Replacing Brood Comb

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SwiftOtter

New Bee
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
32
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Location
Cambridge
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
2
My hive has 5 drawn Hoffman frames which are at least a year old, possibly older but not sure how much since they came with the nucleus colony which I bought last July. The remaining frames are all BS frames with drawn foundation and obviously less than a year old. I have been advised to replace a third of the frames each year, and the sensible frames to make a start on removing are the oldest Hoffman frames, since all the remaining frames we have are BS. However these are in the centre of the brood box and I have also been advised not to split the brood. My questions are:
1: Can I leave all of these frames for another year before removing them?
2: How do I remove these central frames without causing undue disturbance? I really don't want to remove frames full of brood while the colony is building up in spring.

Should I move them to the front gradually in the hope that over winter the cluster over the newer frames and they can be replaced next spring? What is the best way of getting round this?


Cheers
Chris
 
At only a year old I'd not bother this year but as this season goes on if its the hoffmans you want out I'd migrate them to the outer sides and move them out next spring.
 

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