Moving a colony into a new hive.

[Scots_Mike]

Hi
Looking to see if anyone has some views on the plan I have for my bees this season.
Having read an article in the BBKA Magazine about Drayton hives I decide I would give my bees a new home.
Over the winter I built myself my own version of a Drayton hive (couldn't justify the £700 Thornes want for one!) and am now plotting the move.
At the moment my colony is in a standard brood box sitting on top of a super of honey (no queen excluder) that I left them to over winter on. The bees have survived so far and in fact have been flying clearing out dead bees and coming back with pollen so I guess the queen is about to start laying if not already up and running.
My plan is to move them into the new hive before the colony really expands probably mid to late March if the weather is suitable and there is capped brood present.
A couple of week prior to moving them I plan to set up a new stand and floor next to the existing hive then move the brood box on to it and if there's any honey left in the super put that on top with a queen excluder under it. This will allow me to move the existing stand and floor out of the way as that is the space the new hive will occupy.
Would really appreciate any views/suggestions as I've never moved a colony into a new hive before.
Thanks
Mike

 

[Erichalfbee]

Am I right in thinking a Drayton hive is just a longer version of a 14x12?

 

[Scots_Mike]

Hi Dani - yes its a horizontal hive using 14x12 frames.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Then put the new box next to the old one and just move the frames over. Put them next to one wall with a foundation frame each side and a dummy. Add more frames as they are drawn. They will build down but you can work those frames out over the season.
I bet that super is already empty

 

[Erichalfbee]

It sounds exciting anyway. You should post a picture

 

[Scots_Mike]

Thanks - I'll will post a couple of pics

 

[PeaBee]

Hi Mike,
I think your plan would work provided we have a mild march. I am assuming your current hive and new drayton are the same sized frames. Not sure your preliminary move is necessary. If it was mine i would probably leave it until late march. Then on the given day just move the old hive off to one side. Position the drayton in the old hives spot (with the entrance at the same orientation)and then transfer the frames with the bees. I assume that the shallow frames dont go in the drayton so you may want to reverse them and use an excluder prior to them expanding into it or remove it. Though I would be surprised if they had expanded much by march. Good luck with it, sure it will go fine what ever way you choose.

 

[Scots_Mike]

Hi PeaBee
Yes weather will be the key decider on timing.
Frames are different size so to begin with the bees will draw down off the bottom of transferred frames. I will gradually remove these frames over the season so by the end all frames will all being well be 14x12.

 

[PeaBee]

Sounds like you have a plan. Can't see any issues with it, rotating the frames out gradually is sensible. Dayton hives look interesting.

 

[Scots_Mike]

A couple of pics and a vid of the project

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Am I right in thinking a Drayton hive is just a longer version of a 14x12?

It's just another variation of a long, deep hive but 'heavily insulated' and with a vertical QX which is no recent innovation, and also like Pargyle, the 'inventor' goes foundationless

 

[Boston Bees]

Hi
Looking to see if anyone has some views on the plan I have for my bees this season.
Having read an article in the BBKA Magazine about Drayton hives I decide I would give my bees a new home.
Over the winter I built myself my own version of a Drayton hive (couldn't justify the £700 Thornes want for one!) and am now plotting the move.
At the moment my colony is in a standard brood box sitting on top of a super of honey (no queen excluder) that I left them to over winter on. The bees have survived so far and in fact have been flying clearing out dead bees and coming back with pollen so I guess the queen is about to start laying if not already up and running.
My plan is to move them into the new hive before the colony really expands probably mid to late March if the weather is suitable and there is capped brood present.
A couple of week prior to moving them I plan to set up a new stand and floor next to the existing hive then move the brood box on to it and if there's any honey left in the super put that on top with a queen excluder under it. This will allow me to move the existing stand and floor out of the way as that is the space the new hive will occupy.
Would really appreciate any views/suggestions as I've never moved a colony into a new hive before.
Thanks
Mike

I'm a bit confused by the order in which you intend to do things, and this talk of a new stand and floor.

You surely just need to treat this the same as any hive switch (or transferring a nuc into a full sized hive).

