Hive Records

[EmsE]

I'm ashamed to say that last year my hive records left a lot to be desired, just like the year before. So could it be that the way I've been doing it isn't right for me (bad workman & all that ). The way I've been working is with a piece of paper that I'm supposed to write down my observations and then transfer the info onto the computer and that just ain't happening- the paper is more likely to end up in the smoker than in the house for typing up.

I've decided that a spreadsheet where I just need to fill in particular columns and a column to note misc. stuff might work better for me & if it's kept in a plastic folder, it's less likely to get lost or incinerated. Looking around at different spreadsheets on the internet they really are quite varied. What columns would / does everyone have on theirs?

I know I really need to pull my socks up with this and I know I should have already got everything set up already- I just hate paperwork!

[HensandBees]

Mine is on an excel spreadsheet with the colomns as below and I print one out as needed . one for each colony and stick it in a ring binder .... computer write up is a brill idea but ........... also in the ring binder is a disease crib sheet so I can look at the symptons and work backwards to end up with the correct disease .... well thats the theory anyway.... and a little chart that shows what age a larvae is so I can judge how old it is! Easier to carry the ring binder than the computer into the apiary
sorry not very computer literate so could see how to put the excel spreadsheet on

Colony Queen
Date Queen /QC Stores Brood Disease Feed Room Notes

[Trog]

I carry a tiny notebook, spiral bound, in my bee jacket pocket. It has a pencil with a clip on it, stuck inside the spiral bit. With a maximum of 8 colonies, I find it's easy enough to go back through this to see what's been going on with each colony. One of these days I might put it on a computerised thingy but my fishing log never reached its database last year (having been filled in faithfully in past years) so I'm not sure I'll ever get round to computerising the bees!

[Jon]

I use this one which is recommended by Roger Patterson.

http://www.wgbka.org.uk/WGBKAdocs/Record%20Sheet.pdf

I keep the sheet under the lid of each colony inside a plastic cover sheet.
If you print both sides it will easily cover every hive intervention over 12 months.

I have used these for 3 years and have found them to be more than adequate.

I really should get all the data onto a computer, especially data relating to queen rearing, but in practice the most important location for the data is in the apiary itself.

[Neils]

Must admit the database app I started a little while back kind of floundered and in hindsight wanted far too much data for a general inspection record. But as it's able to trace queen heritage I really should dig it back up out of moth balls and give it another go.

I cribbed my current paper based system off the tick sheets used by the bee inspectors. I now simply record

Date
Colony
Sides of bees
Sides of brood
Queen seen
Comments

Be quite happy to knock up a sample Excel sheet with a simple summary page in addition to colony inspection records if people would find it useful.

Do think that however you record information while inspecting that unless you rig up a voice recorder that you can hold all the pertinent information in your head. At point I was inspecting a frame, putting it back then filling out a huge great tick sheet of all the information before moving to the next frame and it was taking ages!

[GRIZZLY]

I like your record sheet Jon,but,am currently using some that I got from BIBBA about 30 years ago - very complicated and covers everything in minute detail.I only use a few of the columns available but the extra info is there if I need to go into finer detail.I was given mine by Beowulf Cooper at one of our Ass'n meeting down in Warwickshire when he came to talk about Q rearing.I believe the current BIBBA record sheet is more simplified.

[Mellifera Crofter]

An experienced beekeeper told me to keep the records with the queen, not the hive. So in Jon's example, it would have been headed with the queen's name and year of birth, and the sheet would follow her around. This way we can keep track of the queen/daughter lineage and characteristics. (But, like EmsE, I have to find a good way of keeping the records.)

Kitta

[Jon]

An experienced beekeeper told me to keep the records with the queen, not the hive. So in Jon's example, it would have been headed with the queen's name and year of birth, and the sheet would follow her around. This way we can keep track of the queen/daughter lineage and characteristics. (But, like EmsE, I have to find a good way of keeping the records.)

Kitta

That's the way I do it. The record sheet always follows the queen. When I artifically swarm a colony or create a nuc with the old queen, the record sheet follows it.

[GRIZZLY]

That's the way I do it. The record sheet always follows the queen. When I artifically swarm a colony or create a nuc with the old queen, the record sheet follows it.

Ditto here,Ikeep 1 record card on top of the crown board(in a poly bag) and 1 other is kept in a spirol binder for home reference later.1 card per queen per hive.

[POPZ]

[QUOTE=Nellie;4123]Must admit the database app I started a little while back kind of floundered and in hindsight wanted far too much data for a general inspection record. But as it's able to trace queen heritage I really should dig it back up out of moth balls and give it another go.[QUOTE]

Yea Nellie, you were getting on so well with that database you were writing and I was wondering what had happened to it?? Maybe getting a bit too in depth? Something simple stupid would be my requirement and folk who wanted more advanced such as breeding lines etc is something different.

I use voice recorder but unfortunately the ladies are rather fond of the microphone area so I have great recordings of many high pitched buzzes - especially angry ones!!