(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best farming kits & accessories

You use the smoker when you go into the hive to check it out. What the smoke does is it tells the bees that there's a fire (forest fire for example) and that they are in need of danger. Therefore, their goal is not to defend the hive (sting you, therefore they die) but to eat their honey and salvage what they can before the fire gets there. Don't worry - they won't actually run away from your hive ha! It's a distraction tool

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I'm a first year beekeeper so I feel like I can give you any advice you may have since sometimes veteran's advice is good but they can use words and processes that confuse a newbie like you and me. So, ask anything you need and keep in touch.

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The bee group/company you called should have everything you need. Definitely go to them for advice. Idk if they're into sales (most aren't) but you really don't need anything than this below FOR NOW:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BHKH29B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1

- the little plastic bottle thing is your feeder. make a 1:1 sugar (granulated pure cane) to water mix and boil it until it dissolves. Cool it down (time + ice) and then give it to your bees in a beer bottle flipped upside down into the plastic bottle feeder - it goes in the bottom of your hive area; the entrance. It will all make sense when you get your stuff and see it. Gloves, head gear, scraper, and feeder. You're good to start!

of course make sure you get frames and wax foundation - did that come in your kit? I assume so.

Idk what that yellow thing is but you don't need it for now.

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This is a good book. I LIKED it but didn't love it. It's informative but it didn't really get me ready for beekeeping honestly. I think it would be better if I read it 4 months in now than starting out.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1631593323/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=basics+of+beekeeping+

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIoaJFMUu4Q

Was it the question about searching on Amazon? It looks like Welliver Bees makes a lot of good choices, and though I don't see them on Amazon, Crown Bees has quite a few as well. This one is pretty cool, though they could have gotten a bit more nesting space compared to the total space that the house takes up, I think. Here's a good, basic choice -- they key is that the tubes can be removed to allow harvesting of the cocoons. (The bees will have a much better chance of surviving if you harvest the cocoons and protect them over the winter.) And another good one.

We are DIY'ing much of our wedding. Buying booze and food and hiring the DJ etc. were easy, but now we have to figure out decorations!

We have this vision for wall art throughout the venue. The idea is that we take lights (for example, fairy lights) and some kind of grid (for example, chicken wire) and make huge "light murals" of Chicago and New York skylines, where we are both from. So the lights form the outline, using the chicken wire as a grid system so it's uniform -- and also easy to transport, roll up, unroll, and hang.

I made a proof of concept in Illustrator: http://imgur.com/8X3it39. It's about 8 feet by 4 feet and uses 2 inch chicken wire. I measured the length of the path already, and it's about 33 feet. Luckily, they sell fairy lights in 33 foot increments which is perfect.

Don't mind the gaps in the lines in the image. I made a custom brush/pattern in Illustrator and I'm not very good at it. But it would be one continuous string of lights.

We don't know how many we'll have, and if we'll do a separate one for each skyline, or combine skylines on the same grid and distinguish between the two with different colors.

But I wanted to get /r/DIY's thoughts on the general concept first. Do you think that will look nice? Is this doable? Is there a better way that I'm not considering? Maybe different lights, or something other than chicken wire? I haven't really been able to find examples on the Internet.

Thanks for calling in. I hope you're not driving right now. If you are, I'd hope that you pull over and enjoy the scenery.

Of course we'll need fun suits! We'll have two full bee suits which will make you impervious to stings, and we'll need to wear them until we really get to know the hive's personality. I'll also be buying a veil, which I think is all that I'm going to use. BEE FACT ALERT: The less like a bear (a bee's sworn enemy) you look like, the less likely you are to freak them out. That's why all bee suits are white and non-descript. So don't wear a frilly black sweatshirt when you're opening the hive. Or don't be a bear.

Smoke cannons are also needed, although we also want to make sure we're perceptive of how much we use the smoker. Here's the play:
To bees, smoke = death. They naturally retreat into the hive and start eating honey reserves because, hey, it's the end of the world. So if we smoke and smoke and smoke them too much, then they'll come to associate the beekepeer with death. So we'll need to strike the balance. A smoker is a needed and essential tool and it'll be awesome.