1) On the day of the switch, move the old hive to one side (no new floor required, or stand, it can just go on the ground, or a box, or whatever),
2) Put the new Drayton hive in its place, with the entrance in the same place as the original entrance of course.
3) Open both lids and transfer the frames over.
4) Shake the now-empty brood box into the new hive to get the remaining bees in there.
5) Then I would just shake the super frames into the new hive, and take them away (if there's lots of stores in them still you could just extract them).
6) Remove all remaining bits of old hive (having double checked queen isn't on them, if you haven't already seen her!) for cleaning etc
7) Go for physio session to repair damage done by moving Drayton hive, the heaviest hive format ever designed

Whole thing done in 20 minutes

 

[Scots_Mike]

Thanks Bumblebee - yes heavy hive it is but once in position will never be moved again - I hope!

 

[Boston Bees]

Thanks Bumblebee - yes heavy hive it is but once in position will never be moved again - I hope!

Wonderful looking beast though

 

[pargyle]

It's just another variation of a long, deep hive but 'heavily insulated' and with a vertical QX which is no recent innovation, and also like Pargyle, the 'inventor' goes foundationless

Been there ... Still like my LDH but it's an acquired taste: The queen excluder is largely unneccessary - they will just store honey in the outer frames - for extraction it needs a spinner that can take 14 x 12 frames - and has been said - they are very heavy. Not great honey producers but they do produce really big colonies.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/99514363@N06/albums/72157634865981506

 

[Murox]

It's just another variation of a long, deep hive but 'heavily insulated' and with a vertical QX which is no recent innovation, and also like Pargyle, the 'inventor' goes foundationless

Been there ... Still like my LDH but it's an acquired taste: The queen excluder is largely unneccessary - they will just store honey in the outer frames - for extraction it needs a spinner that can take 14 x 12 frames - and has been said - they are very heavy. Not great honey producers but they do produce really big colonies.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/99514363@N06/albums/72157634865981506

very much like my own long deep hives - didn't realise someone had given the style a name though. As Pargyle suggests they are are not the greatest honey producers and they really can/do make very large colonies - last season I bodged a super on top of one of them during peak flow, with so many bees it was drawn filled and capped in double quick time.

 

[pargyle]

Hi Dani - yes its a horizontal hive using 14x12 frames.

Whilst I agree with some of the things he says in the website - some of them are a bit fanciful. The window is pointess - just creates a potential heat loss and you can't tell a lot looking in from the side. His insulation (bags of straw) could be seriously improved by using Celotex or Kingspan insulation. I think the stiffened hessian covers are just a throwback to his Warre hives - I'd go for a solid clear polycarbonate crownboard with top bee space and that would really allow you to look at the bees without disturbing them. I'd have a mesh floor in it as well ....

https://www.draytonbeehive.com/development-of-the-drayton-hive
Mind you - I'm speaking from experience as I 'reinvented' the Dartington Long Deep Hive 10 years ago so he's probably got a few years of development before he catches up ! Robin Dartington got there about 20 years ago as well ....

 

[pargyle]

very much like my own long deep hives - didn't realise someone had given the style a name though. As Pargyle suggests they are are not the greatest honey producers and they really can/do make very large colonies - last season I bodged a super on top of one of them during peak flow, with so many bees it was drawn filled and capped in double quick time.

Robin Dartington called it the Dartington hive at least 20 years ago - nothing really new there is there ?

 

[Boston Bees]

very much like my own long deep hives - didn't realise someone had given the style a name though. As Pargyle suggests they are are not the greatest honey producers and they really can/do make very large colonies - last season I bodged a super on top of one of them during peak flow, with so many bees it was drawn filled and capped in double quick time.

Interesting. So is the experience of long hive users generally that bees will draw comb and store honey vertically a lot more willingly than horizontally?

 

[Newbeeneil]

My long hive uses DN1 frames but is designed to be able to have supers above it. They seem to like storing honey in the supers directly above the main nest so I tend to use spare supers on the other end to balance the roof.
They do make large colonies - 12+ frames of brood - which is great for making up nucs but I also took 60lb of honey off it last year.