[csaint2]

I am just starting my apiary and am having trouble deciding what size of foundation to use. I am starting with two hives and was thinking about using two different size of foundation. Is this a bad idea?

 

[Greg Lowe]

What 2 sizes are you thinking of using? And why?

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

Personally I use one size for everything. When equipment is interchangeable, it makes it much easier to shift things around if a colony needs help.

JMO

Rusty

 

[tommysnare]

we use no foundation in any of our hives.

 

[csaint2]

Personally I use one size for everything. When equipment is interchangeable, it makes it much easier to shift things around if a colony needs help.

JMO

Rusty

If the foundation is different i should not swap them between hives (if needed), correct? Is it because the bee's won't draw on different foundation?

 

[gunter62]

What do you mean by " two sizes of foundation "?

 

[csaint2]

What do you mean by " two sizes of foundation "?

different cell size with the different foundation. It seems to me that all the different foundations have different cell size.

 

[Beregondo]

Some people think small cell fndn helps control mites.

My comb is all small cell or foundationless, and I've never had mite issues... but I don't know ir=f the SC foundation has anything to do with it, as I've never used large cell.
It may be the genetics expressed in my bees.
Or a combination.
Or something else entirely.

If you use both large and small cell, I wouldn't expect to see small cell benefits b/c there are many large cells present.

Using both sizes is no worse than using all large cell, at any rate.

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

If the foundation is different i should not swap them between hives (if needed), correct? Is it because the bee's won't draw on different foundation?

I see from your later posts that you are talking about cell sizes. I have no experience with anything but standard cell sizes. All of the cell sizes within all my hives are the same size. From your original post I thought you were asking about the sizes of the foundation sheets themselves, so I mentioned that I use all deeps-- foundation, frames, and boxes-- so that everything is interchangeable.

I have read--but have no personal experience --that some beekeepers who use small cell, use it only in the brood boxes and use standard foundation in their supers. Again, this would mean that your equipment would not be interchangeable. Brood boxes could only be used for brood and supers could only be used for honey.

HTH

Rusty