Thanks for listening to Hot 97. Blows Airhorn.

I have 4 chickens (I got them from Wardle Feed). I also got a nice used coop from there as well (about $300).


Feed is cheap, at about $20 a bag, which lasts a month or so for my 4 chickens. I put up a small fence around about 30sq/ft of yard space to let them free range a bit, but the coop has a full run underneath, so I can keep them somewhat locked up. I also have a light (about 60 watts) that I keep on a night in the winter, which serves two fold:

One to keep the coop slightly warmer (though it rarely gets cold enough to need this, chickens are hardy), and to keep them laying eggs over the winter, which they don't naturally do due to low amounts of light. I also have a 5 gallon bucket waterer (http://www.amazon.com/GALLON-Poultry-Waterer--Up-Chickens-/dp/B00F9A4976/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1457209610&sr=8-9&keywords=5+gallon+chicken+waterer)

And a water warmer for the winter (http://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovators-C-50-Aluminum-Birdbath/dp/B0002DHBDY/ref=pd_bxgy_86_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0SECCZMNSYKE2Y3P9TGF). 5 gallons of water lasts for several weeks, and the warmer only turns on if the water gets to freezing point.


The eggs are awesome, make great gifts, and can be colorful! I get green, brown, and white eggs.

you could get an automatic coop door:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TONTHRG/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

We have a coop run that is highly secured, and a main coop that is also secured. We close the coop run manually, and the main coop house closes automatically. All it took was closing the girls in the main coop run then letting themselves get locked out overnight a few times for them to learn to get in the house. Now we have gone down after dark more than once and all the girls are in the house and the door closed.

you would need to secure the main run area better to use our approach though. Our run is enclosed on all sides (including bottom) with 1/2" hardware cloth. Right next to the main house door (where the girls tend to sit if they get locked out) is #8 mesh. All mesh is secured between pieces of cedar framing with screws running through the cedar and the mesh.

We use the slide type doors which I feel are more secure than other options. one I made myself with diamond plate aluminum (if you can get flat aluminum I recommend it) that slides between rails of flat bar aluminum that have a gap created by washers. You can also buy a very similar design if you want to:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018KIVUC0/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1


The biggest thing you need to do to secure your coop/run area is enclose the entire thing in hardware cloth. It needs to be the small 1/2" hardware cloth like here: https://www.amazon.com/Hardware-Galvanized-Chicken-Supports-Poultry/dp/B015PD9F52/ref=sr_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1499439834&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=hardware+cloth&psc=1.

When I say enclose, I mean fully enclose on all sides including top and bottom. The cloth must be screwed/anchored in place (not just stapled). If you use larger cloth then animals such as racoons can reach through and grab the chickens. You should include the house in the enclosure. If you do not secure the bottom then they will just dig under and in.

I've had animals try and fail to get into my coop. I came out one day to find blood all over one side of the coop where an animal had tried to scratch its way in and lost claws. I also have come out to find that animals had tried to dig under the coop only to find hardware cloth there as well. you MAY be able to get away with just putting a hardware cloth skirt a few feet out from the coop but I prefer to just have the floor be hardware cloth.

Finally, all latches that allow us to get into the coop are safety latches since racoons can figure out normal latches. we mostly use hook and eyes like these (I use stainless though): https://www.amazon.com/Zinc-Plated-Wire-Safety-4-Pack/dp/B01LYNKFIL/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1499440049&sr=1-1&keywords=hook+and+eye+safety+latch

Though our main coop door does have this sort of latch (which we intend to add a padlock to if there are signs of animals getting in through it): https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-National-Hardware-CD1271-Sliding/dp/B009YNW3QS/ref=sr_1_12?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1499440093&sr=1-12&keywords=gate+latch+lock

Yo!

