When it comes to clothing, you will need a protective beekeeping suit and thick gloves. Plus, there are other necessary items, such as a smoker and hove tool.
One of the most important pieces of kit is the beehive. This is the structure where bees are kept.
If you have a poor-quality beehive, your bees will escape. Not to mention, the beehive will quickly fall apart.
If you have been searching for an exceptional beehive, the Colorado Top Bar Beehive might have been recommended to you. What is this beehive?
What features does it have? Is it worth the price? Find out everything you need to know about this beehive thanks to our informative guide.
What Is A Top Bar Beehive?
Top bar is a style of beehive. This style gets its name from the distinctive structure of the beehive.
Namely, bars are placed on top of the captivity, thus keeping the bees stored. In fact, the bees will form their combs underneath these bars.
Top bar beehives have become one of the most popular styles. Consequently, they are used throughout the world.
These bars make it quite easy to inspect the bees. You won’t have to lift hefty boxes when using a top bar beehive.
Instead, inspection is much simpler thanks to the presence of observation windows.
What Is The Colorado Top Bar Beehive?
The Colorado Top Bar Beehive is a product made by one of the leading manufacturers of these products.
Instead of being modeled on a traditional top bar beehive, this version is based on a Kenyan top bar beehive. This design is fantastic because the bees are given more space.
An increased number of bars are used in these hives. The bars are placed horizontally into the structure.
As a result, beekeepers can check on the hive without disturbing the bees. The hive can be entered from just one side, meaning that not all of the bees will be interrupted.
This model was first created in Denver, Colorado. Hence, it is known as the Colorado Top Bar Beehive. It has been heavily tested, thus ensuring that it is extremely effective.
To give you a deeper understanding of this beehive, we have covered some of its features and qualities:
Features
Among the many noteworthy features of this beehive are:
A unique locking system that does not require any screws. This not only makes the beehive simple to assemble, but also really straightforward to use. You can easily lock and unlock this beehive.
This product comes with a detachable lid and base tray.
The entrance can be reversed. This feature is designed so that you can customize the product according to the season.
Assembly
In terms of assembly, this beehive is relatively easy to construct. Even if you have limited experience with assembling one of these structures, you should be capable of building it.
This is because the pieces are designed to lock together, resulting in them being fairly simple to attach.
On average, it takes approximately 3 hours to assemble one of these beehives.
While this may seem like a long time, this is pretty standard when it comes to beehives. More complex models, such as the Colorado Top Bar, are likely to take longer.
11 parts will need to be attached together. When compared to other beehive brands, this is actually quite a small number of individual parts.
There should be instructions included with the beehive. Plus, there are plenty of online instructions.
Please follow these instructions. Otherwise, you may incorrectly construct this product, resulting in an ineffective beehive.
To assemble this structure, you will need a hammer. When using one of these tools, you should take safety precautions, such as wearing safety glasses.
This is particularly important if you are inexperienced with hammers, such as if you have never before built a beehive.
Milling
The Colorado Top Bar Beehive can be built from a variety of sheet materials, namely recycled plastic, plywood, mycelium, and cork.
This gives you a range of options, allowing you to pick the one that you think will work best.
While beehives are commonly constructed from wood, we appreciate this wide range of materials.
When you pick this material, you should select the thickness of the folders. This thickness ranges from 18mm to 0.75 inches.
Wood Treatment
If you opt for this Colorado beehive to be made from wood, it is important that you take care of the wood. By doing so, you can ensure that it lasts for a long time.
This is because wood can be weakened when it is exposed to harsh weather conditions, such as rain and snow.
To treat the wood, it is advised that you employ a varnish. If you use varnish, the wood will become weatherproof.
Moreover, varnish can make the wood stronger, limiting the chances of it being scratched.
Wood varnish can be found online or in a range of DIY stores, so it should be quite easy to acquire.
Once you have applied the varnish, you should wait for it to dry before introducing bees to the hive. This is because it can negatively affect them.
It is not advised that you paint the inside of the beehive. Again, this can be detrimental to the bees.
Is The Colorado Top Bar Beehive Worth it?
In our opinion, the Colorado Top Bar Beehive is worth the price. It has lots of desirable features, which make beekeeping a much more efficient and smooth activity.
Of course, you will have to make your own decision regarding whether or not you should get one of these beehives.
Beekeeping is a hobby that requires a lot of time, deviation, and money.
If you are unwilling to put these resources into the activity, we do not recommend getting a Colorado Top Bar Beehive.
What Should You Look For In A Beehive?
If you want a long-lasting beehive, you will have to spend some time seriously weighing up your options.
This is because different beehives will have different features. Consequently, you should consider which features are essential for a beehive to possess.
To ensure that you end up with a high-quality beehive, here are some of the most important factors that can impact your purchase:
Price
Unless you want to spend a fortune on a beehive, you will need to pay close attention to the price.
Avoid any products that seem overpriced. As mentioned previously, beekeeping can become expensive due to the range of equipment required.
Material
You should look for a beehive that is built from sturdy materials. Thankfully, the Colorado Top Bar Beehive has a range of options when it comes to sheet materials.
Assembly
You should look for a beehive that is easy to assemble. This is particularly important if you are not skilled with DIY and have minimal experience in building a beehive.
It can be hard to determine whether or not a beehive is hard to construct. One way of doing this is to read user reviewers.
While these reviews can be unreliable, they can give you an indication of how easy these products are to assemble.
Alternatively, you can find online assembly constructions to determine the ease with which a product can be built.
Fortunately, the Colorado Top Bar Beehive is designed to be straightforward to assemble. There are plenty of guides online.
Ease Of Use
Lastly, you will want a beehive that is simple to use. This is especially the case if you are new to the world of beehives.
The Colorado Top Bar Beehive has lots of features that are designed to make things easier for users.
For instance, it has a unique locking mechanism. Moreover, top bar beehives are made to be easier to use than other models.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are The Advantages Of Top Bar Beehives?
There are loads of benefits to using top bar beehives, such as:
They are easy to open and won’t disturb the bees too much.
This is why this is one of the most popular forms of beehives.
Is Beekeeping Cruel?
No. So long as you are not treating the bees in an inhumane way, beekeeping is a perfectly ethical hobby. Some view beekeeping as exploitative and unfair to the bees.
You can make your own mind up about this, though we see nothing wrong with the hobby so long as the bees are given plenty of space and are kept in good conditions.
Final Thoughts
If you are interested in beekeeping, you should invest in a brilliant beehive. Luckily, the Colorado Top Bar is an incredible product that is worth the money.
It can be used by both experienced and inexperienced beekeepers.
With any luck, this guide will have made you more informed about the product. Consequently, you can now decide whether you should invest in a Colorado Top Bar Beehive!
