Slatted Rack
see photo at:
www.betterbee.com/products.asp?dept=308 Better wintering and swarm control. A Slatted Rack is installed, as pictured, between the bottom board and the bottom brood chamber. In the winter, it keeps the brood chamber warmer so the queen can lay right to the bottom of the frame. In the spring and summer, when hive populations are at their largest, it provides a cluster space in the hive which can reduce swarming. Available for either 9 or 10 Frame Hives. Comes fully assembled. Dimensions: 20" x 16-3/8" x 2-1/4". (Ship Wt. 5 lbs.)
I would suggest you do away with the wide entrance guard on one end and replace the slats with 1 inch doweling. It will function much better that way.
You need only 2 slatted racks per hive--one between the bottom board and lowest brood box and the other between the top brood box and the supers. The upper rack replaces the queen excluder w/o inhibiting the bees or inducing swarming. In fact, it actually helps to reduce swarming by presenting the bees with a guest room so to speak.
When feeding honey back to the bees add 1 pint of warm water to 1 pound of honey to make a syrup. The warm water will dissolve any crystalization in the honey. The warmth also seems to attract the bees but do not use hot--warm means tepid. I find that taking hot water from the tap, mixing in the honey, putting on the lid and then taking it out to the hive results in enough cooling so that the bees go right to the syrup. You should find that the bees will actually fly to the feeder while you're trying to install it.