Moving hives end of Feb.

[oliver90owner]

2 straps one way and one the other is better than ‘wrapping’ them. Of course, 4 straps is even better.

One can never predict accidents - and precautions are better than sorting out a mess afterwards.

I expect a pack of 4 narrow straps from the likes of Li*L or A*di are not expensive.

 

[peterbees]

I smell a little fishy on a little dishy

Do you know the seller? Are you sure they are his to sell? £400 is a giveaway.

 

[linoleum bonypart]

Could be a theft

 

[enrico]

You are very lucky well done. Moving bees is easy if done slowly and methodically. Keep loads of gaffer tape and ratchet straps. Good luck with the move. Some people go into beekeeping with gusto and then realise that it is not for them. They just want rid of all the kit. You were in the right place at the right time. Go for it
E

 

[simonforeman]

Guys I have checked into this and they are not a theft... My beekeeping friend knows him from their association days. They are all his own bees and equipment... As I said earlier he's a bit of an odd ball and not the nicest of people but I can be polite for a good deal. ... Until I have got it that is.....

 

[linoleum bonypart]

Well youve got a great deal even if no bees
Enjoy...... 100 miles easy this time of year

 

[thorn]

Guys I have checked into this and they are not a theft... My beekeeping friend knows him from their association days. They are all his own bees and equipment... As I said earlier he's a bit of an odd ball and not the nicest of people but I can be polite for a good deal. ... Until I have got it that is.....

Almost certainly on this forum, then.

 

[Swarm]

Guys I have checked into this and they are not a theft... My beekeeping friend knows him from their association days. They are all his own bees and equipment... As I said earlier he's a bit of an odd ball and not the nicest of people but I can be polite for a good deal. ... Until I have got it that is.....

That's the best approach, don't waste your time on him, you've just saved two colonies and had a great deal at the same time.
After you've sited them, don't forget to tell the bees they have a new keeper and you intend to look after them.

 

[simonforeman]

So today was the move... and all went well.

Strapped the hives without the lids and gaffa taped the entrances and boxes together.
Both colonies alive and well.

Looking at all the extra equipment i got
Enough boxes to make up another 3 full hives with supers
4 frame manual stainless extractor
2 bee suits
5 feeders
50+ frames with foundation
Loads of hive tools
Smoker
3 poly nucs with 14x12 ekes

The hives are all maismore hives 3 have 8" roofs so thats handy.
Couple of questions both hives have 1 super on each. 1 hive was very heavy so expect strong and has loads of stores. The other was very light. Do i need to feed them both?

If so i have ordered some fondent. Does this need to go on top of crownboard or straight on top of the super frames?

Also neither hive has a queen excluder between brood box or supers do i need to add one and when please?

Thanks simon

 

[linoleum bonypart]

Just feed the light one... Put it on the frames the bees may be away from the cb hole
Consider insulating the roofs with celotex or similar
No qe needed at this time of the year

 

[simonforeman]

Thanks bonypart....

When do you fit the QE?

Thanks simon

 

[enrico]

When it is warm enough for them to be working properly. The reason you don't fit it now is if the evenings get cold the cluster can get split with those that won't leave the queen below the excluder and those that can above it. This is exasperated if the food is one side of the excluder and the queen the other!
E

 

[Millet]

So today was the move... and all went well.

Strapped the hives without the lids and gaffa taped the entrances and boxes together.
Both colonies alive and well.

Looking at all the extra equipment i got
Enough boxes to make up another 3 full hives with supers
4 frame manual stainless extractor
2 bee suits
5 feeders
50+ frames with foundation
Loads of hive tools
Smoker
3 poly nucs with 14x12 ekes

The hives are all maismore hives 3 have 8" roofs so thats handy.
Couple of questions both hives have 1 super on each. 1 hive was very heavy so expect strong and has loads of stores. The other was very light. Do i need to feed them both?

If so i have ordered some fondent. Does this need to go on top of crownboard or straight on top of the super frames?

Also neither hive has a queen excluder between brood box or supers do i need to add one and when please?

Thanks simon

Good for you Simon and what a cracking bargain you have got.. i thought it was too good to be true to start with..
On the feeding question personally with you being pretty new i would feed both the colonies till you get the hang of hive weights properly.. a heavy hive to you might be light to the more experienced and the light one could be on it's last leg's so feed ASAP on top of the top bars with a eke above and a piece of 50mm celotex above the eke (if not poly hives) then the roof on top..as for the Queen exluder Enrico has covered that..good luck..

 

[simonforeman]

Thanks millet.... they are wooden hives. The light one I could of carried on my own....
the heavy one we moved 100yards and it was that heavy we had to put it down 3 times to have a rest....lol

I have in the kit 2 wooden crown boards that look like ekes, so am I right in thinking these are normally for feeders? Anyway they will do the trick for this...

I'm pretty excited for the coming year....

 

[Millet]

Thanks millet.... they are wooden hives. The light one I could of carried on my own....
the heavy one we moved 100yards and it was that heavy we had to put it down 3 times to have a rest....lol

I have in the kit 2 wooden crown boards that look like ekes, so am I right in thinking these are normally for feeders? Anyway they will do the trick for this...

I'm pretty excited for the coming year....

The heavy one sounds heavy but i would still feed to be on the safe side.. the light one sounds in trouble especially with the weather forecast we have.. do you not know anyone with some fondant so you can slap it on tomorrow quickly.. or know anyone who can assist you to get warm sugar syrup directly into the empty comb if they are on deaths door..

 

[drex]

Thanks millet.... they are wooden hives. The light one I could of carried on my own....
the heavy one we moved 100yards and it was that heavy we had to put it down 3 times to have a rest....lol

I have in the kit 2 wooden crown boards that look like ekes, so am I right in thinking these are normally for feeders? Anyway they will do the trick for this...

I'm pretty excited for the coming year....

An eke is just a square shim that creates a bit of extra space for fitting in fondant, apiguard etc. Some ekes can be part of a crown board. A crown board should be a solid sheet with no holes. Unfortunately manufacturers tend to supply them with holes in for taking Porter bee escapes ( if this is what you have you can still use them but put a bit of slate or tile etc over the holes.)

Put fondant directly on top of top bars, then your eke ( for space) , then crown board, insulation and roof.

 

[simonforeman]

This may be a silly question.....

Do supermarkets sell fondant that will be ok to use in an emergency before I can get some correct fondant. I'm on holiday all week so will not see my workmate who keeps bees to see if he has any....

I have ordered some but expect it to be 2-3 days before being delivered...

 

[maddydog]

This may be a silly question.....

Do supermarkets sell fondant that will be ok to use in an emergency before I can get some correct fondant. I'm on holiday all week so will not see my workmate who keeps bees to see if he has any....

I have ordered some but expect it to be 2-3 days before being delivered...

A damp bag of sugar has been used in the past by many in an emergency. Insulate the space around the sugar with whatever you have to hand

 

[philipm]

you could always make up some sugar blocks then they will fit into a small eke.they are easy to do, think the method has been mentioned on the forum in the past.

 

[drex]

This may be a silly question.....

Do supermarkets sell fondant that will be ok to use in an emergency before I can get some correct fondant. I'm on holiday all week so will not see my workmate who keeps bees to see if he has any....

I have ordered some but expect it to be 2-3 days before being delivered...

I always get mine (12.5Kg) from local baker, who always have it in stock, as long as they bake on the premises