Slovenian Bee House

[@iowalayensbeekeeping]

I'm a nut for learning how other hives work. Thanks for sharing this real life example.

[@AussieMikesBees]

Yes, me too. I think with this one I might settle in. So much better than Langstroth.

[@timothymitchell8310]

Finally someone to explain the reason behind the name, I had wondered why AZ and now I know. Thank you for sharing and I look forwards to more and videos of you building your own. That is a beautiful shirt!

[@AussieMikesBees]

Thanks, Timothy. There’s not a lot of information outside Slovenia on AŽ hive, but there’s a growing movement happening in the west. Langstroth frames have been modified to work in them, so they still fit our extractors. The common belief is that the A stands for Anton even amongst local beekeeper as shown in the video, but the books on Slovenian beekeeping says it stands for Alberti. I’m looking forward to the build and ultimately changing over. In the meantime I have a couple more videos to edit about trip to Slovenia. Cheers, Mike

[@loislangley2975]

Very nice. Like the shed idea. Thank you.

[@Serendipity_Strawberry_Farm]

Hi Mike it was an absolute pleasure to meet and listen to you tonight at Moruya. I had watched this you tube video of yours about 5 months ago when I really started to research these amazing hives. When I speak about them people think Ive gone mad, but I truly believe that they are such a wonderful way to keep bees. Hands free, no smoker to worry about holding giving you two hands to work your hive. The ability to be inside out of the elements doing your bee husbandry. Ive watched footage of one in particular using my flow hive super which has me even more intrigued. Ive been part of our bee association now for over year learning from Mike as my mentor so that this year I am ready to go with my flowhive. Many people don’t like them, Im yet to discover whether I will like them myself. My husband and I have built a raised area on our property with my full intent of being able to convert the area to a Slovenian styled tiny bee house as my hive increases. As we are a flower and strawberry farm we have Australian native stingless bees also coming this summer. Thankyou for sharing your knowledge with us tonight, I hope we get to speak with you again and I will be excited to purchase from you once you have your Aussie version of the AZ’ hive ready for us to purchase. Cheers Theresa

[@AussieMikesBees]

Thanks, Theresa. I appreciate your kind words and that you already know about AŽ hives. While my mission is to make Slovenian beekeeping the new Aussie recreational way, a part of my goal is to make a Flow compatible version. If all goes well I can start manufacturing this summer. I have quite a few threads to pull together to make it all work. Mike

[@clintonmurray1987]

That would have been a great trip. I have always wanted a house for my bees, just so I could sit in it to absorb the smells from the hive. I will put my order in once you have all the kinks nutted out. 😉 keep up your great work.

[@AussieMikesBees]

It was the best trip to Europe ever. Some bee houses have a bed above the hives so you can lay above the bee action, listening to the hum and breathing the bee air. Sound good to me.

[@rickwarner516]

Keeping them close smart ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@AussieMikesBees]

Lots of advantages to keeping them together. Easier on the beekeeper and easier temperature regulation for the bees. Honey is consistently 2% drier than standard alone hives in the same apiary. I’m aiming to have mine converted this summer.

[@colehein9038]

Those was the most helpful video! I have a friend who is not a beekeeper and i was telling him about these bee houses. He loves the idea so much he wants to build one now! Im doing the research for him and this has been the best video explaining the process so far. Thank you! One interesting piece of equipment I would like to know more of is his bee removal system. Do you have any more information on that? Is it a blower iron a brush? I would live to look into making something like that for my friends bee house in the future. Thought id ask. iThank you again for your time and your great video!

[@AussieMikesBees]

Thanks, Cole. I love these so much I’m redesigning them with Langstroth sized frames to be compatible with our foundation and extraction equipment. I’m gearing up to manufacture them in Australia and hope to roll out the first ones this summer. There’s some special hardware required, but other than that, it’s basic cabinetry. If you’re in the US, there’s already people making them and using them. There’s a few AZ Hive FB groups that are US based. They have imperial measurements in their plans. The one English language book worth having is A-Ž Beekeeping with the Slovenian Hive by Janko Božič. It’s on Amazon, but the dimensions are Slovenian with their shorter top/bottom bars and taller side bars. Some people have used Langstroth frames in them. Trouble is, with all the surface area contact, the bees propolise the frames in and getting them out usually breaks them. Let me know how you go.

[@davidtomalty41]

Wonderful video . This is the way I am going to go, especially with the changes in our climate. Completely protected from the rain and cold weather. My question is what will you do about the foundation. Is that size available anywhere?

[@AussieMikesBees]

Thanks, David. It depends on where you are. There’s a good AŽ movement in the US with local manufacturers , but not in Australia. I’m changing over to AŽ hives, but modifying to Langstroth deep sized frames. That way it fits the standard gear we have. Shipping from Slovenia is very expensive now, so I’m gearing up to manufacture here. Another advantage with the bee house concept is the very long life of the equipment. Some of the hives in the video are over 30 years old and good as new. The apiaries are passed down through generations.

