Help Clear Up Some Equipment Confusion

[Hillbilly Tilley]

Hello,  I am a newbee and will be picking up my bees ( 2 packages ) May 10.  I have decided to go with all medium hives with 10 frames for bottom chambers and probably 9 frames for the honey supers.  How many Medium hives will I need?  Will the bees produce enough honey the first year to need the Medium honey supers?  How many supers will I need to leave on the hive to winter the bees?  Also I have decided to go with a screened bottom board.  Can I use a slatted rack with it and do I need to?  If I use a screened bottom board do I need to cover it in the winter?

Thanks for any help

[qa33010]

Hi Hillbilly Tilley and welcome!  Congrats on the start up and you are a member now of one of the most addictive hobby or enterprise I know of.  And it's almost always legal too. :-D

    Depends on where you're at as to what is needed to winter your hives.  I use two deeps.  I have read and been informed that three mediums (10 frame) and four mediums (8 frames) equal two deeps.  If one deep is used in your area then two mediums would do.  I'm told the best way to use a nine frame spacing honey super is to have the frames drawn out first and then remove one frame and evenly space them out.  There are those here with a lot more experience than I and better at expressing their ideas.  You're in a great forum!  Michael Bush has a great informative website.


    I highly recommend finding a local beekeepers association and learning from those that are bee KEEPERS.  They are successful and you can learn a lot from them.  Personally I listen to them all and figure out who is replacing the least number of losses and why others may have lost a lot.


Again and welcome!  There are wicked awesome folks here!

Edit:  Hopefully Michael won't mind me posting this for you  http://www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm

[Brian D. Bray]

Hello,  I am a newbee and will be picking up my bees ( 2 packages ) May 10.  I have decided to go with all medium hives with 10 frames for bottom chambers and probably 9 frames for the honey supers.

Why 9?....I know, I know, easier uncapping, right?

  How many Medium hives will I need? 

2 for 2 packages, but I think you mean supers.  Figure 2 and then 1 honey super per brood box then pull, harvest and replace on a rotation basis.
In other words if you hace 3 brood boxes you would have 5 honey supers.

Will the bees produce enough honey the first year to need the Medium honey supers?

 

Maybe, but not likely unless you feed them heavy to start.

How many supers will I need to leave on the hive to winter the bees?

Depends on the cluster size....from 1 to 4, 2-3 is more standard depending on climate. 

Also I have decided to go with a screened bottom board.  Can I use a slatted rack with it and do I need to?  If I use a screened bottom board do I need to cover it in the winter?

Good choice.  I use slatted racks and like them, in fact I like them so well I'm no longer using bottom boards except as top entrances.  I have built that option into my bottomless hive stands but have yet to over winter bees on SBB or otherwise using the slide in cover.  The slatted rack renders the cover for the SBB moot as the dead air space provides the necessary insultation.

Thanks for any help

You're Welcome.