I put the second deep on three of our four hives this evening. Bees were relatively gentle and have been quite industrious. I am hopeful that they will draw out the second deep with stores by winter. They had 8-9 frames drawn in the lower deeps although the outside of 1 and 10 were both bare. (I am supposing this is normal). I am curious, however, as to how I know if they have enough for winter, and when to check. I suppose I can feed if they are light, but when does that process start?
Quote from: Pond Creek Farm on July 10, 2008, 11:12:53 PM
...lower deeps although the outside of 1 and 10 were both bare. (I am supposing this is normal).
Yes, it's normal. I usually swap 1 & 2 and 9 & 10 to get them to finish drawing it out.
QuoteI am curious, however, as to how I know if they have enough for winter, and when to check. I suppose I can feed if they are light, but when does that process start?
In my area (central Indiana) I winter colonies in two deeps, with about 80-to-100 lbs of honey. Talk to some local beeks and find out what's typical for your area. We usually have a fall flow - goldenrod - and I leave that for the bees. If we're in drought, or the hives are light, I'll feed during the fall so they can build up some stores for winter. Get used to checking the hives regularly. I do a "heft check" - just lift one end of the hive up about an inch or two to get a feel for how heavy it is. If you do this regularly, you'll develop a sense of whether they have enough stores or not. I do this thru winter and early spring as well, so I know whether I need to feed or not.
For new colonies, I keep feed on until they have the 2nd deep drawn out.
I just added my 'second story' two days ago. I was told I would probably need to feed them all summer to help them build out the comb and stores for winter.
I just started the hive 3 weeks ago from a nuc.