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Author Topic: when to supers?  (Read 7471 times)

Offline Shanevrr

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when to supers?
« on: June 29, 2011, 09:15:28 pm »
when do you add supers?  after all frames are drawn top and bottom box. or is it too late
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Offline AllenF

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Re: when to supers?
« Reply #1 on: June 29, 2011, 09:25:07 pm »
70 percent of the frames are capped, then add another box.

Offline Shanevrr

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Re: when to supers?
« Reply #2 on: June 29, 2011, 09:56:16 pm »
i can do this for honey supers?
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Offline AllenF

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Re: when to supers?
« Reply #3 on: June 30, 2011, 03:33:42 pm »
Yes.   You really don't want too much open space up top because it leaves places for SHB to hide.   If you got a booming population during the flow in the spring, you can add a couple of empty boxes on top because they will fill them fast.   Just keep an eye on it.   But mid summer, don't push your luck.

Offline Shanevrr

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Re: when to supers?
« Reply #4 on: June 30, 2011, 10:32:23 pm »
yes hives are busting at the seems. I added mediums tonight with a queen excluders.  so when they get full of honey, should I leave them for winter stores?
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Offline AllenF

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Re: when to supers?
« Reply #5 on: June 30, 2011, 10:39:42 pm »
How many brood boxes are you running?   2 deeps will winter your bees.   Take any honey supers on top of that for yourself. 

Offline iddee

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Re: when to supers?
« Reply #6 on: June 30, 2011, 10:44:55 pm »
If they are drawn comb, they should go right to work. If they are foundation or empty foundationless frames, they may never go through the excluder.
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Offline Shanevrr

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Re: when to supers?
« Reply #7 on: June 30, 2011, 10:53:24 pm »
ya got two deeps,  and they are not drawn.  how do i get them to draw it?
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Offline sc-bee

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Re: when to supers?
« Reply #8 on: June 30, 2011, 11:18:09 pm »
If you have a mixture of deeps and mediums and can not exchange frames --- remove the excluder till they start to draw and then replace it(bait them up). But they will only draw what they need for stores or what's underfoot (as I believe Brian calls it). Remember if the queen gets crowded below the excluder ---- to the
 trees :bee: I run no honey excluders!
« Last Edit: July 01, 2011, 03:38:40 am by sc-bee »
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Offline AllenF

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Re: when to supers?
« Reply #9 on: June 30, 2011, 11:47:06 pm »
2 deeps?   How many frames are drawn out?   That is what you need to worry about filling before you make honey for yourself.  They will have to build stores for themselves for winter.  Don't add another box until you are 70% drawn out.  To get them to fill them, feed them or let them do it if there is a flow on.  First year bees will not make any surplus.   

Offline Shanevrr

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Re: when to supers?
« Reply #10 on: July 01, 2011, 12:08:49 am »
sry let me rephrase,  both deeps are all drawn out completely,  have been for about 3 weeks or so.  the mediums are just foundation.  there is a lot of honey in deeps mostly on outside frames.
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Offline L Daxon

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Re: when to supers?
« Reply #11 on: July 01, 2011, 12:43:07 am »
Remember not to feed while you have honey supers on.  All you will end up with is capped sugar syrup.
linda d

Offline mikecva

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Re: when to supers?
« Reply #12 on: July 01, 2011, 08:42:18 am »
I run all mediums, I also hedged my bet the first year and waited until I had over 80% of the frames 80% full (with work drawing on frames 1 and 10 started.) in all three of my colony boxes. That space and honey belongs to the bees.

Since it was the first year, I did not expect any honey for myself but thought I would let the bees draw out some foundation in preparation for year two. When I added my first honey super, I took frames 1,2 and 9 and 10 out of the top box (replacing them with new frames), installed a queen excluder and added my honey super with frames 1,2 9 and 10 (with their bees) in slots 4 thru 7 in the honey super. Within a week, the bees were going crazy in their new honey super and had drawn out most of frames 2 and 9 in their top box. At about 10 days, I took the 4 original frames borrowed from the top box, and exchanged them with the center frames of the honey supper (after shaking the bees into the honey super), returning the original frames to their original positions in the top box.

At about the two week mark, I peeked in on the top box and the honey super. The bees did not attack me for what I did and were almost complete in drawing out frames 1 and 10 of their top box with several hundred bees working away in the honey super.

That year to my surprise, I had the three colony boxes full and 14 frames of honey for myself. The bees overwintered well and have done well ever since.   -Mike
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Offline sc-bee

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Re: when to supers?
« Reply #13 on: July 01, 2011, 08:58:22 am »
Mike, the key was you were able to exchange frames because they were all the same size and bait the bees up. Therefore the bees crossed the excluder and congestion did not become a problem with the excluder added!
Just visited some beeks recently who were running the text book hives. Two brood boxes full, excluder on and a box of foundation on top of excluder for weeks. The bees had not crossed the excluder and they (bees) were long gone to the trees.
John 3:16

Offline T Beek

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Re: when to supers?
« Reply #14 on: July 01, 2011, 10:23:12 am »
I'd loose the excluder and take at least one brood frame from lower supers (if box size permits) and put it/them into top super, that will lure bees up.  Fill all the empty spaces with empty frames.  This will Keep Your Broodnest Open (KYBO).  Bees don't like void space and will make a mess if you forget this step.

thomas
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Offline sc-bee

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Re: when to supers?
« Reply #15 on: July 01, 2011, 04:46:45 pm »
Original poster can not move a frame up Deeps mixed with mediums!
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Offline T Beek

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Re: when to supers?
« Reply #16 on: July 01, 2011, 06:56:44 pm »
Ah, the benefits of having same sized supers, sometimes I forget.  I cut all my deeps down or turned them into swarm boxes a few years ago.

Three weeks is too long to wait before doing 'something' after noticing frames were all drawn. 

When I was converting to all mediums I added medium frames with deeps in a deep super, then as they filled them I removed them to a medium.  It took most of the summer and constant watch, but I'll never go back to another system.

thomas
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Offline AllenF

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Re: when to supers?
« Reply #17 on: July 01, 2011, 09:01:02 pm »
I still like my deep broods and shallow honey supers.  But we don't need to bring that up now.  With your deeps drawn out you need to super.   But don't use the excluder until honey supers are drawn out.  The bees just will not pass through for some reason.

Offline mikecva

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Re: when to supers?
« Reply #18 on: July 02, 2011, 08:22:30 am »
I read somewhere that a beek would intise her bees above the excluder by uncaping a small section of capped honey from an outside frame and drissel it right on an undrawn foundation. Once the bees started going thru the excluder to get at the honey, they would start drawing out the new foundation. The bees would also repair the capped honey frame.

I have not tried this myself. If the origional beek is in this topic or someone else who does this, maybe you could share your knowledge of the time it takes to work or if it did not work for you, your experances.   -Mike

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Offline antaro

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Re: when to supers?
« Reply #19 on: July 03, 2011, 03:12:09 am »
If you guys aren't recommending using excluders, how do you keep the queen from cruising up there and laying?

 

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