Losing $15,000 as a Commercial Queen Breeder!

[@michaelcarroll4102]

It's good to hear the positivity in your voice.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Yes sir! The drive I have to overcome adversity is fueled with the support of my better half.💪🙏 #teamwork

The groovy thing about beekeeping is that everyone seems to share their victories,and the loses.We can learn from each others mistakes.Lady luck was not on your side this time.You have a great team over there....Keep it buzzin....All the best.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Absolutely! Thanks for watching

[@maryflores1462]

Sooo sorry that happened to you! I’m praying that you can build them back bigger and better!🙏🏼

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Thank you💪

[@valdivia9165]

Man watching this video was Tuff all your hard work gone just like that. Keep your head up brother you’ll bounce back stronger ✊🏼

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

🙌💪👍

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Thanks brother✊

[@barkersbees]

Dang I see it’s been 3 years since this but I’m just watching it for the first time. And it’s kinda cool because I just had a little loss with some of my queen stuff I’ve been doing. But this gave me some good positivity.. no matter what happens just gotta keep pushing and doing the best we can no matter what comes.. Mother Nature can be hard on things. Thanks for sharing this. I know it was a huge loss for you but it made me think about my little loss and I know everything’s gonna be ok.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

You know what? This comment just started my day on the right mental note. I have been quite upset about this squirrel issue, but your comment reminded me that it's a problem and we've identified it. What now? We are beekeepers, and we solve problems! We adapt and move forward. Thank you, and I'm glad you find some peace in your loss, my friend.

[@barkersbees]

@@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper yeah there isn’t anything we really can do about it when it comes to the raccoons and squirrels and the things that are out of our control. I had some hives melt on me on the inside all the wax melted and killed the brood and my queen cells it got so hot.. it was a loss to me. But there isn’t anything I can do.. “experience is expensive” and even bad experiences can be good. Thanks for Sharing the good with the bad. That’s what I’ve been trying to do on my KZbin channel is show all my wins and even more my losses. Thanks for your videos!

[@MrCloscutz]

I`m so sorry man! Go ahead! Michael from Romania.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Thanks man! It was hard but we move forward and learn🙌 Thank you for watching

[@woodsfriendlygarden2190]

Sorry for your lost. 😞. Praying for a successful rebound.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Thank you, Yes! We will keep at it 💪

[@TallPaul1288]

That’s a blow, my biggest worry living in bear country, Glad I found your channel, I’ll tag along to watch your progress

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Thanks for the support and watching 👍🙌

[@SpiritualButNotReligious]

Sorry for your loss, :( , I'm a back yard beekeeper and I just had a bear hit one of my hives yesterday right behind the house, Mr crossbow is going to take care of him.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Oh no! Hope he didn't. Make a mess of things. Good luck with the bear man💥🙌

[@zanegiesbrecht9745]

It hurts to see that. We can’t stop nature as much as we wish we could. I think every beekeeper understands the hurt and pain you felt when you came to that yard. Keep your chin up!

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

I didn't really get to assess all of the damage, it was tough to keep my cool while recording and keeping it kid and family friendly footage

[@zanegiesbrecht9745]

The California Beekeeper: You did very well with keeping your cool 😎 Definitely beautiful country up there but just a big disappointment in that bear...

[@marcinmatelski5465]

I had a yard of 18 hives vandalized, but I still can't imagine what it felt like seeing the mating yard like that. Tough. Hopefully you'll be able to recover and in 30 years have a great story to share at a meeting.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

@Chicago Bees, you are absolutely right. This will be a great documented story that I can tell and show👌 Still tough to watch the video🤦🏻‍♂️

[@felipegomez5084]

That was a big hit but is good to heard that you have the will and energy to recover. I’m a sideliner Chilean Beekepper, my best vibes to you and your team. 💪🏼💪🏼👍👍🐝🐝

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Thank you Felipe! Que dios te bendiga! Thank you for watching and the kind words amigo

[@KayiFarmJaHoneyBees]

Mann, I see this and am so sadden by the devastation. Keep Strong brother, wishing you the best and speedy recovery!

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Hey Thanks so much my man! 💪appreciate the kind words💯

[@Samio35]

Turned 18 this year working construction and investing most of my income into beekeeping, Lost 150 hives last week due to a fire out here in Sacramento. Didn’t have insurance, luckily my other yard is alright. Time to rebuild my numbers next year

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Hang in there bud! Fires are the new normal in this state, fire breaks are needed. I keep 6 feet of cleared space incase of a wildfire. Sorry that you experienced that loss, that's a tough hit! Good luck on the rebuild! "You got it!"💪

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

@abel g Hope your bees overwintering well. Howd your bees do with all the smoke this year?

