Is anyone else in Australia running an unlimited brood nest in your hives?
I had a hive that was absolutely booming in autumn, went into winter with 2 deeps of brood and a deep of honey. I got to it too late this spring - it was at least 4 weeks ahead of the smaller hives (at another location) in building up, by my reckoning. It was still a formidably strong hive after sending out swarms, and I split it to curb the swarming urge. I found last year the queen was laying just in 1-3 frames in the third (top) deep - the bottom two boxes were full of brood and some pollen. I also noticed that when a hive gets this big, it puts away a LOT of pollen. This has led me to wonder if the pollen stores and the amount of pollen coming in early in the season are some of the reasons these bigger hives do so well. I think leaving the extra honey on over winter really helped them, too.
Anyway, I hope to go and visit it again soon, check the split went ok, and super if they need it already.
The other hives at my closer location are building up more modestly. I've realised that learning to manage an unlimited brood nest really needs a location where swarms wont be the end of the world for your neighbors. I'm wondering if this is always going to be the case or if I'll get the swarm management figured out. What are your experiences? Is anyone else in Australia running hives with an unlimited brood nest or hives with a very large brood nest?
Culley