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Offline litefoot

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How would you handle this?
« on: May 21, 2014, 02:02:11 am »
First of all, I don't want to buy queens (if it can be avoided). Here's my situation:

1) I started the Spring with 4 double-deep colonies which survived the winter.
2) 1 of the 4 came through without a queen, but I introduced eggs earlier and the new queen is just starting to lay good brood patterns.
3) The remaining 3 all swarmed, but I re-captured all of them into individual 10-frame deeps. Now I have 7 colonies.
4)  The swarms are 3, 2 and 1 week old respectively. The 3 and 2 week old swarms are drawing comb and laying eggs. They're doing great. I'm not 100% sure I have a queen in the 1 week old swarm.
5) I'm closely monitoring the mother colonies from the 2 and 3 week old swarms for queen activity.Despite the swarms, they are both busting at the seams with bees.

Based on the above, how would you create space for the crowded mother hives? Or do I not worry about until I see queen activity? I'm just worried about more over-crowded swarming.
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Offline pistolpete

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Re: How would you handle this?
« Reply #1 on: May 21, 2014, 02:33:36 am »
A lot depends on your goals for the season and the timing of your major honey flows.   Obviously you are worried about further swarms.   You have a couple of choices: equalise the hives, or make Nucs.

To equalise, take 2 frames of capped brood from each strong colony and give them to the swarms.    To make Nucs,  take 1 frame pollen, 1 frame honey, 2 frames mostly capped brood, 1 frame mostly eggs.  Shake in lots of bees.   The trick is to do this without removing the queen.   I like to find the queen first and put the frame she is on aside in a spare Nuc box.   Them pull the frames I want and replace the queen. 

If you want to manage for maximum honey production, you might want to take 4 frames of capped brood and put them above a queen excluder in the same hive.   Insert frames with foundation in their place.   This maintains your work force, while also reducing crowding in the brood nest.   
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Offline blueblood

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Re: How would you handle this?
« Reply #2 on: May 21, 2014, 06:04:18 am »
Pistol covered it.  You could make a little extra cash on those nucs.  :)
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Offline iddee

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Re: How would you handle this?
« Reply #3 on: May 21, 2014, 08:02:28 am »
I would just add supers.
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Offline Beeboy

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Re: How would you handle this?
« Reply #4 on: May 21, 2014, 08:28:46 am »
That is such a terrible position to be in...you can do whatever you want to do!  :laugh:
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Offline Riverrat

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Re: How would you handle this?
« Reply #5 on: May 21, 2014, 08:58:51 am »
If you got drawn comb stack the supers on. If you have only foundation add one until drawn out then add another
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Offline brooksbeefarm

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Re: How would you handle this?
« Reply #6 on: May 21, 2014, 10:08:48 am »
On crowded double deep brood boxes during a flow and i see the queen, i will take her and a couple of brood frames and one frame with honey and pollen + two empty frames and make a 5 frame nuc.While the brood in the mother hive hatches out and they are making a new queen (be sure to leave a frame with eggs) they don't have anything to do but store honey for about a month. It helps prevent swarming (not always) and i get a good honey production and a new queen. Of course the honey supers i stack on are drawn comb ( usually 3 of them), probably wouldn't work to good with foundation supers, unless you were going for comb honey, then i would put just one super with starter strips and add more if needed. Of course this all depends on the weather and the flow. Just another way of doing things and it shows those ladies who the boss is. Right Squirt, jen and other ladies on hear.  :laugh: :laugh: Jack
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Offline riverbee

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Re: How would you handle this?
« Reply #7 on: May 21, 2014, 10:55:49 am »
LOL jack!

any type of nuc or divide litefoot, if you want more hives, i think i read somewhere else in the forum that you didn't.

"how would you create space for the crowded mother hives"

iddee and riverrat said it........add supers....
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Offline litefoot

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Re: How would you handle this?
« Reply #8 on: May 21, 2014, 10:09:26 pm »
I've got plenty of medium supers with drawn frames. So I could super the overcrowded hives. But I don't want my valuable super comb filled with brood. I'm thinking I need to add excluders too, right? Or will they limit the bees movement enough to make them still feel crowded?
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Offline brooksbeefarm

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Re: How would you handle this?
« Reply #9 on: May 21, 2014, 11:55:50 pm »
RB, i don't recall saying i didn't want more hives, but could have if i'd had a bad day in the beeyard. :D Last year i had 92 colonies, i lost between 15 to 20 of them through the winter and i combined some weaker hives. I'm back up close to 80 hives now, and have sold out of honey and the farmers market and people knocking on the door wanting honey :-[. I have 8 outyards and every year 2 or three produce more honey than the others because of the weather, to check all 8 yards is a 126 mile round trip. When the dandelion bloom is on strong i will stack 2 to 3 med supers on any i think is strong enough to handle them. Every year the demand for honey gets stronger and with almost 50 yrs of beekeeping i've found ways to produce more honey that works for me, but may not for others :o. Making money is nice, but i do it because i love it. 8) Jack
I have plenty of places to put hives, people calling wanting me to put hives  on there property, my biggest problem is running out of squipment. ???
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Offline riverbee

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Re: How would you handle this?
« Reply #10 on: May 22, 2014, 03:38:16 am »
oh sorry jack, i didn't mean you, i meant i thought i read somewhere litefoot saying he didn't want anymore hives right now.......if you didn't want anymore hives, it's probably cuz you couldn't telll if there was yellow jackets or honey bees in your hives or cuz me or perry snuck down to your place and sabotaged your hives with plastic foundation and your bees were getting lazy and not doing a dang thing and you got all frustrated and discombobulated, gave up and with some non disney language said that's it!.....i give up!........... :D ................. right?.......... :D

litefoot........
if you have medium supers of drawn frames put them on, add an excluder. if you would like some extra drawn frames of foundation excellent time to get these drawn. if so place a super of foundation on without the excluder or even two.  get them busy in supers either way.....

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Offline brooksbeefarm

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Re: How would you handle this?
« Reply #11 on: May 22, 2014, 08:09:53 am »
I couldn't find (telll) in the Dictionary, so i'm having trouble under standing what you meant. :laugh: :laugh: Jack
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Offline Riverrat

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Re: How would you handle this?
« Reply #12 on: May 22, 2014, 09:25:28 am »
Quote from: litefoot on May 21, 2014, 10:09:26 pm
I've got plenty of medium supers with drawn frames. So I could super the overcrowded hives. But I don't want my valuable super comb filled with brood. I'm thinking I need to add excluders too, right? Or will they limit the bees movement enough to make them still feel crowded?

Use an exluder there is a good chance the queen will stove pipe the empty supers if she is not held back
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Offline brooksbeefarm

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Re: How would you handle this?
« Reply #13 on: May 22, 2014, 10:10:51 am »
Especially if they have drawn comb to go to.JMHO. Jack
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