three deep

I am from Iowa (zone 5a). For about 3 years we (wife and I) have been considering getting a hive or 2 for our backyard. I also know several farmers in our area who would let me keep hives on property corners near ditches with lots of flowers and clover etc. We decided to take the plunge when I...

Assuming my three deep hive make it through the Massachusetts winter, can I steal the one of the deeps for drawn frames. I figure the cluster won't be using all three deeps in the early spring? Has anyone done this? Is it best to take the bottom deep? How might one pull this off? Or, is this a...