[@risahalpin8751]

Sorry for your loss...wanna come help me in Almonds this year? Corning area....

[@risahalpin8751]

Dude...so sorry for the loss! Deal with Bear issues here in S. OR for sure.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Thanks, it was a tough hit. How do you guys deal with bears up there?

[@risahalpin8751]

@@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper Queens are mated out of fenced/cross fenced home yard. Outlying yards utilize Randy Olivers setup with solar and appropriate fencing.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Got it. Perfect 👌 How do the bees do overwintering in S. Oregon?

[@risahalpin8751]

@@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper If I've done my job properly late summer/early fall...they over winter beautifully...annually less than 20% loss rates Stimulating now for almonds..loving what I'm seeing as I do roundups!

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

@@risahalpin8751 That's awesome! How many hives you running and how many do you plan on sending for pollination?

[@rudolphdavis2387]

So sorry for lose Jose I got a yard with 24 hives and there been a bear spotted few miles from there ever time I go there I hope the bear having found them so for good.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Hey tha k you Rudolph! Make sure you secure your yard🐝 Thanks for watching

[@decaturridgebees8761]

Man I’m terribly sorry for you guys. I know how much work is involved in this and the investment.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Indeed! Appreciate the kind words. #beekeeperlife

[@craigbradke3095]

I am sorry. We don’t have bears in the Midwest to bother our bees just tornadoes and strong winds. Again your video was heart breaking.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

It was tough but its a hard lesson you know, we as beekeepers need to remember that we move our girls into wild animals turf and that just comes with the territory. Thank you so much for watching and we appreciate the support Craig

[@Joe-zt2us]

sucks man. There is salvageable nucs hope you got a lot of queens survive. so sorry for you. goodluck the rest of the season

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Thanks man!👍🙌

[@dgoodhoney3000]

Sir do, where I am don't have bears but we have humans - so I have a real sense of your loss. However, since the last time, I had a loss similar to what you have shared with me in the video I have taken the advice given to me by Murphy's law. That was years ago since then I haven't had any losses other than pesticide from the farmers. So, take a deep breath and lift your head up. I know all will 🐝 well again by the grace of God. Go brave.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Really appreciate those kind words. It was tough but we will push through it

[@CaliforniaRussianRiverBees]

Hello. 🚧Sorry about your lost🚧,😷fellow Bee keeper 🤝

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Thank you! It was tough but we are pushing forward with some hard lessons learned 👌 Thanks for watching

[@kodi.hartMTB]

Feel very bad for you, can’t imagine having bears destroy an apiary like that, because obviously in Australia we don’t have bears

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Thank you so much. I know you guys in Australia have different pest and challenges. Thanks for watching

[@kodi.hartMTB]

@@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper no worries, love your vids 👍

[@northatlantic2723]

That sucks! Queen rearing involves quite a bit of risk and loss as it is, but this is is bad. I feel for you guys. Keep your head up!

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Indeed. Alot goes into breeding and the science behind it. Thanks for the support

I hope you can recover well. You look like you know what you are doing, it's a good sign. Question for you, keeping bigger hives (10 frames hives for example) 5 or 10 of them, imo even if a bear attack the bees will be able to make him run (with some damage of courses but not like in the video...)

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

In my experience with bears, the bear will always win. I was really just joking on my bees defending their colony. Hahaha😄

[@beegribeekeeper3783]

👍🏼🍯

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Thanks for watching

[@kusinamercytv]

Ohh fell sorry ❤❤❤

[@jozsip]

Sorry for your loss. Me personally I did not have a problem like this yet, but a friend of mine did ☹️. It is definitely a not good site to see, he was quite for about 10 minutes when we went there and seen it. I just guess he was swearing inside. In a bear country, have to have electric fence around the bees. Could not you insure the bees in your are for damages?

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Thank you Jozsip, it takes alot not to Express the true emotions when you encounter something like this. We did come out with a great lesson learned......dont keep mating nucs there unprotected 🙄 We are insured with our regular hives but not our mini nucs. What did your friend do? File a claim?

[@danschneider9219]

That really sucks, I learnt my lesson last summer, but I don't depend on the bees for a living. My bear found easy pickings on my mating nucs after It had tried to get one of my big hives and lost to the bees.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Yes man it is rough when Yogi bear gets into the yards, never a good site to see damaged equipment 😖

[@migueladventures6148]

I found your sticker on a taco truck In chico

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Haha Nice!👌Thanks for checking us out

[@Nik00gfdsa]

It was a mama with cabs. They will come back tonight. Move what's left today! Or get ready tonight.. Electric fens can help

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

I moved them immediately. We won't be using this yard. You probably are right about mama bear and her cubs. Thanks for the tip man👌

[@Nik00gfdsa]

@@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper the electric fence stops them, but you need 4 or 5 wires. Salt at the ground rod helps ground. Test juice- is it good or not.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

After this year we definitely will have them secured and made tough. The wildfires push this bears closer to our yards and poor guys want to eat🤦🏻‍♂️ That 5 wire tip sounds perfect? How thick is your wire? Gauge?

