first inspection...

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Very pleasant here today up till 15.00hrs mild with lots of clouds and colonies fairly busy so went for it and quickly inspected four of my six colonies.
All pretty good 7, 8 & two with 12 frames of brood, drones and drone brood present in all as well so harmony in all colonies .
Considering it is the first openng since September all behaved impeccably , stores were adequate with approx. 10lbs in each colony.
Not all ready just yet for supers , just a case of being ready for the spring flows to start in earnest.
My collected swarm in September have over wintered nicley in the single BB and will go on to double by the weekend .

All colonies showing signs of some fresh stores foraged so hopefully now the clocks have gone fwd some warmer temps are here to stay.
 
The colony in the Long hive is a swarm that arrived last spring and usurped the fading DLQ and her remaining offspring, they are a gentle lot so propose to put them in to a BS national set up to see how well their foraging instincts are .
My CBPV colony from last year having pulled thru from their ordeal look very well, 12 frames of EUS and fresh stores have been foraged. Not ready just yet for a super but as with all will be keeping an eye out for the early flows to start proper.

edited : spelling errors.
 
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i think i over feed mine as lots of stores left in most colonies....
I have two left yet to inspect, though have hefted them one feels very heavy still but are very busy.
Typically I don't feed too much in Autumn until I see how the ivy forage is going .
As long as it is mild then ivy forage of the past few years has been very good, I only think about feeding heavily if the Autumn turns very wet or very much cooler.
They usually get 0.5 - 1 gallon of wet feed with thymol to add to the winter store mix and typically I manage them on 35 - 40lbs of stores.
Poly hives I find tend to be better (more frugal) with consuming stores pro rata to those on non insulated hives , however poly do tend to be a little a head of the game when it comes to expansion and brood rearing so in all the stores usage equal out and they all to have similar amounts . The poly's are heavier when hefted in deep winter but they soon become lighter once brood rearing get under way in earnest from mid Feb onwards as they tend to be ahead of those in wooden hives.
If I can heft a colony (heavy roof removed) with one two fingers easily without much resistance in the lift then I plonk on a 1ltr tub of fondant until I can quickly have a look inside, unlike a lot of fiddlers itching to open in all weather I do wait until the clocks go forward as with this year to catch a half weather window for a quick assessment.

Experience and faith in ones ability (management of colonies) should hold one in good stead. Three things one can do and must be on top of in Autumn, stop fiddling after July /August. Use a good varroa treatment process that gives proper 95% + mite knock down, don't feed to early as one wants max winter brood rearing to be unhindered by clogged stores. Know the stores quantity by adding up the frame stores by sight so one knows how much they have and might need as one enters into mid Sept, make allowances for ivy by knowing where the sources are in your locale.

My quick spring assessment is to remove the second frame from each end to check stores or brood (this also allows me to see the faces of the two adj frames) and then lift the middle frame to check for brood and also the two adj faces of frames. Often this is all that is needed, as long as brood pattern is good there is no need to delve deeper for eggs , larvae or to find the Qu. Normal proper full inspections can wait a few more weeks until the weather improves more .
Keep things simple get to know how hefting can tell how a light and heavy hive feels to gauge hive weight for stores.

P.s
Excuse the ramble Cc, not aimed at you but just generally everyone who feels a need or itch to fiddle way too early.
 
quick spring assessment is to remove the second frame from each end to check stores or brood (this also allows me to see the faces of the two adj frames) and then lift the middle frame to check for brood and also the two adj faces of frames. Often this is all that is needed, as long as brood pattern is good there is no need to delve deeper for eggs , larvae or to find the Qu. Normal proper full inspections can wait a few more weeks until the weather improves more .
Yes, I like it: absolute minimum.

Even less can be appropriate: if you take the CB off and find a colony bursting with bees, no need to pull frames to confirm that the queen is going full steam ahead. I look at them and think: extra box, and move on. The odd ones - half a box of bees, not much flying - need closer examination, to check brood & Q and maybe put in a nuc.
 
