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A Hive or Hives have fallen from their rack( landed on tops and sides ) :ws What is the best thing to do for the bees?:scratch: Other than just pick them up. Nucs and established hives.
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Pick them up and see if they are alright!!!...
opcorn:
opcorn:
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I've had it happen a few times for various reasons. One was the neighbor above us with an above ground pool that burst and sent a river through the backyard. Put it back together with no long term ill effect
I was out of town in early June for about two weeks this summer. When I returned, the landowner where I keep my bees had phoned and left a message.....four days previously.
"Something is wrong with your hives, they don't look like they are supposed to."
So I ran up there as fast as I could, and two of my hives had been knocked over. Four deep boxes were all on their sides and scattered about.
The weaker of the two hives was done - the queen was missing and mice had moved in and damaged the comb. I moved what remained to a nuc, queened them and gave them to a new beekeeper nearby to work with.
In the other, however, the bees had glued all the frames that they covered together and sealed one end of the frames with propolis - essentially re-orienting the hive. They were coming and going through the tops of the open end. They had been there that way for at least 4 or 5 days.
I set them upright and back into position, broke the frames apart and put some feed on them. Now they are filling a Ross Rounds super and a medium for me. Amazing the kind of abuse they can take.
We (the landowner and I) think it was probably a raccoon that toppled them.
"Something is wrong with your hives, they don't look like they are supposed to."
So I ran up there as fast as I could, and two of my hives had been knocked over. Four deep boxes were all on their sides and scattered about.
The weaker of the two hives was done - the queen was missing and mice had moved in and damaged the comb. I moved what remained to a nuc, queened them and gave them to a new beekeeper nearby to work with.
In the other, however, the bees had glued all the frames that they covered together and sealed one end of the frames with propolis - essentially re-orienting the hive. They were coming and going through the tops of the open end. They had been there that way for at least 4 or 5 days.
I set them upright and back into position, broke the frames apart and put some feed on them. Now they are filling a Ross Rounds super and a medium for me. Amazing the kind of abuse they can take.
We (the landowner and I) think it was probably a raccoon that toppled them.
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Put them back together and deal w/ the problems later. they'll show up.
A friend had a load of bees on his Freightliner 10 Wheeler when it decided to flop ovber on it's side. Unfortunately the ratchets were all on the underside and therefor had to be cut at the hook. Fortunately I knew a harnessmaker and we got them sewed back together later.
In the mean time all the hives either fell all the way over or onto their sides. We spent hours taking hives off of pallets and putting them back on. Even though they were short, most had excluders in them. With all the help and wanting to get things done asap, we tended to just let people do what they could and decided to deal w/ problems later. The number of hives w/ two excluders in them was funny, later.
A friend had a load of bees on his Freightliner 10 Wheeler when it decided to flop ovber on it's side. Unfortunately the ratchets were all on the underside and therefor had to be cut at the hook. Fortunately I knew a harnessmaker and we got them sewed back together later.
In the mean time all the hives either fell all the way over or onto their sides. We spent hours taking hives off of pallets and putting them back on. Even though they were short, most had excluders in them. With all the help and wanting to get things done asap, we tended to just let people do what they could and decided to deal w/ problems later. The number of hives w/ two excluders in them was funny, later.
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Thanks Folks!!! Keep the replys coming. What troubles should I look for within the next 2 weeks?
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Absconding! No Bees!....opcorn:
opcorn:
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Suit up and smoke heavily....the bees may be rather upset about their hive being knocked over.
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OK I made the post After I had picked them up.
Here is what I did. I didn't know what time during the day they had been turned over. By the time i got the rest of my chores done it was gona be Dark time i could get to the bees, so I left them on the ground over night. Knowing that if i went to move them in the dark i wouldn't do a good job and they would likely crawl into every crack in my suit and try to kill me.
Next morning i went out most hives had bees hauling pollen back the hives business as usual. I carefully set them all back up and put entrance reducers on every hive in that section of the yard. Have not been back to them since I figured they needed a break for a few days.
Here is what I did. I didn't know what time during the day they had been turned over. By the time i got the rest of my chores done it was gona be Dark time i could get to the bees, so I left them on the ground over night. Knowing that if i went to move them in the dark i wouldn't do a good job and they would likely crawl into every crack in my suit and try to kill me.
Next morning i went out most hives had bees hauling pollen back the hives business as usual. I carefully set them all back up and put entrance reducers on every hive in that section of the yard. Have not been back to them since I figured they needed a break for a few days.
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