What is the best month to start bee keeping?
spring
In most areas, spring is the best time to start your beekeeping journey. As the cold season ends, an increase in forage makes it the perfect environment for a new hive to thrive. Plus expanding colonies make it the easiest time to source a colony of bees to call your own.
How profitable is bee keeping in Kenya?
A single beehive can produce up to 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of honey per harvest and sells for around 800 Kenyan shillings ($8) a kilogram. Most farmers harvest the hives four times a year, providing up to 64,000 shillings ($628) per hive annually.
How much money can you make from bee keeping?
Healthy bees in a region with ample nectar sources can produce a profit of $300-$500 per hive each year. But, this assumes you are selling your honey in a market that is willing to pay the price for premium raw honey. Even small scale backyard beekeepers can make a profit from the honey produced from a few hives.
Is bee keeping low maintenance?
Honey bees are an animal in your care. You can’t just set up a hive and forget about it. Honey bees are relatively low maintenance (compared to other farm animals), but if they are under your care… they need to be cared for.
Do you have to buy new bees every year?
Do beekeepers need to buy new bees every few months? Answer: Absolutely not! This is one of the great things about honey bees. Unlike other animals (cows, goats, sheep, etc.)
How much does it cost to start a bee farm in Kenya?
The total amount a person requires to set up bee farming is approximately Kshs. 10, 000 (from purchasing of beehive to that of harvesting materials) together with the equipments used for harvesting honey.
How many kg of honey is allowed in a year?
In an ideal condition KTBH can yield about 50 kg of honey per year (FAO 1990). The mean honey yield observed in this study area from the KTBH was higher than the yield indicated by Tessega (2009) in KTBH (10.7 kg/hive). It is also above the national average of KTBH, which is a 10-15Kg / hive (Werkneh et al 2008).
Is beekeeping an expensive hobby?
Getting started with beekeeping can be an expensive hobby often costing around $300 for the hive and around another $100 for bees during the first year (depending if you purchase a nuc or a package). Most folks recommend starting out with two hives for a variety of important reasons.
How often do you extract honey from a hive?
Harvesting Honey In a healthy, productive hive, it is normal to be able to harvest honey two to three times each season. Most beekeepers will harvest honey between June and September, but how often you harvest and how much honey you get will depend on a number of factors.
How much is a kilo of honey in Kenya?
US$ 6.43 per kilogram
In 2022, the approximate price range for Kenya Natural Honey is between US$ 7.86 and US$ 6.43 per kilogram or between US$ 3.57 and US$ 2.92 per pound(lb). The price in Kenyan Shilling is KES 856.56 per kg. The average price for a tonne is US$ 7863.25 in Mombasa and Nairobi.
Is beekeeping a profitable business?
The short answer is yes, and beekeeping for profit extends far beyond simply selling your own honey. In fact, there are many ways to make money with beekeeping that most new and for-profit beekeepers aren’t aware of. We often speak about what we can do for the bees, now let’s see what they can do for us.
How hard is it to start a beehive?
There’s some heavy lifting and physically difficult tasks involved, especially when it’s time to harvest your honey. Bees are also susceptible to many different pests, diseases, and predators that you’ll need to watch out for. And the financial investment to set up your first hive can also be hard for some people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA7arGBKTOc