Setting up new hive from old one

[kenpkr]

I will be helping a friend set up a new hive from an old one that has not been opened in over 10 years.
Our plan is to remove (keep intact)as much of the brood comb as possible and transfer it over to the new frames to be put in a new hive body. I expect there to be much burr comb that will need to be torn through. How should we go about this with the greatest chance of success. Please be specific as neither one of us have done this before and I've only kept bees for 3 years. I'm considering somehow wiring or rubberbanding the brood comb in empty frames and trying to get the majority of bees over into the new box. The more I think about it, the more involved this little endeavor seems to appear. :confused: Thanks!
Ken

[db_land]

If there's no time pressure, I would just set a medium super baited with some drawn comb and honey on top of the old hive. When the queen moves up and starts laying in it, and you know she's in the new box, put a queen excluder between it and the old hive. After all of the brood has emerged in the old hive boxes, remove the boxes, one-at-a-time, and replace them with new boxes on top. All of this should take no more than 4 weeks. Now you can recycle the old hives comb and clean it up for the next swarm.

:cool:

[Michael Bush]

You can also flip the old boxes upside down (if they don't fall apart) and the bees will be more inclined to move up.

You could also put a few frames of brood in the new box and then smoke and drum them up to get the queen in the upper box and then put an excluder on so she can't move back down. A few frames of brood in the new box will be enough to keep them taking care of the queen.

Are you doing a cut out of the comb and tying it in new frames?

[kenpkr]

Yes, the tentative plan is to cut out as much comb as possible then tie or use rubber bands to secure the comb in empty frames. The idea about just putting a new box on top with drawn comb in it sounds tempting though. Any other ideas, techniques?

Ken

[Michael Bush]

If you've got the time, I'd cut three frames of open brood out and tie them in and put them in the new box on top. Smoke them long and hard while tapping on the side of the box until the bees are overflowing out the top of the new box. Put the queen excluder on and wait a few days and see if the queen is in the upper box (look for eggs and look for the queen).

I would NOT do this without the three frames (or a few more) of open brood or the queen may get left behind and they may just raise a new one. If you can get the queen in the upper box flipping the other ones upside down will be unecessary.

If you just want to do a cutout, that's not difficult, just more disruption for the bees. Just give them a good smoke, wait a few minutes and do it one more time. Then with a five gallon bucket with a lid, a sharp knife, a hive tool and whatever other tools, brush or shake the bees off each comb and cut each frame out. Throw the honey in the bucket (replacing the lid in between to keep the bees out) and tie the brood into the new frames. Of course you shake or brush the bees into the new box, not the old one. By the time you're done almost all the bees will have been shaken out into the new box and the brood will all be in the new box. Odds are the queen will be there too. Take the old boxes and knock all the bees off into the new box and remove all the old equipment completely from the old site.

Smoke them now and then, of course.