5 Weeks in...

[Broadbottobees]

Hello everyone. We received our first nuc with Queen Hilary at the end of May. Really enjoying the whole beekeeping thing. Learning new stuff every day. I have my first question for the forum. Our nuc had National standard frames but our hive has a deep brood box. The bees are building comb off the bottom of the standard frames into the extra space.

I don't know whether it is the warm weather or us just being inept but sometimes when we inspect, some of the wild comb breaks off

Anybody got any thoughts/ideas about how we might move the standard frames out of the brood box over a period?

 

[enrico]

Put a new frame in one end and take an old frame out of the other. Do this once a week. Or put a proper size box on top and wait for them to build comb and move up before putting the old comb over a QE
E

 

[Broadbottobees]

Hi Enrico

At the moment the 6 standard frames are in the middle of the brood box (warm way) with 3 deep frames near the entrance and 2 deep frames near the back.

The 2 outside frames (front and back) have very little drawn comb on them yet but if I started rotating as you suggest then, if I work the frames towards the back, in a couple of weeks it would mean the standard frames had worked their way to the back and I am taking out frames with honey/pollen/brood. Does this matter?

 

[Millet]

I have never used them but what about frame extensions ? .

 

[enrico]

Obviously there will be some casualties if you do a rolling road type manoeuvre. Now I know what you have, I would leave the brood frames together but move towards one edge, I would then put my new frames I. Where most of the brood is layed. When they have started to put brood and food in the new frames I would move them to the new box which would have all the right frames and would be on top of the old box. Hopefully most of the brood will have gone from the old frames. There will be losses whatever happens. With only five frames the wrong size then they are never going to be too large. Eventually shethe queen is Inthe top box and most of the brood is there tooyou can get rid of the frames you don't want. Likewise it won't cost the earth to get five extension as millet suggests.
If you leave them building comb on the bottom most of that will be drone comb which isn't particularly helpful. You just have to manipulate them as best you can and remove the bad frames when it seems the losses will be less!
No easy answer.

 

[Broadbottobees]

Definitely a steep learning curve! We have some frame extensions but having read stuff online, decided it would be too complicated to add them to full frames. Maybe we will rethink? Sounds like we need to invest in a second Brood box. Our first jar of honey will be the most expensive ever lol.

 

[enrico]

Oh yes. Been keeping bees for nearly 40 years. Still not getting cheap honey! But it is the best!
You always need a spare everything, brood supers frames etc. So the first few years are expensive. Always keep to the same size hive, check out the sales for seconds
It is worth every penny despite the sleepless nights, tears and heartbreak. The good times outweigh the bad!
Welcome by the way.
E

 

[Broadbottobees]

Thanks Enrico. When we went on our intro course we were advised to go deep brood box which we now realise complicates matters regarding the supply of a nuc which are mostly on standard frames - but hopefully worth it in the long run
Also thanks Millet for the photo - yes, this is what we have but the idea of pinning the extensions to 'live'frames was a bit daunting!

 

[drex]

Just shake or brush all bees off a frame, back into the brood box, and add your extensions. Put the frame back in, it will soon be covered in bees again and move onto the next one. I do similar when I do a " chop and crop" to start off a new top bar hive, from a standard brood frame, but the surgery is far more brutal than pinning on extensions. Go for it. It really is quite simple.

 

[Millet]

Thanks Enrico. When we went on our intro course we were advised to go deep brood box which we now realise complicates matters regarding the supply of a nuc which are mostly on standard frames - but hopefully worth it in the long run
Also thanks Millet for the photo - yes, this is what we have but the idea of pinning the extensions to 'live'frames was a bit daunting!

No problem and enjoy your new found hobby and do as drex says when attaching the extensions, it will take very little time to do the full procedure..