I know some of you good folks use foundationless frames, as I am. Question for you: How do you help them build the brood chamber in the second year?
Last season I had several first-year hives that wintered with a deep on the bottom, and a honey super on top. Going into spring, I wanted them to draw out another deep for brood, to become a double-deep with medium supers on top. I tried putting an empty deep on the bottom of the hive, and taking down a frame of honey/pollen. After the flow started, I waited for a few weeks to check them. I put nothing on top, because I wanted them to fill and work their way down, drawing comb below. This is what they do in nature. Well, when I went in after a few weeks, most of the hives had robbed the stores out of the bottom frame, and had not built anything, or very little in the bottom box. I removed the box on some of the hives, and supered with a medium. Others I left in place. Eventually, a couple of the hives did build out the bottom box.
Some might ask why I didn't put the empty box between the medium and deep. Well, I didn't want to break up the brood chamber too early, or separate the brood from honey stores. Others may ask, why didn't I just throw the empty box on top of the hive. Well, I feared that the bees would go up there and draw out a deep box full of honey and drone cells. If they did that, what would happen when I lowered it to be a brood chamber? Tons of drones? Am I wrong?
How do you get them to expand the brood chamber in a foundationless setup? What works for you?