{"id":287,"date":"2011-03-01T23:48:18","date_gmt":"2011-03-01T22:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bestbeekeeping.com\/blog\/?p=287"},"modified":"2011-04-02T00:24:25","modified_gmt":"2011-04-01T23:24:25","slug":"natural-beekeeping-alternatives-top-bar-hives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestbeekeeping.com\/blog\/natural-beekeeping-alternatives-top-bar-hives\/","title":{"rendered":"Natural Beekeeping Alternatives – Top Bar Hives"},"content":{"rendered":"

Natural beekeeping is increasing becoming the buzz word for hobby beekeepers – and particularly for those thinking of starting beekeeping<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Of course, all backyard beekeeping is natural, in a way that commercial beekeeping is not. For commercial beekeepers pollination is often the biggest earner, so bees are transported thousands of miles to pollinate huge swathes of mono culture\u00a0crops.\u00a0This excessive\u00a0transportation, the\u00a0lack of biodiversity, and the associated heavy chemical use –\u00a0little wonder that scientists are increasingly citing stress as a likely cause of Colony Collapse Disorder<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But some forms of hobby beekeeping are seen as more natural than others – particularly top bar hive beekeeping<\/a> and it’s close\u00a0cousin Warre hive beekeeping<\/a>. Both of these are arguably\u00a0less invasive than traditional beekeeping with Langstroth hives<\/a>, and the bees allowed more freedom to act as they would in their natural environment.<\/p>\n

Build Your Own Top Bar Hive<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the real advantages of top bar hives is their simplicity. If you have even basic carpentry skills, building a top bar hive is really simple. You can get top bar hive plans from the Back Yard Hive shop<\/a> for just $9.95 (and they also supply materials if you need them).\u00a0If you are interested in building your own top bar hive, the video below should also help.<\/p>\n