Switching from deeps to mediums.

[alfred]

I am planning on switching to all mediums. I am looking for some ideas on how to make the transition. Part of the situation is that my frames are one peice pierco frame/foundation so I don't think that I can do any kind of cutout. Not sure how to handle the transition without sacrificing the brood in the deep frames.

Additionally I am hoping to split the hive this year and it seems as though I could combine splitting with the transfer to mediums.


I was kind of thinking that I could shake all of the bees into the new mediums. Then place the old deeps on top with a queen excluder to keep the queen from getting back into the deeps while the brood hatches out. In the meantime they would be building up the new meduim brood boxes below where the queen is confined. Then once the brood hatches out I could remove the deeps??


I was also thinking that I could do the split by shaking them into two sets of new medium brood boxes. Then putting one of my current deeps on top of each stack, distibuting the brood evenly between the deeps. But then I have one with a queen and the other without. I would let that hive raise a new queen or maybe introduce a purchased queen??

Need sugestions....

thanks so much,
Alfred

[Robo]

I was kind of thinking that I could shake all of the bees into the new mediums. Then place the old deeps on top with a queen excluder to keep the queen from getting back into the deeps while the brood hatches out. In the meantime they would be building up the new meduim brood boxes below where the queen is confined. Then once the brood hatches out I could remove the deeps??

Might be easier on you (and the bees) just to put the medium on top of the deeps and let the queen move up on her own and then put an excluder between the mediums and deeps.  Once the brood all hatches out of the deeps remove them.

You could do the same with a split.

[hilltop hives]

I let the brood hatch out and extracted any honey left. Then I used my table saw and cut them down to mediums. Its messy but they work great for brood frames.

[Brian D. Bray]

My suggestion is pretty much the same as Robo's, just add the medium boxes and remove the deep once its empty of brood and full of honey.  This is one of the few times using an excluder is okay.  I just move the super to be removed up as I super and then harvest at the end of the season.

[alfred]

That seems almost too easy ;) 

Will the queen actually move up on her own? Last year I put medium supers on the hive with no queen excluder and never saw any signs of her in the super. How do I get her to move up out of the deeps into the medium above? or will I have to catch her and put her there?

I'll have to say that I am not very good at finding her...

[Robo]

You can encourage her to move up by crowding her.

Lets assume you are running 2 deep brood chambers.  The first time you spot her put your excluder between the 2 deeps and locate the queen in the upper deep (reverse them if needs be).

Now she can't move down into the lower deep, so her only option is to move up into the medium once she is out of room to lay in the upper deep.   Once she moves up into the first medium,  move the excluder up on top of the 2nd deep.

One thing to watch when using an excluder is sometimes they will raise another queen if you leave eggs on the queenless side of the excluder.

[alfred]

Thanks for all of the replys. This is much simpler and easier than what I had in mind. I will probably begin the process today by putting on a medium and let them begin to build it out.

Thanks again,
Alfred

[Shawn]

I know this topic is quite old but I was wondering. I sent a few Pm out so sorry for reapting. Wanting to switch from deeps to mediums I looked in the older hive. The top deep on has three or four frames drawn out and one is brood, didnt see any eggs or larvae yet but very clean. The other is the new hive I just started so it only has 1 deep. Is is bad to leave the botom deep and just add on mediums as the bodies? I understand how everyone explained to get rid of the deeps but since you really never pickup the bodies you dont have to worry about weight. Just wondering and think this is the better time to do it since there are not that many frames with brood.

[Michael Bush]

You can always brush off all the bees and run the frames through a table saw at 6 1/4".  :)

[Shawn]

Yea I think I saw that in another post. Since there are empty frames on the bottom deep and a lot of empty frames on the top and I just combine them into one and then put a medium on with excluder? The bottom I believe has two maybe three frames of brood and the top right now has 1 1/2 of brood but no eggs yet.