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Thread: change over from standard brood box to 14x12

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    Default change over from standard brood box to 14x12

    i have 2 hives with standard brood boxes and would like to change over to
    14x12 brood boxes . Can anyone tell me the best way to do the changeover.
    Seems like the best time of the year while the colony size is small
    but not sure best way to do it, any advice please, thanks.

  2. #2
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    When the colony is up to a good strength, in my book at least 8 frames of brood, then put the new box on top and if all foundation and the weather not so great then a feed too would assist. 1:1 syrup. Remember it takes a lot of eneergy to produce wax so asking a small unit to do it is stressing them considerably. When they are well established above then put in an excluder to keep the queen up there and 24 days later you are transferred. Super above as required.

    KISS

    PH

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    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    I would do it as soon as the weather warms, maybe early April or even sooner if there are decent days to do a manipulation. Restrict the colony in the lower box with dummy boards to the brood nest and not much more, maybe with polystyrene behind them if the colony isn't that strong, and put a similarly dummied deep box on top, with a feeder above. Bees find it easier to work up than out in spring so there is no need to delay until the box is nearly full.

    If you have unused stores outside the brood nest in your lower box you can score them and put them to the sides of the upper box for a short while (not over the active brood nest or the queen will lay in them) or save them to use with splits and swarms later.

    Rather like a Bailey comb change.

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    Senior Member fatshark's Avatar
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    Shook swarm? Probably the simplest approach of all ... and lowers the pathogen load in the hive.

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    Last edited by fatshark; 10-02-2013 at 10:42 AM.

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    Always feel that a shook swarm for something like this, assuming the colony is otherwise of healthy appearence, is rather a waste of brood.

    The more fiddly way would be to make some cardboard/wood inserts to fit the bottom of the frames and transfer existing frames with brood/stores into the 14x12 box and then replace them in a piecemeal fashion with 14x12 frames from then.

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    These will indeed all work but I wonder at the stress levels.

    PH

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    I've done all 3 transferring national to poly.
    Shook swarm I think is the easiest and quickest, but you need the colony to be strong.
    Ph's method works fine as well.

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    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    That's the thing about beekeeping - more than one way to skin a cat and the people who have the most problems are those who are completely rigid.

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    Personally I'd go with Gavin/PHs method as a preference especially if its a healthy colony.

    Shook swarming is perhaps the most straightforward, but on a healthy colony I think it's a terrible waste of brood and you do need a strong colony, too early in the season and you run the risk that you'll be left nursing a small Nuc.

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    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    Personally I'd go with Gavin/PHs method
    That would be my gut feeling as well although I don't have bees that need bigger frames!
    Very rarely, I have a prolific colony and I just give it a second brood box on top.

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