Hive Guide Update

I've recently added a new section to the guide.
Poly Nuc's
I also intend to make a few other minor changes in the next few days. The guide is now approximately 25 Meg so it will take some time to download so please be patient if you click on the Hive Guide cover picture in the side bar or alternatively the link below. 


Hive Guide2011


Once again thank you for all the feedback, I really appreciate that you took the time to email me to let me know what you think of the guide and all requests to use it as part of a training package for new bee keepers. 


Good News
Several people have made requests for another guide, one subject seems to be very popular so I am happy to let you know I will be working on new guide to do with bee keeping but not hives which will be available later this year.
Mike

March 27th Colony Adjustments

I've decided to transfer one of my strong colonies into a Langstroth poly hive. I tried this late last year without much success. However this time I've taken a different approach.


I started by shifting the National hive to one side, so I could turn the hive stand round 90' and place a wooden board down so the feet of the poly hive had a good base. I then put the poly hive on top and carefully arranged the frames before adding a ply wood template ( as the langstroth hive is longer than a national the ply board will be used as a temporary roof) before putting the National back on top.

-  Template shown stood up so you can see the over all size and the large hole in it.

-  National Hive Brood + Super for 14x12 frames

-  Template shown between the two chambers
-  Langstroth deep brood chamber and floor


The aim is to allow the colony to expand downwards over time. Once they have drawn out enough of the Langstroth frames I will insert a queen excluder and a frame of brood below so the queen has no choice but to use the lower chamber.

Here is a picture I took from a distance two days later as I didn't have my bee suit.

March Inspection II

After finding the two struggling colonies yesterday, I decided only one of them was worth trying to save. So I put together a poly nuc with 3 new frames and transferred the colony and two frames with large amounts of capped syrup into the nuc and added an empty frame feeder as well, just to help fill out the space. To some this may seem a little early to be making this sort of adjustment, but the old hive floor and frames were littered with dead bees which were mouldy and the colony would of struggled to keep warm in a full size chamber.  

Twenty minutes later.

March Inspection

Had a great day today. 

March Inspection 
First time I've opened them up to look inside properly. Lifted the crown boards and was glad to find four of my six colonies looking good and building up nicely although a little light on stores. The other two colonies not shown in this video will need to be combined and put into a nuc if they are to survive as one of the queens has failed, the other is only laying a small patch of eggs as the colony is very small.