From: "joel acheson" <joeljed@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 09 Oct 2001 20:11:43 +0000
To: BiologicalBeekeeping@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: Shakedowns or Introducing Foundation

>To put my bees on 4.9 foundation, I thought it too stressful to do
>two shakedowns in one short season. One three pound package arrived
>in April, which I put on frames with top foundation strips. This is
>ONE SHAKEDOWN, the shakedown occurring at the package supplier's
>yard. The package bees pulled comb from the top strips, with cell
>size measuring 5.1 to 5.2 mm.

Thanx Kyle. I did pretty much the same as you, starting last April and May
with 3# packages, only you apparently got smarter beez than I did. Mine
pulled mostly 5.5 and up into drone size from the starter strips, so I put
them on Dadant 4.9 right away. Initially they pulled 4.9 - 5.2 cells for
maybe a quarter of the way down, and then made some pretty strange and LARGE
cell comb - mostly drone-type stuff. I have seen some negative comments
about the Dadant 4.9, but I have been quite well pleased with it. If only
it weren't so spendy!

I just kept adding 3 or 4 new frames of 4.9 foundation every 2 wks or so,
and by the end of the season all of the girls were making 4.9 - 5.1 all the
way down, with just a little drone cell on the very bottom edge. (As a side
note here, I noticed that in the past on standard size brood comb, there
would be an oval laying pattern, honey and pollen stores surrounding. With
the 4.9 brood comb, I see more of the wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-floor
laying pattern - using almost all of the frame for brood with the stores in
other frames above. Is that typical?) I expect to get all of them down to
just 4.9 in the spring. All in all, I'm pretty well pleased and excited by
the first year's progress and am looking at next spring with great
anticipation!

I plan to make up frames of new 4.9 foundation and shave the end bars down
from the present 35mm down to 32mm to provide closer spacing for the frames
(think SMALL, girls!). Should be able to get 11 frames in a lang body that
way, as well. I'm hoping that the (10%) increase of an extra frame, plus
the (20%?) increase in cell count per frame will give the queen enuf extra
brood space to cut down on the swarming urge. Comments anyone?

Weather here in NW Misery is now cooling off. Still plenty of drones
around, and the girls are still apparently getting pollen, and nectar, from
somewhere. Still zero sign of mites or other troubles with the colonies,
although a couple of frames of honey I had in the house had some wax moth
larvae in them last week. Not for long, though. I am greatly blessed in my
bees.

Again, I extend my appreciation to all of you on BioBee - I have learned
from each of you, and could not possibly be in my present situation without
this knowledge.

Shalom, Joel