Anyone undertake a Bailey Comb change with WBC hives

[Jules59]

Anyone undertake a Bailey Comb change with WBC hives?
If so, how.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

exactly the same as you would with a normal hive, although of course you can't put an upper entrance on to stop them storing pollen in the lower box

 

[plain_hunt]

I do, as JBM says, the same way, but as soon as the queen is laying in the top box, I put that on the bottom, put QE in place, and move the old brood box to above the super(s). Then remove that as soon as the brood has mostly emerged, about 2.5/3 weeks later. There always seems to be the odd worker cell that doesn’t emerge.

 

[Jules59]

Thanks for that.
I was wondering if it was possible to run a more traditional Bailey comb change within the lifts:
If you seal off the lower old box with a solid floor below it, remove the bridge piece (if you use one) and insert a Bailey eke above the old box would the bees then quickly learn to walk up the front of the box to the new entrance having entered via the normal lift entrance?
Would a conduit of some sort help the bees get to the new entrance without getting lost up the roof space?

 

[Ian123]

Thanks for that.
I was wondering if it was possible to run a more traditional Bailey comb change within the lifts:
If you seal off the lower old box with a solid floor below it, remove the bridge piece (if you use one) and insert a Bailey eke above the old box would the bees then quickly learn to walk up the front of the box to the new entrance having entered via the normal lift entrance?
Would a conduit of some sort help the bees get to the new entrance without getting lost up the roof space?

If your floor has the bar on that’s meant to seal the gap between bottom box and the first porch lift (most fall off or get removed) then just pop the cone on the roof or drill a hole in a lift that corresponds with the top box. The bees will find the entrance from an open crown board!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

But why do you feel the need to Bailey them in the first place?

 

[Jules59]

But why do you feel the need to Bailey them in the first place?

I don't, at the moment.
But the usual reasons are nosema or comb change en-masse without loss of brood.

 

[Jules59]

The bees will find the entrance from an open crown board!

Don't you mean exit ie the cone bee escape in the roof.
I have those already.

 

[Jules59]

So, as nobody has said its "total madness", if and when I do a Bailey I will use a Bailey eke above a QX , seal off the usual way into the bottom box, remove the bridge/bar and let the bees find their way upto the new entrance.
I just wondered if they would exit the hive from the usual entrance (ie walk back down the way the they went in) or go up via the roof escape which would be a bottle-neck.
I also wondered if a purpose-made conduit from hive entrance to Bailey eke entrance would prevent them from contaminating the inside of the lifts (if they had nosema). I clean the lifts anyway but getting extra poop off is just more work.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

the usual reasons are nosema or comb change en-masse without loss of brood.

There are two different types if Bailey change on the market
The one that people usually bang on about is the modified Bailey change, used to get bees on to new comb where you put a box of foundation above the brood box, wait for them to draw it, get the queen laying up there then take the old box away once all the brood in there has emerged.
The true Bailey change, to address disease is when you put a box of sterilized drawn comb above the old box, get the queen up there immediately with a QX between both boxes.

 

[Jules59]

Out of interest, what is your preferred method of sterilising drawn comb ?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Out of interest, what is your preferred method of sterilising drawn comb ?

never felt the need to do so. If the Nosema is that bad, the colony is doomed. If it's not, then no need for any comb manipulations.

 

[Erichalfbee]

never felt the need to do so. If the Nosema is that bad, the colony is doomed. If it's not, then no need for any comb manipulations.

I think Jules is alluding to this

The true Bailey change, to address disease is when you put a box of sterilized drawn comb above the old box, get the queen up there immediately with a QX between both boxes.

Out of interest, what is your preferred method of sterilising drawn comb ?

I'm sure JBM means clean

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

In the original writings by Bailey they spoke of sterilzed comb. Not being interested in performing such manipulations, I never gave it much thought but assumed they meant sterile rather than sterilized, in other words just clean/not from an infected hive, but with the objective of getting the bees off the infected comb as soon as possible.

 

[judy12]

JBM's method by far the easiest - put a clean bb on brood chamber, when queen goes up and is happy laying , reverse the boxes with qe between. They'll clear the stores upstairs and you can remove the lower box when all brood has emerged. I've never quite understood all that faffing around with the Bailey change.