Very chalk broody

[bjosephd]

What do people do to 'beat' chalk brood these days?

I have a hive that seems chalk broody as hell but I have stopped opening up as they seem to be superseding.

I know re-queening is a method so maybe I just watch and wait.

If they weren't superceding I would probably try and get them in a new box on new frames... or at least reduce them down to a smaller more house-keeping manageable space.

 

[Anduril]

I requeen, I had one hive a few years ago 50% chalkbrood the colony never grew in size, I requeened it and that was the end of the problem. Chalkbrood should clear up in the summer and then return next year. You could destroy the supersedure cell and queen and add a frame of eggs and larvae from another hive for them to draw out queen cells. Or make up a nuc and combine later.

 

[bjosephd]

Now they are superseding I'm reluctant to dig through.

Will check for a new laying queen on election day.

She's a gentle queen and bot been chalk broody before, so I'd be interested to carry her genes on and she how she mates.

 

[Finman]

What do people do to 'beat' chalk brood these days?

I have a hive that seems chalk broody as hell but I have stopped opening up as they seem to be superseding.

I know re-queening is a method so maybe I just watch and wait.

If they weren't superceding I would probably try and get them in a new box on new frames... or at least reduce them down to a smaller more house-keeping manageable space.

Buy a new laying Queen. You must change the genes. If you take a daughter of sick Queen, you get a sick daughter. So simple.

 

[Michael Palmer]

Are any of your queen breeders selecting for a high level of the hygienic trait?
Requeening with unselected stock is a crap shoot when dealing with chalkbrood. Use selected stock and chalk will disappear.

 

[Anduril]

Buy a new laying Queen. You must change the genes. If you take a daughter of sick Queen, you get a sick daughter. So simple.

Sometimes Finnie you sound like a stocks and shares trader. Buy buy buy

 

[bjosephd]

I just find as a hobby beekeeper you end up requeening your angry queen, requeening your varroa queen, requeening your chalk brood queen, requeening your greedy queen, requeening your bad harvest queen, requeening your bad comb building queen, requeening your sticky propolis queen, your slow build up queen... the list goes on ££££

If you keep buying - the final solution is to simply just go buy a jar of honey.

I'd love to have a breeding program, but with 5 hives I think I have a way to go.

Anyway... we'll see how this quern mates. And once I have more hives I will be more brutal with my selections.

 

[madasafish]

I just find as a hobby beekeeper you end up requeening your angry queen, requeening your varroa queen, requeening your chalk brood queen, requeening your greedy queen, requeening your bad harvest queen, requeening your bad comb building queen, requeening your sticky propolis queen, your slow build up queen... the list goes on ££££

If you keep buying - the final solution is to simply just go buy a jar of honey.

I'd love to have a breeding program, but with 5 hives I think I have a way to go.

Anyway... we'll see how this quern mates. And once I have more hives I will be more brutal with my selections.

Five hives is a good start. Use a Cloake board and a Jenter/Nicot Cupkit and you can raise queen from your best hive quite simply and interfere very little with honey production... (I am surprised this method is not advocated more often.. a lot easier than learning how to graft)

 

[Erichalfbee]

Check for nosema. The two often go together
You don't even need to open the hive. Just let ten bees escape into a jar held over the feeder hole and do a quick squash

 

[Finman]

Sometimes Finnie you sound like a stocks and shares trader. Buy buy buy

From where you get chalk brood resistant queens? From you own sick yard.

Do just as you wish. I gove to you a very experienced advice. Peep.

Let the hive be just like now. In warm summer chalkbrood will disappear, and it will burst again next spring.

Nosema is late autumn disease. IT has nothing to do chalkbrood.
.

 

[Finman]

.
Laying Queen costs £ 25. Four jars of honey.

Or rear you own Queen and it lays in July. That is a good business. And surely not bring any honey this summer.

 

[bjosephd]

I would say a £25 laying queen is as big a gamble as mating my own!

I'd pay double to he confident it's not any old queen from god knows where.

But yes, your maths makes sense if it's all about being a honey farmer.

 

[Finman]

Sometimes Finnie you sound like a stocks and shares trader. Buy buy buy

If you use your brains...

When I weeded chalkbrood from my apiary, I bought queens from 5 (five) different places. Then I put the queens into sick hives to see what happens. The best queen was from Italy.

 

[Anduril]

If you use your brains...

When I weeded chalkbrood from my apiary, I bought queens from 5 (five) different places. Then I put the queens into sick hives to see what happens. The best queen was from Italy.

Sometimes Finnie you sound like a stocks and shares trader. Buy buy buy

It's a joke, you would say Welsh humour.

 

[Anduril]

Are any of your queen breeders selecting for a high level of the hygienic trait?
Requeening with unselected stock is a crap shoot when dealing with chalkbrood. Use selected stock and chalk will disappear.

£47.50 for a LASI queen.

 

[Finman]

.
Hygienic bees does not work in open mating with village mongrels.

Chalkbrood immune genes are different than hygienic.

Amen

 

[Finman]

£47.50 for a LASI queen.

That is not a bad price. 5 kg honey.
.

 

[maddydog]

That is not a bad price. 5 kg honey.
.

I can think of better queens for that money!

 

[bjosephd]

I can think of better queens for that money!

Indeed... I had one delivered just yesterday!

 

[Eyeman]

One of mine is cleaning out all the mummies