[@glenhealy8304]

Hi mike my first year at beekeeping and this is a good looking thing when you have some plans I’m interested

[@AussieMikesBees]

Sounds good, Glen. There’s a couple of FB Groups with plans worth checking out. Keep in touch, I’d like to see your progress.

[@LBurou]

Very interesting and informative, thank you. Where can I find a shirt like the one you are wearing as you host this video?

[@AussieMikesBees]

Thanks for watching and for your kind comments. I found the shirt on AliExpress a couple of years ago. They're 100% polyester and the sizes are on the small side. I wear a cotton t-shirt under it because I find polyester uncomfortable to wear. There's a range of prints available. A simple search for Bee T-shirts will get you started.

[@jennisummers7014]

Thanks for the great video. My bee house is almost done, and I have 2.5 AZ hives built. Next spring, I will officially change all my hives over from Langstroth to AZ. Where did you get that shirt? I must have one!

[@AussieMikesBees]

Wow! You’re well on your way. I’d love to see photos. I’m planning to automate production on my CNC router. It takes time to design it for CNC, but then it’s consistently repeatable. I bought the shirt on AliExpress. There’s many different designs, but only a few are not pure polyester. All the bright photo prints are polyester. The simple graphic t-shirts tend to be polyester/cotton and more comfortable to wear. I wear a T-shirt under the polyester ones.

[@cambone.]

@AussieMikesBees so you have shareable cad designs for your AZ hives? I also have a CNC router and love the function of this style hive

[@tracychamberlin5735]

So he pushes the bees down to one compartment to overwinter? I assume with ten frames of honey?

[@AussieMikesBees]

Great question, Tracy. My understanding is that they winter on the frames of honey in the brood chamber. Carniolans in particular reduce to a smaller cluster than say Italians in winter reducing honey consumption. They also don’t have to work as hard as bees in exposed boxes. In the bee house they are well protected from the elements and the shared walls between each hive further reduces energy cost. Even if feeding becomes necessary, it’s not difficult to do inside the bee house. They typically use a feeder that works a bit like an entrance feeder, but from the back. They do use top feeders too. They even over winter nucs this way. I’ll ask Franc to confirm.

[@monurules.................770]

❤❤❤❤

[@AussieMikesBees]

Thanks

[@benjamindejonge3624]

In down under you need a az Romanian truck I suppose

[@AussieMikesBees]

Interesting idea, Ben. I was thinking along the lines of trailer transported with legs that lower to the ground and lift the bee house off the trailer. I could take houses to different nectar flows without needing a forklift or hive loader or working at night.

[@rickwarner516]

Sheet metal worker

[@AussieMikesBees]

He’s a retired machinist and still very active in his workshop. His sheet metal work is beautiful. Old school philosophy of “Why buy it, when you can make it?”

[@brettellis1837]

What no beer in hand. Looked like top weather .😂. COULD SMELL THAT PINE FROM HERE. CHEERS MATE TOP VID. FRAMES STOOD OUT CONVEXED ON TOP AND BOTTOM???. ODD LOOKING.

[@AussieMikesBees]

Thanks, Brett. No beer, but I did drink too much home made schnapps. The weather was perfect and the scenery stunning. The convexed top and bottom bar stops the frame being propalised in place and prevents bees getting squished when sliding the frame out. The frames rest on three steel 8mm rods across the bottom and the built in frame spacers at the front and on the rear cover keep the frames in place.

[@steveroy217]

Promo`SM 😀

[@AussieMikesBees]

Sorry, Steve. That’s a bit cryptic for me, but a smiley face is good. Cheers, Mike

[@jorgogjika646]

My name is Jorgo I live in Naples, FL and I work as a handyman. One of my hobbies is working with bees - I love bees! I've owned a beehive from 2019 and I've only worked with Longstroth beehives. I saw a KZbin on your channel . I've very interested in the Slovenian beehives. The Slovenian method seems to be the best out there. I'd love the opportunity to visit you,meet and see the Slovenian Beehives in person. Could you please contact me, by any chance? Many thanks in advance ! Jorgo Gjika

[@AussieMikesBees]

Hello, Jorgo. I’m in Australia about 50miles NW of Sydney. You’re certainly welcome to visit, but you’ll find someone in the US much closer. There are several US based Face Book groups and some suppliers of imported and locally produced AŽ hives. In Australia, it’s not so easy. Shipping costs are ridiculously high and there’s no local manufacturers. I’m in the process of setting up to make them for sale using Langstroth sized AŽ frames so we can use standard foundation and extraction equipment. I’m hoping to have all my bees changed over to Slovenian hives this summer, February. I do presentations on Slovenian beekeeping at bee clubs and there’s a lot of interest in changing over. Much easier on the back. Cheers, Mike

[@jorgogjika646]

@@AussieMikesBees ok, thank you very much for your help, let me know if you find somebody here