I don't want to get any bigger.

[whix]

How do you manage to NOT expand your colony numbers every year?
I just want to stick with the 50ish colonies that I am keeping now.

[rniles]

Sell packages or nucs?
Let them swarm?
Use the Bond method?

[Bradley_Bee]

Colonies Die.

[EastSideBuzz]

Give away or sell splits from your colonies and use the rest to replace your dead outs. You should have 20-30% dead outs.

[MattDavey]

Merging hives is not a problem.

Also practice swarm prevention techniques.

Have a look at:
http://www.beesource.com/forums/show...arm-Prevention

http://www.beesource.com/forums/show...rst-year-hives

If you haven't got enough drawn comb the key is making sure there is always a good percentage of open brood.

Matthew Davey

[Ian]

How do you manage to NOT expand your colony numbers every year?
I just want to stick with the 50ish colonies that I am keeping now.

Usually, beekeepers struggle to keep numbers up, and employee methods of nucs to help maintain a consistent operating number. They will then sell off surplus hives according to the year

That could also be an option for you. When you assess you hives in the spring, take the surplus strength and make up nucs with it. Winter them and sell off accordingly. There is a strong market for nucs, and it will provide another stream of income for you. But most importantly, it buys you insurance for heavy loss events.

[Saltybee]

Really? Help me, I have too much money.
Nuc-ing you must go.

[rkereid]

More stringent quality control. Eliminate the least productive queens and combine the bees.

[Michael Bush]

You can do combines of the small ones every fall. You can do combines just before the flow to maximize production. You can sell colonies. You can sell nucs. Having too many bees is a very good problem to have and easy to resolve.