Worldwide Beekeeping
Beekeeping => General Beekeeping => Topic started by: Yankee11 on April 08, 2014, 07:18:47 pm
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Ok, I just removed 8 capped grafts and moved them to an incubator. And a frame with 3 queen cells that they started when I started the grafts. Put the frames with qcells in a nuc box with bees and a frame of brood. Will relocate tomorrow and let them hatch and get mated.
That is all good.
Heres what need help with pretty quick, I think.
I had queen trapped in bottom deep. She has everything layed in bottom deep,(full of brood) I found a couple queen cups with eggs in them. I destroyed them. I removed queen excluder and rearranged frames between both deeps. I don't know how to explain how many bees were in this hive. I didn't feel comfortable with the rearrange as there were 4 frames of capped brood in the upper deep.
So, I added 3rd deep and moved brood up into the 3rd deep. So 3 deeps high with brood in each one.
How much time do you think that bought me? It was foundation I added so that really doesn't give her immediate room to lay.
I just hope I didn't miss any swarm cells. Weather was bad windy-rainy. Supposed to warm up starting tomorrow and I just know these ladies were getting ready to swarm. I will cry if they swarm. I could make 5 or 6 nucs from this one hive.
My gut tells me I have to find that queen tomorrow and get her the heck out of that hive.
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Just had a thought.
I could just go ahead and make up a bunch of nucs tomorrow afternoon with this monster and put these capped queen cells in the nucs.
These grafts are do to hatch Friday. I was hoping to use this hive for honey production but since is so big I could just use this one for nucs and use some others for honey production.
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It sounds to me like you greatly value this queen and her progeny, so it would be a crying shame to watch her take off. If other hives can give you the honey you want......... ;)
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Yea Perry, as I sit here just shaking my head.
I think I have to go with what I am given. They don't understand or care what I want. I am going to split this hive into at least 5 probably 6 nucs tomorrow.
I'll keep the nuc with the mother queen in it. Then Thursday I can add my grafts to the nucs and they will have a new queen by the weekend.
I have 10 nucs sold, so I will be half way there with this one hive. I have 16 other hives that overwintered strong. Quiet honestly, I have at least 3 more that I am going to have to do something with very quick (2 deeps packed)
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When life hands you nucs.............................sell 'em! :D
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Sounds like you answered your own question.
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Hey, I have a question.
If you have 2 deeps crowded and lots of brood and bees. If you do a walk away split.
What are the chances of them making Honey? (I know weather is a factor) But is there a chance they would produce?
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Lol, Iddee.
I could just have my own forum couldn't I. :D
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Can you take the harassment of owning a forum. These guys never give me a break. :'(
It depends on the flow. The commercials take hives south and make truck loads of nucs to go north in the spring and make honey. They get tons of it.
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Can you take the harassment of owning a forum. These guys never give me a break. :'(
:) ;) :D :laugh: :yes:
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There wouldn't be any harassment. Remember,
I would be the only one on it.
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Can you take the harassment of owning a forum. These guys never give me a break. :'(
awwww.... KissKissHugHugPatPat
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No Luv for the Iddee....
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Wouldn't have it any other way. I love every minute of it.
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;D
Couldn't ask for a better guy to keep us all in line.
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Here, Here, I'll drink to that..
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DITTO on all the comments.....
"Can you take the harassment of owning a forum. These guys never give me a break. :'("
it's true! :D i would just like to add, without iddee, this place, this great forum wouldn't exist....
he can take the harassment and send it right back ;D.....to teach, and challenge each of us .....
a great and knowledgeable beekeeper, a great mentor, but most of all....... a great friend....
couldn't ask for anything better and you won't find it anywhere else...
just my two cents.
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DITTO on all the comments.....
"Can you take the harassment of owning a forum. These guys never give me a break. :'("
it's true! :D i would just like to add, without iddee, this place, this great forum wouldn't exist....
he can take the harassment and send it right back ;D.....to teach, and challenge each of us .....
a great and knowledgeable beekeeper, a great mentor, but most of all....... a great friend....
couldn't ask for anything better and you won't find it anywhere else...
just my two cents.
Well said!
No point in picking on someone if they always get angry about it... well, maybe a little... :P In my case I just have to figure out when hes egging me on and when he is being serious.... ;D
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Lazy- "" awwww.... KissKissHugHugPatPat""
OMG LOL!
Lazy - ""In my case I just have to figure out when hes egging me on and when he is being serious....""
In my case I know when he's teasing when he threatens to spank me :o but when he serious he yells "THINK ABOUT IT JAY! DO THE MATH!"
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OK to get back to one of the last questions asked. Will the 2 splits produce a honey crop? It all comes down to timing. A single need 6 to 8 weeks to build up to reach the strength to collect a honey crop. A 4 frame nuc needs 8 to 12 weeks to get to full strength.
There are also a lot of other variables involved, whether the bees need to draw foundation and comb. Is there a flow or feed to support continued hive growth? We can have hives at a ready strength for a flow the plants can be flowering and because of drought of pests and disease little nectar is produced.
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When life hands you nucs.............................sell 'em! :D
Or even better if you want Honey.. KEEP the nuc's.. You will be pulling brood from those nuc's so they dont get over crowded and swarm.. what do you do with that brood? You put it in the "new" production colonies so when that nectar flow hits they will be ready to pack your supers full!!!
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Ok, I got lucky and found the queen on the second frame I pulled (must be living right). I put her aside then I made 5 nucs with 2 frames of brood in each nuc. Honey and nectar. Then I put the queen in a deep with about 3 frames of brood and some empty comb. I left her in the original position so all the foragers would come back to her.There was also a medium full of bees I put back on top of her.
I took the nucs to an out yard about 10 miles away.
8 grafts in incubator due to hatch Friday.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs27.postimg.cc%2Fn9wnrz9nz%2F20140409_162202.jpg&hash=ffdfdec755555bc0aceed808c5cd2d3c3bf6c28e) (http://postimg.cc/image/n9wnrz9nz/)
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Friday? Today is Wednesday... in 48 hours they can have emergency queen cells ahead of you by 24 + hours, so Be careful they havent started their own cells when you put the cells you made in!!
I also count 6 nuc's in that truck :P You trying to sneak one past us? No Sir! We have the Perry with his trusty Sidekick Blue to keep honest men honest!!!! ;D
Iddee is in case the first two fail.
No, don't even ask about the Squirt, you REALLY don't want her coming after you!
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Ok, So, I put cells in tomorrow, Thanks Lazy,
Lol, yeah, I have a double deep that I pulled the queen out 10 days ago and it had several frames with capped queen cells. I pulled a frame and made and extra nuc while I was on a roll.
I'm gonna leave a couple in incubator and let them hatch.
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;D A viable queen cell is as good as a queen if you ask the bees.