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Author Topic: Overwintering of beekeepers  (Read 9093 times)

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Offline Marbees

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Overwintering of beekeepers
« on: November 29, 2014, 01:38:06 pm »
Up here beekeepers overwinter successfully, providing they keep busy with a bee related work. :laugh:
On this winter list I have the following:

1. Assemble 30 frame extractor
2. Build 35 Quebec style bee escapes
3. --//-- 45 mediums
4. --//-- 40 nuc boxes
5.--//-- 200 solid bottom boards (130 for 10 frame and the rest for 5 frame)
6. Complete restoration of my Inca planer/jointer (yes it's a bee related project)

It would make me a very happy man to finish all of this by pollen subs time. :)

What's on your list?
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Offline kebee

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Re: Overwintering of beekeepers
« Reply #1 on: November 29, 2014, 02:32:53 pm »
Feeding 2/1 sugar syrup, have all the equipment for bees that I need.

Ken
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Offline iddee

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Re: Overwintering of beekeepers
« Reply #2 on: November 29, 2014, 03:18:29 pm »
Grouchy old bears hibernate. I'll be back in the spring.
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Offline Perry

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Re: Overwintering of beekeepers
« Reply #3 on: November 29, 2014, 03:21:53 pm »
50 bottom boards (already have the wood)
140 deeps (already have the wood)
140 mediums (already have the wood)
20 telescoping covers (already have the wood and the metal)
20 inner covers (already have the wood)
I should probably have a few more bee escapes as well, but am tempted to try some of these and use them on inner covers (designed for it) and see if they work just as well.
http://countryfields.ca/images/pricelist/discescape.jpg
And, of course, a proper honey house, which still seems like just a dream at this point. :sad:
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Offline Jen

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Re: Overwintering of beekeepers
« Reply #4 on: November 29, 2014, 03:29:39 pm »
Reading, Reading, Reading,  :) :) :)

1. How to avoid massive swarming
2. How to make and manage a Nuc
3. How to do a split

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Offline tedh

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Re: Overwintering of beekeepers
« Reply #5 on: November 29, 2014, 04:06:20 pm »
Jen: Have you looked at LazyBkper's outyard web sight?   It's got LOTS of good info, and is written in Scotts unique style!  Just a thought.  Ted
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Offline Riverrat

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Re: Overwintering of beekeepers
« Reply #6 on: November 29, 2014, 04:21:14 pm »
I will be by the fire.  Anyone wanting to pull up a chair are welcome :)
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Offline Zweefer

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Re: Overwintering of beekeepers
« Reply #7 on: November 29, 2014, 05:23:09 pm »
Due to early snowfall, I will be out in corn fields appraising all that the farmers couldn't combine.  After that, I'm hoping to build two complete hives (bottom boards, supers, inner covers and telescoping lids) as well as 8 - 10 extra medium supers.
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Offline Jen

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Re: Overwintering of beekeepers
« Reply #8 on: November 29, 2014, 05:45:48 pm »
Hi Ted  :)  I will look into to that, Scott's Unique Style is always easy for me to understand  ;)
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Offline LazyBkpr

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Re: Overwintering of beekeepers
« Reply #9 on: November 29, 2014, 08:40:28 pm »
Hope it helps you Jaybird.. if not you already know where to ask questions!!

   I have ten double nucs built, need ten to twenty more of them..
   I have enough equipment for 50 hives, but not enough supers "if" we have a good year.. so I need to put together about 100 more boxes to use as supers.. Frames for those supers as well, so thats 1000 frames I need to build. The 30 double nucs will need 300 frames as well.
  Thats for ME...
 I also have other orders to have ready before April..  not enough to keep me BUSY but enough to keep me happy!
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Offline Perry

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Re: Overwintering of beekeepers
« Reply #10 on: November 29, 2014, 08:55:45 pm »
Too bad ya didn't still live in Maine, I could see plenty of potential for some trouble! ;) :) :D
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Offline Ray4852

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Re: Overwintering of beekeepers
« Reply #11 on: November 29, 2014, 08:59:03 pm »
Jen

nucs are easy to make if you have strong hives to make one. First thing you must know. Check the mite load on the hives you want to take brood out. If your hives have mites. Your nuc will have them too. I like mated queens. Order your queen before you plan to make a nuc. Pick your location anywhere in your bee yard you want the nuc to grow into a new hive. Make your nuc up 24 hours before you get the new queen. I don’t look for the queen. I look for 3 frames of capped brood. Brush off all bees from the frames into the bottom box. Put frames in empty box with brood on them. Take out one frame of pollen and honey and put it into the box with the brood. Now you have your 5 frame nuc made up. Add 5 more frames to fill in the box. Put you queen excluder on your second hive body. Next put the nuc on top of excluder. If you have a honey super put it on the top of hive. Come back the next day and remove your nuc. All frames will have nurse bees on them. Your nuc is queen less now. Put the nuc on top of a bottom board and put on a robbing screen. Put in your new mated queen and start feeding megabee. Come back  3 days and see how your new queen is doing.
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Offline Marbees

