Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => EQUIPMENT USAGE, EXPERIMENTATION, HIVE PLANS, CONSTRUCTION TIPS AND TOOLS => Topic started by: David LaFerney on August 09, 2009, 10:49:43 pm
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Have you heard of anyone using a bottom board with entrances in both the back and front - not to use both at the same time, but for example when making splits you could change the entrance from the front to the back for a few days to make the field bees reorient and help prevent the ones in the split from returning to the mother hive.
Would this work?
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dont know about the split stuff but all my BB have a entrance on 2 different sides, best bottom board I ever used.
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TwT, are the entrance's on what we would normaly call the sides or the front and back? Curiousity makes me ask, what makes them the best?
Thank's
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TwT, are the entrance's on what we would normaly call the sides or the front and back? Curiousity makes me ask, what makes them the best?
Thank's
the entrances are front and back, the reason I say they are the best I have used is that my hives just do so much better with them, this past winter I had them on half my hives and regular front entrances on the rest except for one that had a screened bottom board( I forgot to change it out a year ago) . a bout a month before the flows started here I had to split 3 of the two entrance hives and also gave a friend 50 frames of brood and bee's from those 15 two entrance hives, the regular entrance hives were way behind in population and the screened BB hive was even farther behind, this wasn't just a few hives i seen this, every 2 entrance hive was loaded and then the regular single entrances were all behind, and the SBB was even worst, one thing I seen was that all the 2 entrances hive propolised the west side entrances shut leaving them just one entrance,
also during the hot days they don't beard as much as the single entrance hives either, I just like them 2 entrance BB's better.
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So with the one side propylized shut doesn't that just make them into a single entrance? How are they different?
Alfred
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So with the one side propylized shut doesn't that just make them into a single entrance? How are they different?
Alfred
I'm still trying to figure that one out also ?????
Bee-Bop
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they only close the west side entrance during the cold months, as soon as it warms up a little I clean the close entrance out with a stick and it stays open and used until the cold times, its not hard to figure out guys.. this is one of those things you should try for yourself, I bought these BB's from a old beekeeper that had passed away, he had 750 hives and did some pollinating, I just tried them since I had them and like them a lot. try them yourself or not, but I like them..
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AHA, thanks TwT;
A clarification sure does help !
I didn't see any mention of " Winter" in your post.
Never claimed to be the sharpest tack in the box.
Bee-Bop
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I should have pointed out that was just during winter, I just read my post and see I didn't point this out (winter time only) so I apologize and now we on the same page. One thing I would like to point out is that in winter they do close just the west side entrances (every hive did this) , make you think on how open the hives should be during the winter especially using open screen BB's. seems that with the hives closed off more the bee's build up faster coming out of winter to spring.
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I get it now.
Why do you not like screened bottom boards? I ask cause I see that you have switched to solids from screened. I guess that I do see that you feel that they build up better in spring. Assuming that they can be closed up for winter, what do you think?
Alfred
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I have 1 hive which keep the top entrance 3/8 by 1 1/2 propolised all the time, I clean it out with my pocket knife and the next day it is closed { winter & summer } 5 hives lined up with it that leave their's open ??? All hives are Russian.
I use screened bottom boards in the summer, in the fall I replace my removable slide in bottoms.
I have seen a couple of bee trees and not one of them had a open bottom !! { when the loggers got done with them, then they did !! ]
Bee-Bop
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I have seen a couple of bee trees and not one of them had a open bottom !! { when the loggers got done with them, then they did !! ]
Bee-Bop
the 4 trees I removed bee's from didn't have top entrances, all the entrances was in the middle to lower part of the hive, seen one with the entrance on ground level and the hive was above the entrance, it just don't make since for a hole in the tree and the hive lower than the hole then every time it rains the water would run down through the hive. I never seen one but that doesn't mean they aren't out there....
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a bout a month before the flows started here I had to split 3 of the two entrance hives and also gave a friend 50 frames of brood and bee's from those 15 two entrance hives,
Where can I find a friend like this! WOW!
BB
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awww it's one hand washes the other, he builds all kinds of equipment for himself and to sale, this year he gave me 20 ten frame outer covers, 15 five frame nuc top feeders and 5 ten frame top feeders plus a full Russian Breeder queen. he helps me and I help him, he even came down and helped me for 2 days extract honey this year. I build about all my own equipment also but this year health has held me back, anything I need all I have to do is call and the same goes for him when needing help, it good to have friends ;)
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anything I need all I have to do is call and the same goes for him when needing help, it good to have friends ;)
Indeed! You both sound like pearls!
BB