A Kenyan top bar hive is a single long box where the bees hang their comb from timber bars laid across the top, with no frames, foundation or supers stacked above. The design has been used in Kenya and other African countries for decades and is regarded as closely mimicking the shape and conditions of a wild nest. Our Kenyan top bar hive kit includes 20 top bars.
Before choosing a horizontal top bar hive, think about how you want to harvest. The comb has no frame around it, so it is cut from the bar and crushed and strained rather than spun in an extractor. That makes this Kenyan bee hive a better fit for backyard keepers who want comb honey and gentle inspections without lifting heavy boxes than for anyone chasing volume. Standard Langstroth frames will not fit, so a common way to populate one is with a swarm, and our swarm attractors can help bait one in spring.
Each comb still lifts out bar by bar, which matters now that Australian beekeepers check regularly for varroa, small hive beetle and wax moth. Calm the colony first with a bee smoker, and if stacked boxes suit you better, compare our Langstroth beehive kits before you decide on a top bar hive.
- Top Bar kit hive includes 20 top bars
- Overall measurements 84cm L x 52cm W x 33cm H
The Kenyan Top Bar hive has been used in Kenya and other African countries for decades
It is considered to closely mimic the hive geometry and conditions found in the wild
AVAILABILITY
1800 BEEWISE / 1800 233 947