Cushman AS hive swapping

[Bob Bee]

Having done a split Artificial swarm, Dave Cushman advises that the moved, doner hive can be swapped from one side of the queenright hive to the other, to equal out the numbers of bees in each colony, have people done this. Is there a point when to start (1 week ?) and is there a time to stop (21 days ?) before they are likely to fight.
I'm guessing only do it in good weather? Any advice welcome.

 

[Polyanwood]

I sometimes do it if one box looks short on bees. Mostly i don't bother.

The fighting thing is a red herring I think. Thy mostly let in foragers returning fully laden, even if they are from another hive.

 

[casualman]

I believe the reason for the swap is to reduce the number of flying bees in the hive with the QC's to prevent the first Queen to hatch leaving with half the bes and further caste swarms. See Hooper

 

[Mike a]

Swapping frames of sealed brood is my preferred option but if the small colony isn't able to keep that frame at a constant temperature its a waste of time. Colony balancing is some thing I've done with a couple of my hives for the last few years. The trick is not to swap a small colony with a very large colony (Strong foraging force) or the small colony will be overwhelmed and the queen could be attacked and killed.

Its a reasonably simple method to increase the number of overall bees in the colony with minimal fuss without swapping frames between hives, the queen is then able to lay more eggs as the hive is kept at a constant temperature and the colony is able to build up quicker. On careful inspection you may find some sealed brood has chilled along the bottom of one or two frames and after 1-2 weeks the colony size diminishes but quickly recovers again over the following few weeks.

 

[For want of a better word]

Having done a split Artificial swarm, Dave Cushman advises that the moved, doner hive can be swapped from one side of the queenright hive to the other, to equal out the numbers of bees in each colony, have people done this. Is there a point when to start (1 week ?) and is there a time to stop (21 days ?) before they are likely to fight.
I'm guessing only do it in good weather? Any advice welcome.

http://mainebeekeepers.org/information-for-beekeepers/swarming-reviewed/
as posted on another thread... the time of year... beats OA though!!