Welcome, Guest

Author Topic: Queen Rearing using the Cloake Board Method.  (Read 6232 times)

Offline capt44

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 740
  • Gender: Male
  • If it don't work I'll always think it should have
    • RV BEES
Queen Rearing using the Cloake Board Method.
« on: April 18, 2013, 12:47:18 pm »

You can build a cloake board to your specific hive deminsions 8 or 10 frame.
I built my cloake board from Pictures I've seen.
Just build a frame, I used 3/4 inch strips and glued and brad nailed them.
I attached a plastic queen excluder to the bottom and had to put another 1/2 inch strip under it to keep it flat in the front opening.
I put a piece of flat metal sheeting (10 guage) in opening to close off the queen excluder.
I tore the hive down and turned the opening 180 degrees or facing west.
I put the deep brood box with the queen on the bottom.
I then put the cloake board on with the opening facing east.
The bees left the bottom box and returned to the east side of the box.
They found the opening above and entered the top section which is  2 medium boxes.
I grafted larva from my timing box so I knew the larva was 1 day old.
I put the queen cell bars in the box right above the cloake board.
I also used a queen cell frame from a Nicot system to see how it worked.
After I put the second queen cell bar in I pulled the 1st one.
The bees were already clustering on the cell cups.
The next day the cells were starting to be drawn out so I removed the metal sheet opening the queen excluder.
I check yesterday and the cells are about an inch or so long.
They should be capped Saturday.
I just hope this cool weather we're suppose to have for the next 2 nights doesn't chill them.
I'll post some pictures in a couple of days.
The Nicot system does work!
The Timing Box Plans I got from Fat Beeman
Queen Rearing is strictly a timing issue.
I use a Queen Rearing Calendar to keep up with what is happening on each set of queen bars.
Richard Vardaman (capt44)

Offline RHBee

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1095
  • Gender: Male
  • That's my pooch.
Re: Queen Rearing using the Cloake Board Method.
« Reply #1 on: April 18, 2013, 05:48:14 pm »
Sounds like you did good.  I'm in the process of building up my qeeen mother hive. The queens for my drone mother colonies just arrived. I have to work for the next 3 days so I'm keeping the new queens in the house till I'm off.
How do you plan to bank your queens?
Later,
Ray

Offline capt44

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 740
  • Gender: Male
  • If it don't work I'll always think it should have
    • RV BEES
Re: Queen Rearing using the Cloake Board Method.
« Reply #2 on: April 19, 2013, 01:27:33 am »
I am going to be putting them in Nucs to mate.
Then in 10 days I should see eggs and what kind of pattern she's got.
If it shows good after 14 days the Nuc is sold.
My hives I use for the cloak board method are very strong, I'd say around 40-50 thousand.
They do get onery when opening the hive so much.
Richard Vardaman (capt44)

Offline Jim134

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 3047
  • Gender: Male
    • Franklin County Beekeepers Association
Re: Queen Rearing using the Cloake Board Method.
« Reply #3 on: April 19, 2013, 09:07:43 pm »
This may help you understand the Cloake Board and how to use the Cloake Board

http://robo.bushkillfarms.com/beekeeping/queen-rearing/




                
               BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
« Last Edit: April 19, 2013, 09:43:07 pm by Jim 134 »
"Tell me and I'll forget,show me and I may  remember,involve me and I'll understand"
        Chinese Proverb

"The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways."
 John F. Kennedy
Franklin County Beekeepers Association MA. http://www.franklinmabeekeepers.org/

Offline hardwood

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 3482
  • Gender: Male
  • Alysian Apiaries youtube.com/MrBeedude
Re: Queen Rearing using the Cloake Board Method.
« Reply #4 on: April 19, 2013, 09:22:41 pm »
You probably won't find eggs after 10 days...20 would be more like it.

Scott
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

 

anything