Shaking Down

[WiredForStereo]

When you shake down a hive, and you have no where to put the brood, can ya just put it on top with an excluder under it? For instance if you dont have any other hives to put the brood in.

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There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want.

[Michael Bush]

When I tried it the bees abandoned the queen and moved up to the brood. Maybe at different times and circumstances they would have done something different, I don't know, but it didn't work for me.

[Clayton]

Hi,

When you shake down a hive, and you have no where to put the brood, can ya just put it on top with an excluder under it? For instance if you dont have any other hives to put the brood in

reply:

I have heard mostly stories of hardship and failure here. I haven't been in the position of having only one hive so I haven't tried the method myself. But maybe you should not shakedown and add frames of foundation into the broodnest and work the larger combs up and out and the smallest to the center working progressively. This must be done as ealy as possible in the season to key the bees into the sizing , wait to long and the results will be poorer and poorer as the season goes along. Soon as you see a dandelion start getting foundation in. Maybe a week sooner if you are good at time your season.

Clay

[BWrangler]

Hello Everyone,

I would reduce the hive to one super. Put the brood in the center and replace all other frames with 49 foundation and a feeder if necessary. In my "shakedown" I also left a drone comb partially filled with honey in the hive.

Bees also need the right temperature for drawing foundation.They will do better in a smaller space rather than spread out.

As the bees complete the foundation and put brood in it, rotate the larger stuff towards the edge, the smaller stuff toward the center.

I could not seperate the brood and the queen in my locality during the early spring as one or the other would perish.

Dennis
In Wyoming where the nights are very cold well into June. The blankets are on our beds 49 weeks of the year!

[Robert Brenchley]

I've also tried giving the brood back to the same hive and come a cropper. Sometimes it will work, too often it doesn't. You'd be better splitting and waiting a season before you try it. Patience is the thing when it comes to downsizing, take two or three seasons if you need to, and don't try to rush the bees.

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Regards,

Robert Brenchley

RSBrenchley@aol.com
Birmingham UK

[hoosierhiver]

what about putting the queen in a box of 4.9 above the hive with a queen excluder in between,since she moves upward anyway maybe they would be more apt to follow her.

[Michael Bush]

All of them (workers and queen) are trying to get to the brood nest (drawn comb and brood comb). So the bees will abandon the queen to get to it and the queen will try to get to it also. If you had drawn 4.9mm comb you might succeed, but without it they don't want to go to bare foundation when there is brood.

[clintonbemrose]

I simply give the brood to another hive that I am not regressing at the time.
Clint


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Clinton Bemrose
just South of Lansing Michigan