Winter brood box combination advice

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simonforeman

Field Bee
Joined
Jan 11, 2018
Messages
625
Reaction score
55
Location
lincolnshire
Hive Type
14x12
Number of Hives
8
I'm ok with what feed the bees need as stores for winter but what about brood boxes.... I know lots will have different ways of overwintering their bees but interesting to hear...

3 of my hives are on single national with 1 super on each with around 2 frames of capped honey and all drawn comb (qx in place at he moment) and are still on around 7-8 frames of brood so hopefully they will slow down soon so there's room for stores. 1 of them is laying up any spare cells even in outside frames...
My other hive is on double brood but not as prolific and I think I could get them into 1 bb and take out empty frames. Would you do this? I have seen other threads where beeks saying they go from double brood boxes to over winter in 1, how to do this?
I had thought if it is possible to move this hive to single bb and place a super on this and move the other bb to my other hive that is still laying well and let them fill it and over winter on 2 full brood boxes taking the super off this one... I have loads of ivy now coming out into flower and also weather is warming up again this week. I have completed first round of vaping also if this affects anything
Any thoughts advice welcome....
 
Mine are getting weighed when i mess on with them...god knows what they have in the brood box as i have not opened the brood area for nearly a Month now...that will be done next year.. i have one Nuc to check but that is the only reason i will be destroying all the work they have done for winter.
 
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