How many brood chambers?

[doak]

I'm not asking this ? for the benefit for me.
More or less making a statement.
I find it hard to see how a colony, "in my neck of the woods"  can make it with just one deep, or two medium brood boxes. When you first start a colony, yes, I start with one.
When they have 7 to 10 frames filled with, bees, brood, honey/pollen, then I add the 2nd on deep's and 3rd on medium.

When I catch a swarm, I hive them according to the size and go from there.
If, in the fall the colony is still large, I winter with two deeps, or 3 mediums,
tring to have the queen and brood on bottum with stores on top.
Sometime between March 1 and april 15, I will reverse brood boxes.
Once or twice as needed.

I would also encourge all new beekeepers, if you have not already, get at least one good book for beginners. If possible get a mentor also.
Hope someone gets a little help from this post.

Wish you all good keeping and God Bless.
doak

[jl]

Are you offering to be a mentor?  (Just kidding)  I live up north where it gets below zero for days on end.  This is my first year and first hive and I had previously asked the question of how many brood chambers to leave to safely make it through the winter and the consensus was two deeps were fine, but I know two other people who leave the bees with three deeps for the winter.  I think I'm going to err on the side of caution and make a compromise and leave them with two deeps and 1 medium.

[Kirk-o]

Go to Michael Bush's site and read about unlimited brood nest it will really helpful
kirko

[bigslinky64]

Thanks for your input. Guess I'll let them fill some more frames befor I add the another deep.
Thanks again for your willingness to help others!

  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.(John 15:13 KJVR)

[asprince]

doak,

I am a one year beekeeper and I live in the same neck of the woods. I have ask that question before and was told in the south since our winters are mild, that one deep brood box is adequate. My mentor says that I will get more honey from two hives (two queens) with single deep brood boxes than one hive (one queen) with two deep brood boxes. When see other beekeepers hives in my area, they usually have one deep brood box and supers piled on. I have read Michael's site but our winters are very mild, come late and end early and additional winter stores are not needed. Now I am confused. Somebody please learn me something.

Steve

[doak]

I will have to say, what works best for the individual.
I find this to be true in a lot of things I do.

I have read in several bee keeping books, theres no wrong way, theres no right way, there is the way that works for the individual.

I know this is not so in some parts of bee keeping, Like how to release the queen. you can't just open the hive up and put her in there loose. :roll:
I find it very hard to keep my bees from  increasing to the point of swarming using only one deep during build-up and flow season. I see how it is OK for one coming through the winter with only one box.
But when they  start rearing brood, they bust out all over.

Remember in another post some where, I said I used 3 deep on the swarm I got the last week of March.
This was for brood.
Have got two boxes of honey off it and there is 2 and1/2 left on it. They're not through yet.
Got two off the colony it came from and it has two more on it.
In my 7 yrs of Beekeeping, This is the best year I have had.
I do not migrate.
doak

[Michael Bush]

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesulbn.htm
http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslazy.htm#uniformframesize
http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslazy.htm#lighterboxes

[reinbeau]

Up here in the frozen north (well, not right now, check back with us in February) the standard is two deep or three mediums.  We're running mediums.  We've got beeks telling us that the mediums are no good because of two breaks between boxes instead of one.  Others swear by the mediums.  I'm going with the lighter weight and total interchangeability that you get with using all the same supers.

[Kathyp]

the bees will fill in the cracks between supers.  just don't take them apart in the winter if you can help it.

i went with 2 deeps last year.  don't know how this year will turn out.

as i understand it, the point is to give them enough stores to make it, but no so much space that they can't keep warm.  with that in mind, i think you have to go by the size of your hive at the end of the season. 

last year i pulled the 3rd box, got them down to two, saved the honey from box 3, and fed it back to them as they needed it.  i just put the frames in the freezer and pulled them out to thaw.

[annette]

This is what I will do this my one, remaining hive this winter. I like the idea of freezing the honey and feeding it back to them as needed.I had made a mistake of leaving to much honey on my hive last winter and the honey fermented and I guess to much condensation was created by the cold honey up above hitting the warm brood nest down below. (this was told to me by randy oliver beekeeping guru from grass valley ca)

I had left one complete super for them (about 35 lbs??) thinking that was right, but in this area that is to much for them.

Take care
Annette