I'm a soon-to-be new beekeeper, expecting two nucs in the next week or so. I actually made my first run at this year before last, with a package installed in a Lang. hive, but that didn't have a happy ending... although as far as I know I did everything right, the bees just didn't "take" and absconded without ever building a lick of comb. They were taking sugar syrup fine for several days. I'm still not sure what went wrong there, but... whatever.
Fast forward to now. I'm trying again with another hive (probably should have started with two the first time around), and nucs instead of packages. The question that I'm finally rolling around to: my hives (Rossman cypress) both have screened bottom boards. After reading the pros and cons here, I'm about convinced that I need to be able to close them off in winter, which seems to get colder here every year. I'm a decent woodworker, so I'm considering just building a short (1"-1.5") "sub-base" that is nothing more that a frame to hold a sheet of masonite or maybe 1/4" plywood cut to the right size to seal the hive bottom. The entire hive will sit on this contraption. Will this work OK? I'm assuming the (vertical) sizing isn't critical since it will be beneath the screen.
I'd like to get them built and in place before I actually install the nuc frames in the hives, but figured I'd ask for some advice first.
Thanks!
Fast forward to now. I'm trying again with another hive (probably should have started with two the first time around), and nucs instead of packages. The question that I'm finally rolling around to: my hives (Rossman cypress) both have screened bottom boards. After reading the pros and cons here, I'm about convinced that I need to be able to close them off in winter, which seems to get colder here every year. I'm a decent woodworker, so I'm considering just building a short (1"-1.5") "sub-base" that is nothing more that a frame to hold a sheet of masonite or maybe 1/4" plywood cut to the right size to seal the hive bottom. The entire hive will sit on this contraption. Will this work OK? I'm assuming the (vertical) sizing isn't critical since it will be beneath the screen.
I'd like to get them built and in place before I actually install the nuc frames in the hives, but figured I'd ask for some advice first.
Thanks!