[@Nik00gfdsa]

@@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper i don't know what gage is. I bought from reg hardware store. Also if you have a problem with gras- put 2' wide old carpet strips under wires. We have bears in Wewahitchka FL to. Lots of land clearing..

[@Nik00gfdsa]

@@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper 5 wires is good. Put some beckon on wires- the bears will learn electricity queek

[@danielweston9188]

Where were your drones coming from? I saw no large hives?

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

We have our yard of 96 down below about 200 yards from the mating yard

[@IceBug1337]

Heartbreaking 😢 do you know about those electric fences Palmer uses against bears?

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

I do not but I'll do a little research on it. Thank you and appreciate the support

[@toorawsteven]

Where did you buy your foundation for the boxes or do you just cut some from a standard frame?

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

We cut 6 inch black foundation with a 10inch miter saw. I used a 60 teeth blade from Diablo, it cut alot and didn't slow down 👌💪

[@toorawsteven]

​@@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper I tried using foundation but I find it weird since its not an exact fit. Buy hey thanks, im going to give it another try.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

The Pierco brand fits well. Insert, hold in place and hot glue each side and it's set! We'll be dropping some content in that in the off season my man👌

[@toorawsteven]

@@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper ah I will try that out. thank you!

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Absolutely Steven!👍 have any questions when you get to it just drop a line my man!

[@charlesoneill466]

So sorry.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Thank you Charles. It was a tough loss but we are looking forward to 2021 and the lessons learned🙌 Have been going through all of the bear damage last couple weeks. Thanks for watching my man

[@phil70660]

Barbed wire fence + electricity every other wire. phase / neutral - + solar station inside the perimeter We are in France. in the Pyrenees and we also have these disastrous animals.Take a cue from the canadians.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Thanks for the tip Pascal appreciate the support

[@moogiesretirementhaven2265]

So sorry for your loss, next start your AI program that you can sit in your air conditioned home and crank out some queens. Bears, Skunks and climate issues makes this biz tough, hope your tougher than the downs in this biz.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Yes that next venture is in the works. Taking up Sue Colbys training hopefully next year

[@DarrellCraig]

That really does suck for you.....Good luck in the future!!

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Thanks man!

[@samsungpizza]

Wow, makes me sick. I have same issues with black bear in Pa., but not that magnitude. Best of luck.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

The black bears are great animals and we love nature but yes it was a sickening feeling seeing one of our nuc yards destroyed. What do you do to keep bears out of your yards? Thanks for watching David👍

[@samsungpizza]

@@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper I wrote a reply, but don't see it. Did I do something wrong?

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

@@samsungpizza Hey I dont see any other comments other then what's here. What was your comment? I'd love to read and reply my man! 👌

[@samsungpizza]

@@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper I left a cuss word about black bear and I think my first post got rejected. I started beekeeping ten years ago using t-posts, 4 rows of smooth wire, all hot, and a 10 mile solar fencer. Very few issues, but I've learned to carry a fence tester, and spare batteries. The bear would find the battery dead before I noticed... The bear would also excavate UNDER my fence, so I laid barbed wire directly on the ground, and wrapped it around each t-post. Still not bear proof, so I replaced the bottom smooth wire with barbed wire, and kept it energized....bugger still got in. This was a brand new fully charged fencer as well. I am now in process of replacing all the smooth wire with barbed wire. This is a real inconvenience, but I'm tired of the bigger inconvenience...bear clean up. I can't tell you if this works yet, as the bear are now in hibernation. If this fails, I will place a 5th wire on the bottom row, grounded, with 4 above, all hot, all barbed. My last ditch effort will be another fence around my fence. I certainly hope it doesn't come to that. I have 30 bee yards, but keep them small, so I don't lose the farm when a bear figures out the system. I think the bear getting into one of my yards has figured out how the fencer pulses. You can smile, but I'm totally serious. I average 5 yards to clean up each year after a bear. I have to figure this out faster. Thanks for letting me ramble on.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

