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Moving hives

3K views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  StevenG 
#1 ·
I am growing in numbers of hives this year and need help. I have been looking for a dolly or something that would help me move my hives around this year. I am by my self and would like to save my back. What does everybody else use.
 
#3 ·
Just my thoughts here.

*****WARNING: I have never use any of these methods personally yet. So try and use at your own risks! ******
Test the methods that is well suited in your situation. Moving the bees are dangerous if not handle properly.

So far I think the best way is to use a forklift and put the bee hives on pallets. The pallets can be made of woods, metal, and plastic with hard inner foam fillings. If you have flat land like a concrete area then use a hand jack to lift the entire pallets. Then slowly dragging the pallet using your car on a flat hard land. Strap your bees so they will not fall off. The second way is to build a ramp that match the level of your bee hive table (if you use one at all) and use a dolly to lift the hive. But you have to create a small raised gap by cushioning up the hive a little from the bottom board. Maybe I am thinking to screw the big black wheels the one you can buy (some have locks too) onto the pallets and use a car or truck to drag the pallets away. On the flat land of course. This is for short distance moving within hive yard only. But have to strap them tight so they will not fall off while moving at low gear or maybe give it a little bit of gas to start the moving process. Another way is to buy a small flat trailer that can hook up to your car from behind. Load up all your bees there and not have to move the hives at all unless you are taking them onto another bee yard far away. Then you can take the entire trailer with you with the bee hives on. They do have movable hand dolly for you to buy as well. Not sure of the price though.
I think you might get better exposure to your question by asking at the main forum above. Also, let us know how you would like to move your hives at? How far or close by the distance? What hives body do you have now? Light weight plastic hives, small nuc hives, or standard deep, mediium, or shallow, etc? How many hive are you intend to move at the same time? If you have many hives like 20-50 then it is better to set them on pallets for better moving. Over here I met a 70 year old beekeeper that he uses smaller medium 8 frame nucs for better carrying. I am thinking if he can use the 8 narrow frames then even better for him. But I don't think he know about the narrower frames yet. All his frames are standard equipments.
In my situation I would screw the big black plastic wheels onto the pallets and then use my truck to drag the pallets away in short distance. For long distance moving I would put them on pallets onto a flat trailer and use my truck to drag it away. Hope this help you with an idea or two. The more clear you are about what your plan of moving is the better other people can help you here. My example is: I have a hive stand 16" tall with 2 mediums one on top of the other. I want to move my top medium hive 10 feet away to make a split without much disturbance to the bees as possible. What is the recommendation for a safe move so I that I would like to save my back? My answer would be: First get another empty medium box with a screen top and bottom board to fit tightly. Open the top medium hive and put 4 frames of bees into the empty medium. Cover the box up with a screen top. Then take the medium to the new location 10 feet away. Come back and pry loose the top medium and move this to the new location as well. Then open up the screened medium and transferred the 4 frames back to the last medium you just moved. Then closed everything back to normal again with a new queen added in to the new hive of course. Or let them make their new queen assuming the condition is ideal for it.
 
#4 ·
What actually works well for me is to screw two pieces of 2X2 to the bottom boards. Whenever I need to move the hives, I use a long nosed hand cart sold by Walter Kelly. For moves to other properties, I roll them up a ramp onto a 12' low flat trailer
 
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