees.
Once you get used to handling and being around the bees, seeing what a good job the bees do of filling in with burr comb if you get frame spacing off, you can start to think about making your own stuff. A homemade nuc is a good place to start.

And for those struggling getting the pins into frames - a rampin is well worth the investment!

-Coley.

Native Honey Bee

Polystyrene hives offer a performance superior to that of wooden hives and they are also considerably less expensive to buy. As for durability, a poly hive will last for decades, but they do benefit from being painted. Most but not all poly hives are of good quality.

Knowall Macduff

solargain wrote: »

Thats another 150.00 you have to add to the costs , they you need the skill to be able to use the tools . Do you think most women have that not to mind the time

That's a very sexist comment, most men that I know don't have the skills and the worst ones are the ones that think they do and leave their bees living in draughty leaky open to the elements and pests, excuses for hives.

Oldtree

Back to cost of your honey from now on please.

conor t

@oldtree is it plans or pictures your interested in? I'll stick some up when on the computer.
Going back to cost of honey, it costs me less then 20 to run a hive wwithout going into sticking in petrol expenses so probably about 60c a jar roughly

solargain

Why aren't you sticking in the petrol expenses, & your time did it come for free? Electricity for the extractor & the heating cabinet , if you have more than just a few hives , all that has to be taken into account , Varroa treatments , sugar or feed etc. Your association affiliation fee for the insurance etc

Oldtree

conor t wrote: »

@oldtree is it plans or pictures your interested in? I'll stick some up when on the computer.

I would like to see both if possible please.