@@samsungpizza Man brother! So here is what I've learned about the black bears. Once they know there is food there they will always come back. I've had multiple commercial buddies out here advised me that if they get in,its best to relocate for at least a year before using the yard again. I used chicken wire to play as a ground for when the bear attempts to get in it'll give him a shocking surprise. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mKfViKmMipdqjqs Check out this video and hope it helps you out man. Holding onto yards is one of those important things around here in California. I totally understand spreading your bees around. Let me know how your fence works out David. About the profanity, you probably are right about it getting rejected lol😆 I have the settings set for no profanity allowed. We never saw that comment come through, sorry man.🤙 Thanks for subscribing and following our new channel. Hope you enjoy the content and always feel free to ask us anything or if you'd like us to show a certain thing in beekeeping, just drop a comment my man! Thanks again boss

[@vpqueenbees777]

Insurance? Our farm policy covers each colony and equipment, not the real cost, but it's something. Look into that dude, and power on. There's always next Spring.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

We have insurance but only for our hives, not these mini nucs. Who do you insure through?

[@vpqueenbees777]

@@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper Nationwide. Farm Policy. I'd call a nuc a "hive". Good luck! Bear damage is tough.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Thanks my man! I'll definitely do some research on that. 👍

[@tomhall3172]

That was painful to see! Sorry man! Yogi Needs to take a Dirt Nap!

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Thanks man! Yes it's a tough one to swallow but we will overcome this hiccup

[@VaderSpade]

Bear populations are out of control in California. They just keep restricting hunting even as they know populations are at record highs. We had bees in the 1950s thru the early 1990s and we had bear problems but never at the levels we have now.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Scary when things are so dry in the valley that the only place that bees do good in the summer are in bear territory.

[@graemediesel2936]

Man that really sucks. I remember how disheartened and angry i felt when a bear destroyed my 2 hives my first summer beekeeping, and that wasn’t near the financial hit you took. 😟

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

This was a tough one, we are still in the process of recovering from this loss! Actually, we just got in the shipment of new equipment to replace all of these. Since we are a small commercial outfit, losing over 300 nucs right in the middle of breeding season was a hard hit and a learning experience. We are making changes for 2021!

[@aaronvenden8649]

Hot wire and then predation farm tags... time to bear hunt

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

We hope this never happens again🤦🏻‍♂️ We do know our county biologists that we can contact if this does happen again where the bear is returning. At that point we would work on relocating the bear. The property owner, where we keep our bees loves wildlife. We as beekeepers need to remember that we intrude onto bears territory and it comes with the territory. So our solution is to not run nucs at this location. Thanks for watching Aaron🤙

[@aaronvenden8649]

@@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper I commend relocation. Did a job in tenn. 60 mi relocation on a nuisance bear... back in 3.5 weeks. Cali has 40k black bears... for 15k loss I wouldn’t give him a second chance

[@raymschmidt6032]

Now sure about Ca, but bees are considered agricultural livestock. If wolves or bears kill cattle or horses, sheep, the state fish and wildlife may give you something, and you have a right to elimiate that bear if you catch him.cal kinda sucks, so not sure your options.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

I don't believe we can recoup any damages but we will definitely look into it, Thank you for the feedback Ray and for watching

[@earlmoorman250]

What race of bees are you raising

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

We raise and breed Carniolan and Italian. We breed Hybrids also

[@earlmoorman250]

@@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper thanks for the reply i love Carney

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Anytime Earl! Thanks for watching 👌

[@VaderSpade]

I use motion detecting cell phone cameras where I can get a signal.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

What camera setup do you use or recommend? We are going to get one soon for this yard. We only have cameras on certain yards that have higher traffic zones.

[@VaderSpade]

@@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper I'm using SpyPoint Cameras. The first 100 pictures are free every month.

[@3Beehivesto300]

Wise man once told me... Don’t worry it will get worse.

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Haha well we hope not!😩

[@RaySarasin]

Wow nothing to say but go through and save what you can and move on i guess it happens

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Totally! We will keep pushing forward 💪

[@ProfessorFickle]

need a Strong electric fence? sorry for the loss. :(

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Next spring we will run a smaller number in secured electric fence.

[@SFERDIAN]

SSS it is always an option That bear will be there every night al long as you have bees there Sorry it looks bad

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Absolutely! We did well there but the bear is going to be a bear. We will still run a small number with an electric fence. Yeah it was bad🤦🏻‍♂️ Thanks for the feedback and for watching 👍

[@PaulSmith-tf9bn]

Wow,bad deal

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Paul, Absolutely an awful deal. Still rough watching this video

[@PaulSmith-tf9bn]

@@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper yep

[@trueenterprisesllc]

😩😫

[@TheCaliforniaBeekeeper]

Yes it hurt us too=(