First hive inspection video

[craynerd]

Morning,
My dad and I inspected our hive yesterday for the first time since installing the nuc last week.

We took the video to gain feedback and comments so please let me know if you spot anything we missed or anything I said or we did wrong.

https://youtu.be/lnF8Stre2Uw

 

[will]

I would have left them in a nuc to build up more as there's not a lot of bees, also when inspecting always hold the frame you take out over the hive as HM could fall of into the grass,

 

[craynerd]

Thanks Will
I was given the comment of keeping the frames above the hive so I will do that in future.
As there aren't many bees, is this going to be a problem with them in the hive. I do not have a nuc box as they were transfered out into my hive and the box taken back by the owner. Thanks for your time taken to comment.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Did you spot eggs? Ie is your queen laying?
Always check under the crown board for your queen. If you are using smoke then smoke and leave for a few minutes otherwise don't bother. Small colony on two frames of brood should still be in a nuc box preferably poly. Go buy one.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Morning,
My dad and I inspected our hive yesterday for the first time since installing the nuc last week.

We took the video to gain feedback and comments so please let me know if you spot anything we missed or anything I said or we did wrong.

https://youtu.be/lnF8Stre2Uw

First impressions
Not a lot of bees on your combs. I suspect you won't have access but if you could bolster the colony with another frame of close to emerging brood it would be a great benefit to the colony. There is a critical mass of bees in a hive below which the colony struggles but when reached it is a springboard to growth.
The video doesn't give a clear picture of what's in the cells (eggs, small larvae etc). This might be because I'm viewing on a tablet.
The use of the dummy board to limit activity to a volume similar to a nuc is ok and as the outer frames are drawn you can add frames of foundation progressively. This is better than overfacing the colony with several frames of foundation at once.
Using an insulated divider would help, as would insulation on the crownboard.
If the nectar is currently being foraged locally they will have raw materials for comb building but thin (1:1) syrup will provide alternative supplies for the job.
As others have commented don't drop the queen outside the hive during manipulation.
Keep reading, keep asking, filter the replies and good luck.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

If you're forced by circumstances to use a brood box when ideally you'd like to use a nuc, you can minimise the damage by filling the empty space with insulation so that the small colony does not have to keep warm all that empty space - the board you are using on the end of the frames will not stop heat leaching into the empty space and being lost to the bees.

Check the underside of the crown board or queen excluder for the queen whenever you remove it from a brood box.

If you're going to make further videos of your beekeeping, think about using a remote mike inside the veil of the beek doing the manipulations - so much clearer for the viewer to hear what's being seen.

CVB

 

[snelgrove]

Reminds me of when I first started some 30 years ago. My dad and I would inspect my hive or hives together. Half the time I didn't no what I was doing, the super wuld be on then off then on. Main thing is stick at it and learn from your mistakes, don't make the same mistake twice.
Not many bees and I would feed a thin syrup to help them build up, as there wasn't a great deal of stores.

 

[JWF]

And close that vent on the Crown Board as that allows warm air to leave the brood box and gives them more work to do.