So I asked a question about finding affordable minis earlier. I'm still looking for a pack/set of them, but I did find these and think they are cute AF, I kinda wish the Druid came by itself but the bee keeper looks friendly enough. They are unpainted but I would prefer some color on them.

My question is can anyone recommend a reputable place to commission mini painting? I did stumble across paintedfigs.com and local peeps on Facebook this morning. I sent out several messages requesting a quote (following the site and various Facebook page directions). I know it's only been a day but I'm used to getting a response from companies within the same day (I might just be a little impatient). Any other sites I should be looking at that you had a good experience with?

I've really come to like spiral CFL bulbs (6500k color temp) in a reflector, pointed downward toward the substrate, as cheap and effective planted tank lighting. I've never run CO2, but I imagine a couple of 27 watt bulbs would do the job just fine.

But I've actually been considering a switch to LEDs for my 55g, the Finnex Ray2 or Planted+ in particular, since they seem to get a lot of love here and on plantedtank.net. So not to derail the thread, but I'm curious: Doxlee, may I ask what kinds of plants you have in your 55g, and whether you run CO2?

In looking at the diagram, 11-20 makes up only one of the 4 caster systems on this deck. The other 3 are made up of (8,) 9, 10 and 13. The part number 13 is what I have multiple kits of because it is the service kit for all casters. The bushing number 14 is common only in the one with the bolt running clear through the system. However, that bolt is only running through a piece of plate steel about 1/4" thick. If I drill through number 8 and the two 9's on the other three, the bolt will need to be much longer. I would guess an M8 x 100 since the one on the plate steel is a 70 mm carriage type bolt. Do you think that will be strong enough? Should I be looking at a certain strength of bolt? Shouldn't that bolt be tack welded so it doesn't spin just like the carriage bolt number 11?

edit: I would need two of these https://www.amazon.com/John-Deere-Original-Equipment-AM120681/dp/B00CAXE6G4 and one of these https://www.amazon.com/John-Deere-Original-Equipment-AM120680/dp/B00CSBRZUW to repair this deck properly. $125 is just too much. Screw that...

I successfully treated my rainbow fish with levamisole. This if the stuff I bought off amazon. I used a food scale to measure out the appropriate amount.

levamisole

And I followed these directions:
camallanus worms treatment

My fish were super lethargic while the levamisole was in the tank, but perked back up once I did a big water change. I also have a planted tank, so I just vacuumed the gravel as best I could and did 3 treatments. Hope this helps!!

The problem is that your hands are greasy afterwards, so what you need is a really good degreasing hand cleaner. Get some Gojo or Fast Orange, it's what most mechanics use to get automotive grease off of their hands, and it can be used without water. It's a thick paste with pumice particles in it to help rub off oils and grease, so just rub it into your hands and then wipe off with a towel. I keep a bottle of Gojo in my bag right next to the sunscreen and it works super well.

I have a Greek tortoise and my carpentry skills aren't great either. So I bought a stock watering tank made out of plastic. It is 2' wide and 6' long, 1 foot deep. It's perfect! UV resistant since it's made to sit outside. Easy to clean. Rounded corners so tort can't climb out. Handles humidity just fine.

I bought an Amazon warehouse one that had some scratches on it so I got it at a discount.


Behlen Country PRE216 70-Gallon Poly Stock Round-End Tank https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007PYN542/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_S2vGwbYVXHSEZ

When he is big enough I can put it outside with hardware cloth over the top to protect him from predators.

I made a watering bucket for mine. Got a food-grade plastic bucket with lid (for free from Sam's bakery, they go through tons of those icing buckets), cleaned it well.

Ordered chicken nipples from Amazon (way cheaper than getting them through a poultry supply place); drilled four holes in the bottom of the bucket, and put the nipples in. (here is a link to the type I got)

I mounted a hose reel to a post in the run, hung the bucket handle over it, and voila! -- clean water on demand!

It took them about five minutes to figure it out -- now they prefer that to a bowl of water. Only down-side is, I can't use it during the winter due to freezing temperatures. However, from spring through fall, it saves me a ton of work, and means they always have clean fresh water.