Simply keeping on double brood will allow space in early spring , strong queens have then the extra room they need to buy the apiarist three or four weeks of grace entering into late March/April when temps are low. In very rare mild years with settled early mild /warm weather one can inspect much earlier in March .
 
I have two left yet to inspect, though have hefted them one feels very heavy still but are very busy.
Typically I don't feed too much in Autumn until I see how the ivy forage is going .
As long as it is mild then ivy forage of the past few years has been very good, I only think about feeding heavily if the Autumn turns very wet or very much cooler.
They usually get 0.5 - 1 gallon of wet feed with thymol to add to the winter store mix and typically I manage them on 35 - 40lbs of stores.
Poly hives I find tend to be better (more frugal) with consuming stores pro rata to those on non insulated hives , however poly do tend to be a little a head of the game when it comes to expansion and brood rearing so in all the stores usage equal out and they all to have similar amounts . The poly's are heavier when hefted in deep winter but they soon become lighter once brood rearing get under way in earnest from mid Feb onwards as they tend to be ahead of those in wooden hives.
If I can heft a colony (heavy roof removed) with one two fingers easily without much resistance in the lift then I plonk on a 1ltr tub of fondant until I can quickly have a look inside, unlike a lot of fiddlers itching to open in all weather I do wait until the clocks go forward as with this year to catch a half weather window for a quick assessment.

Experience and faith in ones ability (management of colonies) should hold one in good stead. Three things one can do and must be on top of in Autumn, stop fiddling after July /August. Use a good varroa treatment process that gives proper 95% + mite knock down, don't feed to early as one wants max winter brood rearing to be unhindered by clogged stores. Know the stores quantity by adding up the frame stores by sight so one knows how much they have and might need as one enters into mid Sept, make allowances for ivy by knowing where the sources are in your locale.

My quick spring assessment is to remove the second frame from each end to check stores or brood (this also allows me to see the faces of the two adj frames) and then lift the middle frame to check for brood and also the two adj faces of frames. Often this is all that is needed, as long as brood pattern is good there is no need to delve deeper for eggs , larvae or to find the Qu. Normal proper full inspections can wait a few more weeks until the weather improves more .
Keep things simple get to know how hefting can tell how a light and heavy hive feels to gauge hive weight for stores.

P.s
Excuse the ramble Cc, not aimed at you but just generally everyone who feels a need or itch to fiddle way too early.
agree and dont mind a ramble at all

my inspections were similar to your description and most of mine are on double brood boxes....didn't look in bottom boxes in any as could see there was brood in LBB on stronger colonies because the arc was quite low and therefore extended below...in fact, most had drone brood extending into LBB frames

re feeding i usually feed as late as possible but before temps drop too much for syrup
 
arc was quite low and therefore extended below
The advantage of swapping boxes at that stage is that it gives them work to do to fill the new gap between the two halves of the nest, and so buys you time. It also gives them the opportunity to finish drawing comb on the bottom of the LBB frames (now above) which on an OMF they can be reluctant to do.

Usual caveat: reasonable expectation of warmer weather to avoid chilled brood; a stuffed DBB will have no trouble dealing with the inversion.
 
Managed to get around to the orchard apairy this morning and had a shufty at the two next to each there, on approach I could hear them as they noisily were going about their business.
Both doing quite well lots of drone brood present (no they aren't going to swarm, it is natural to have drones within the colony).
Both on double brood , stores approx. 8 -10lbs remaining and again the difference between wooden DB and Poly DB, the former with brood on 8 frames and the latter brood on 12 frames.
A little gentle smoke to start with and niff via the CB lifting, and considering they haven't been opened for 6 months they showed impeccable manners.
A great winter for my bees six out of six all going very well, no signs of CPBV this early and no DLQ's this year.
 
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