Hi there.
Firstly thank you all for the wealth of knowledge this group shares.
I’m delighted with how my hives are coming along and so far have extracted 4kg (2kg X 2 frames), with more to come soon based on my most recent inspection.
My question is whether you track how much honey you’re extracting, and keep notes on your inspections and what you find. If so, are you using an app, or just Word/Excel?
Thanks
(Photos of my second hive just to show how happy I am)
Yes, keeping records is essential to good beekeeping.
The records can be very simple, just recording the basic facts or as detailed as you like. Many beekeepers with several hives will keep a record card inside the hive roof that can be rapidly updated immediately the inspection is done.
The simplest version is just a record card with one line per each inspection/event. The factors recorded can each be given a column and you can score each from 1 to 5, for example, or invent whatever shorthand that suits yourself.
What should you record? date of inspection, do the bees have enough space? Do they have enough stores? Is the queen present and laying (you can note Q,E,L if you see queen, eggs or larvae), any signs of swarm preparations, Queen cells etc? Is there any sign of disease?, and what is the mood of the bees?
Also record any actions taken, treatments for disease/parasites, honey taken etc.
These records will be very useful if anything goes wrong in your hive for working out what happened. If you have more than one hive they will be useful for comparing progress and also for deciding which hive to breed from, for example.
You will also find that keeping good records will add to your beekeeping skills and also give you more pleasure in your hobby.
I am not a fan of apps. I tried them and paper and pen is much simpler near a beehive than faffing about with a screen and gloves. Of course you can always take simple notes at the hive and write them up later at home.