There are some cool Arduino kits that are pretty easy to combine into something cool. SOme people suggested working on mechanical things, and projects like putting together an Arduino car combine mechanical, electrical, and software disciplines and you get a pretty neat thing out of it.

This kit is $50 but there are plenty of cool things you can do with Arduino for much cheaper!

This is basically what I use...

The basics:

• Tote for your res
  
  
• Digital timer
  
  
• Pump
  
  
• Manifold (has an assortment of flow rate inserts so you can set it up how you want)
  
  
• fitting to attach hose from pump to manifold
  
  
• pump-to-manifold tubing
  
  
• Drip tubing
  
  Extras, that make things nice and easy:
  
  
• FloraFlex cap for even distribution through the medium
  
  
• Floraflex clips to hold the drip lines in place
  
  
  If you feed drain-to-waste, you'll want to come up with some way to collect runoff. Maybe something like THIS small HD tote, with a few holes drilled through the top. Just set your plant on top and it will collect all your runoff.

The wire.
Crimping tool.
Wire terminal lugs.
Battery Terminals.

Ask you shall receive, or, let me google that for you! :) I know that feeling when you don't have an experienced person to show you the ropes. All of this I learned from a week of reading and looking at everything I could concerning the matter. Sometimes there is no-one to show you what to do and you have to figure it out. It's not easy, but it is really satisfying. EDIT man that sounded really preachy... sorry about that, came from a good place :P hehe

Sure you can probably use it for a lot of things depending on how brave you are. But that looks like a specialized tool like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Avocado-Picker-Head-AVOCADO-PICKER/dp/B000AYE1Z6

Don't be sorry. :)

Either is a winner.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CFPCI7G/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QPAQGBG/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1

Gloves are also important.

High end-
https://www.amazon.com/NATURAL-APIARY-Beekeeping-Ventilated-Elasticated/dp/B00QPBPLYS/ref=sr_1_5?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1479156086&sr=1-5&keywords=beekeeping+gloves

Low end-
https://www.amazon.com/Caydo-Beekeeping-Goatskin-Protective-Beekeeper/dp/B01EDMQ9P0/ref=sr_1_9?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1479156086&sr=1-9&keywords=beekeeping+gloves

Both sets of gloves will likely do the same job well enough. :) You might want a frame grip too if they want to be fully suited as it makes pulling frames so much easier in bulky gloves.

Nope. Old fashioned ones like these are best
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bee-Proof-Suits-Keepers-Stainless/dp/B008AW56M2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345485046&sr=8-1

You could always get her something fancy like this for her honey
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Le-Creuset-Stoneware-Silicone-Dipper/dp/B002JKMSZY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1345485106&sr=8-2

Like one of these?

What about hooking up something like this?

I use a rapid feeder or a chicken watering bucket.

https://www.beeworks.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=14

https://www.amazon.com/Harris-Farms-Galvanized-Poultry-Drinker/dp/B006ZJHBRU/ref=cm_wl_huc_item

The former is in a medium empty super on the top of my hives. I added a few 1-1/2" screen holes to the inner cover to keep it ventilated and set the feeders over the center opening.

The chicken feeder can get exciting to be around in the fall. I have a pulley system and run it up about 20 feet in the air on one of my pine trees. It also works for watering during the dry season. I just lay some poly rope in the bottom of the tray to avoid drowning bees when it is crowded.

What ever you do you have to worry about drowning bees.

You want this.

These?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00846NTRI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_lzJ8Ab7A2YFEC

https://www.amazon.com/Oasis-Poultry-Water-Nipples-Pack/dp/B00846NTRI

I think it could be a poultry waterer of the double-wall variety, missing the top piece. The pipe is hooked up to a hose for refilling (edit, or for the vent?). But I’m not sure the top lip would be covered by water allowing this to work.

https://www.amazon.com/Harris-Farms-Galvanized-Poultry-Drinker/dp/B006ZJHBRU#productDescription_secondary_view_div_1520471474997