As a novice beekeeper, you may be wondering how many beehives you should start with. You might be puzzled about how to handle more than one hive at ago. Read on to find answers to your beekeeping questions.  

Similar Articles you may like to read –
What is the best bee hive design?
Which direction should beehives face?
Which is better, 8 frame or 10 frame beehive?
How close to a fence can you put a beehive?

Can you keep just one bee hive?

While you can start with one beehive, it is always advisable to start with a least two hives. Many colonies increase your chances of success. Keep in mind that any bee colony can die out even after doing everything right. This is usually a natural death. And if you had just one colony, that may be the end of the journey until the next season. With a few colonies, you can continue with the venture even after losing one on the way. It is easy to compare the colonies and also speeds up your learning process. 

At times you may accidentally crush and kill the queen. With a second hive, you can simply take a frame of eggs from the other hive and add it to the queenless hive. Sometimes a queenless hive cannot raise a queen from its hive. Again if one colony is weak than the other one, you can take some brood and place it in the weak one. Brood, honey, pollen, and bees, can be shared among colonies. While the starting costs for more than one colony may be higher, you actually save money in the long run. 

When is the best time in the year to start a beehive?

The perfect time to start a beehive is spring. As the cold season comes to an end and spring unfolds with many blooming flowers and good weather. This is also the best time to enlarge your colonies. You should plan well and order your packages early enough to get them by the beginning of spring. A new colony that starts in early spring has ample time to get established and has enough honey stores before winter hints. 

Does more than one hive require a lot of time?

The time you dedicate to your beehives depends entirely on you. After installing your packages or nucs in spring, you can commit to inspecting the hives once after every two weeks. Inspection in a single hive may take at least 15-30 minutes, depending on your experience for two hives, which is just like an hour. Novice beekeepers enjoy opening their hives quite often. You will always find them around the colonies pulling out frames become it is too much fun. 

With several hives, will bee confuse their nest?

In most cases, bees will not bother with other hives. Each hive also has a unique smell to the bees, according to the queen’s pheromones. By using navigation skills, they know their home quite well and note the landmarks and the color. During a nectar dearth, strong colonies tend to rob weaker colonies. However, with proper management, this should not be an issue. With several hives, you should avoid spilling sugar in your bee yard or chunks of burr comb. 

More articles you may like to read –
Do Honey Bees Stay In The Same Nest Every Year?
How much honey should you take for a sore throat? Home Remedy
Health benefits of eating bee pollen? Is bee pollen good for allergies?
How much raw honey per day I can eat? How much Honey is safe to eat?

How close can you position your beehives?

Colonies can thrive even when placed very close to each other as long as the beekeeper is watchful against robbing. As a rule of thumb, they should be 2 feet apart from each other if possible. This helps reduce the drifting cases as foragers return to their hives. Good spacing also allows the beekeeper to work on all sides of the hive when required.