Hi I received a flow hive for Christmas and am looking for someone in the Sunshine Coast QLD area that I could pay to come and help me set it up with bees ect and get me on the right track.
If you could message me at belinda@blackoak.com.au if you can help.
Thanks
Belinda
Hi @BelindaF
Not good policy to post your email address you donāt know who might pick it up. If people want to message you they click their Avatar in top right hand corner and select the āenvelopeā icon they can then message @BelindaF. Edit: This usually reserved for personal stuff and posting to the forum on problems or advice is encouraged as you will get a wider response.
If you want get someoneās attention in a posting you type @ and start typing their forum name till it come up on a drop down then click on the name.
Having said all that I am sure you will get some Sunshine coasters on here to help you further. @JeffH is at Buderim so should not be to far from you. If your not confident in setting up yourself by reading this forum and any book you can lay your hand on you need a mentor.
Arm yourself with as much knowledge on starting out as you can.
Beekeeping courses are good, this forum has plenty on it ( the little magnifying glass thingy top right has a search box) and books.
You will then be able to ask the right questions yourself. A very wise person once said to me " the advice you get in response to a specific question you ask will always be better than advice given gratuitously" .
Anyway good luck, you will find most of us are finding our way, often the hard way. The people here are friendly and welcoming and amongst the neebees like me are professional bee keepers who know what they are talking about
Hi Belinda, I live at Buderim, I can help you in all you need to get you started. My ph.no. is in my profile. You can phone me any time, cheers
Gāday Kevin, We are in Nobby with 2 hives, soon to set up a third. You are welcome to come for a look.
We got our nucs from Reg Moore in Toowoomba, Phone 0746354850. Ours have turned out to be good quiet bees and very prolific.
Gazza
Gāday Folks,
We are near Toowoomba, south west about half an hour on the open plain. Have 2 hives and have a third on standby. Our main hive is chockers, with busy little bodies. Also would like to know when and how to split. Have joined the local bee club, but they are all mainly very close to Toowoomba or east, so a different climate and we are a bit of an oddity to them, with the Flow Hives. Most of our knowledge we are getting from the forum, as we are newbies at this game.
At this time of year we have heaps of flowers around with wattle and lavender and other flowering shrubs.
Also supers are almost all capped, so will be emptying one to make room for incoming.
Thanks for your help,
Gazza
Hi all!
I have the flow hive, I have been doing the research, now I just need the bees.
We are located just out of Woodford, so I think it sounds like @JeffH might be the closest for me?
Jeff would you have any spare to get me going?
Thanks!
Yes I will in the coming weeks. Give me a call to discuss it. cheers
hi Jeff I am new to this and in the process of getting a flow hive whets the best contact for you? I canāt seem to find a message box to send you a pm thanks
are you able to send me a PM Jeff with your email or best contact please 
seems you are the man to be in contact with! very keen to start
You can send @JeffH a PM by clicking on his avatar icon next to his name at the top of a post, then click on āMessageā in the top right corner of the pop-up window.
yeah it doesnāt seem to come up for me? maybe cause I have just made the account?
Hi Mitch, I did that a minute ago. I look forward to hearing from you. Iām just enjoying this bit of rain. cheers
Hi Dawn, thank you. I set myself the job of crushing some sugar cane, seeing as it was going to rain. I have only just finished the 7 stalks. Wilma is cleaning up after me. Actually the leftover stalks make fantastic smoker fuel, after itās dried out properly. I suppose I could say that Iāve been making smoker fuel & that the juice is a bonus. Either way, nothing is wasted.
Hi all. We live in paradise and Iām not complaining. Butā¦ our place is also a birdwatcherās paradise. And some birds come to our hives regularly, for a meal of nectar filled bees. Connoisseurs!
Is that something other beekeepers are concerned about?
Sometimes the bees go into Defence mode, getting stroppy.
Another concern is that currently one of my splits is preparing to send queens onto mating flights.
Queens are large and slow and will be picked off the birds if around the hives, are you able to setup some type of scare-crow or other deterrant device, I fear for your queen. What type of birds are picking off the bees?
The regulars are butcher birds. And some greenish birds who love mirrors.
And magpies.
Unfortunately they are all pretty tame and donāt fear humans. We have been feeding them before we got bees. We also have a mob of tame kookaburras, but donāt see them near the hives often.
I think the butchies are the worst.
āButcher Birdsā , I do see them around my area but am just lucky they havenāt discovered the nutritious little snacks in my backyard. They are usually seasonal right? Around for the warmer months and then migrate north?
Iām in the same situation at present. I have three hives with virgin queens & woke to find 8 wattle birds swooping & diving over & around the hives last week. We used to have a single pair arrive with the Banksia, Echium & Callistemon in flower but this year we have been over run with them, perhaps the abundance of āconvenienceā food has been an influence? Also Honeyeaters, only 2 but seem to have a voracious appetite! I think I may have to invest in some mated Queens as a ājust in caseā.
Guess itās warm enough here all year. Butchies are always around. They also come onto the verandah to steal some dog biscuits.
As a thank you they gift us a beautiful tune.
Any deterrent would just make them more curious.
Like Kirsten, we may have to look at getting some outside queens. See how we go.
They donāt snack all day, so thereās a chance. Yes, they only recently discovered the hives.