Exchanging SBB Help

[gaucho10]

I need to exchange my wintered hive's SBB.  Reason...My home made SBB is better designed than the ones I bought.  Problem...I actually have 4 deep brood boxes loaded with honey, pollen and brood (very heavy).  Why?...Because I had a coyote knock over one of my hives at beginning of cold season.  Queen dissapeared so I joined both hives.  Both hives were strong so I have lots of bees.
  Are there any techniques or designs for tools to lift several hundred pounds of honey ladden boxes so I can make the exchange?  I do not want to separate the boxes at this time.  Temps are in the teens here in Massachusetts.

[manfre]

Now might be a good time to ask yourself if you absolutely must swap out the SBB now instead of when the weather warms up. It might be easier and better to just rig something until the weather cooperates.

The only ideas I have to lift all that at the same time involves a fork lift or a backhoe with chains.

[Kathyp]

i'd wait.  especially if you are going to split the hives in spring.  why mess with them more than you have to?  in the spring you can take it apart, inspect, and do whatever switching you want to do.  now you'll just disturb the hive.

[gaucho10]

I just wanted to exchange the SBB because I am noticing many dead bees accumulating on the screen.  Underneath the screen I have the sticky board for counting varoa mites.  My own design of SBB has a removable screen slide so that I can remove the dead bees.  I figured that the dead bees accumulating on the bottom might catch live varoa mites which could re-attach themselves to other bees.

[BBees]

Not to worry. Mites are not attracted by or attach to dead bees.

[gaucho10]

I am not worried about the mites being attracted to dead bees.  The dead bees accumulate at the bottom and the mites have a chance to climb back up into the brood nest.  The dead bees are actually preventing the mites from falling onto my sticky board.

[1of6]

A small straight branch with a small hook or twig sticking off the end is what I always give my some to clear out the entrances stuffed with dead bees.  Something like this can be used pretty effectively on cold weather to rake the dead bees out of the entrance.  I don't see why you couldn't use something a little longer with a hook, 'L' or 'T' of some kind on the end to rake out the bees.

I agree with others - moving or separating 4 deeps this time of year is bad news.  Do what you can to 'limp along'.

[dpence]

I have the same sort of dilemma, one of the screen boards I am using is breaking down on one side.  I am waiting till the weather warms, I cobbled it up a bit.  

David

[poka-bee]

An old knitting needle works for scraping the bees out too & it won't bend or break!  J

[BBees]

Sorry Goucho, misunderstood your post. Fabricating a "mini" rake as these other folks are suggesting might be just the ticket.

[gaucho10]

I did fabricate a slim and wide piece of oak with a hook at the end and that is what I have used previously but I guess the sensus is to just live through this until warmer weather.  SO I guess I will just hold off until the spring.  Thanks.

[gaucho10]

OK, I had my chance to change my SBB.  Temps today here in Massachusetts soared to 60 deg. F and the bees were all out and about.  I partially lifted all 4 deep boxes and noticed that it did not weigh too much so I decided to take a chance.  I set up my better SBB on the side of the colony.  I then lifted the two top deep boxes with ventilated upper cover.  I managed to move all of it over to the new SBB.  It did not weigh much (75 lb.?)
I then attempted to move the remaining two bottom deeps and had a hard time.  They weight approximately 100 lb.  I then checked and cleaned all the frames from these two bottom deeps.  The 2nd. from the bottom (#2) had very little sealed honey on the rear right side of most frames.  No pollen in these.  The bottom most (#1) deep had the two outside frames loaded with pollen and 5 of the middle frames were completely sealed with honey.
Just to flash back a bit...I posted before about one of my hives being knocked over by a coyote/bear and the queen dissapeared.  After joining these two colonies, the bottom two deeps (original queenright) were loaded with bees, brood, honey, pollen.  The two upper deeps were from the colony that got destroyed and contained mostly honey, no brood and lots of bees.
I cleaned all frames of dead bees and set up the bee-less frames/boxes on the side and will allow the colony to steal the remaining honey.

[Michael Bush]

http://www.bushfarms.com/images/MannLake1.JPG

[gaucho10]

Michael,  I will deffinitely build myself one of those carrying two-wheelers.  I can see how it could be used to lift full hives and transport them some distance but I am still trying to figure out (and I will) how to make it to lift only a "required" number of top boxes while at the same time leaving some on the ground.