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Re: Overwintering of beekeepers
« Reply #12 on: November 29, 2014, 09:17:39 pm »
Quote from: Perry on November 29, 2014, 03:21:53 pm
I should probably have a few more bee escapes as well, but am tempted to try some of these and use them on inner covers (designed for it) and see if they work just as well.
http://countryfields.ca/images/pricelist/discescape.jpg
And, of course, a proper honey house, which still seems like just a dream at this point. :sad:
I ordered a few of those, but didn't like them, kinda flimsy, I am all for heavy duty things. :D
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Offline Perry

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Re: Overwintering of beekeepers
« Reply #13 on: November 29, 2014, 09:19:29 pm »
Good to hear Marbees, before I spent the money! :eusa_clap:
Thanks.
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Offline riverbee

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Re: Overwintering of beekeepers
« Reply #14 on: November 29, 2014, 09:38:26 pm »
great thread marbees!

what's on my list?..........

i managed to get all my equipment needs done before cold weather hit. pulling up a chair next to the fire like rat or hibernating like iddee.  i don't have a heated workspace to work in, although i could do frames if i needed them.  so for me, it's a warm fire and hibernation......reading, hefting the hives from time to time,  hanging out and enjoying the forum, and just waiting for spring thaw to come around for me and the bees.....
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Offline LazyBkpr

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Re: Overwintering of beekeepers
« Reply #15 on: November 29, 2014, 09:41:23 pm »
Quote from: Perry on November 29, 2014, 08:55:45 pm
Too bad ya didn't still live in Maine, I could see plenty of potential for some trouble! ;) :) :D

   I've been wondering if perhaps the good Lord didnt make SURE I had moved to Iowa before introducing us...
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Offline Yankee11

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Re: Overwintering of beekeepers
« Reply #16 on: November 29, 2014, 11:27:03 pm »
Ray,

That's interesting way to make up a Nuc.

So, couldn't we take a it step further and use a cloak  board. I'm thinking once you set the nuc above the cloak board (queen excluder) for 24 hours. Now the nurse bees are up in the nuc, then slide in the solid piece of metal in the cloak board and add a frame of eggs. They should draw some queen cells. Once the queen cells are started remove the nuc and let them finish raiseing their own queen.

All my nuc boxes have bottoms attached to them. I guess I could just put the 5 nuc frames in the center of a deep box with 5 more frames to fill the deep, then remove the 5 frames in the center and install in the nuc box when ready.


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Offline Ray4852

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Re: Overwintering of beekeepers
« Reply #17 on: November 30, 2014, 01:35:08 am »
My way of making up a nuc is very simple and  I don’t have to look for the queen. Once I’m done I take the nuc off and  put the honey super back on the excluder and I’m done with the hive. If you want to make queens. Your going to need more nurse bees to make queen cells. The supersedure impulse way would work with the cloak board. Use 3 boxes. bottom box A, box B the middle and box C the top one with all the brood, Eggs and larvae. Cloak board goes on top of box A with the queen. Brush all  bees into box A and put all the frames with eggs brood and larvae in box C.   nurse bees will move up into box C to make queen cells. After 10 days remove the queen cells in Box C and take off the cloak board. Feed heavy during the 10 day period. Its better to add more brood to your hive 3 weeks before you start making queen cells. You want box C loaded with nurse bees.
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Offline barry

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Re: Overwintering of beekeepers
« Reply #18 on: November 30, 2014, 03:40:21 am »
Even though currently I live in Florida I still do not understand how to keep a nuke alive through the winter without feeding it constantly it doesn't get very cold here relatively speaking but there's never a ton of bees in a nuke not when compared to a full strength hive.
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Offline Ray4852

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Re: Overwintering of beekeepers
« Reply #19 on: November 30, 2014, 07:41:25 am »
Put on another box full of honey above the nuc.  start using 10 frame deeps instead of medium suppers to collect honey. If you don’t want to feed the bees with it extract it for yourself.  10 frame super full of honey will feed a double nuc all winter.
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