OK. I have two questions that I need help on>
1. What is the best method to put my small colony into my observation hive? (at night and close it up for a couple of days?)
2. I am going to get a cut out next saturday. What is the best method to put them into a Kenyan Top Bar? This is cut out not a swarm.
[What is the best method to put my small colony into my observation hive?]
At night with a single backlight behind the Ob. hive.
Stray bees will fly towards the light and thus into the hive.
[...and close it up for a couple of days?]
It is an observation hive right?
I hope you plan to close it up. :-P
[ What is the best method to put them into a Kenyan Top Bar? ]
Does you hive body take standard frame bars?
1. I'd rubber band the combs to frames and insert them.
2. Then I would add top bars for new combs (slowly until progress is seen).
3. I'd slowly wean out the old frames and combs.
Step 3 might be difficult this time of the year as the the hive is likely building towards winter.
you'd probably not want to disrupt that too much, else you might kill the colony.
Or, if disease or really old combs, I might shake them out onto starter strips.
In either case I would be sure to feed and even consider a pollen suppliment (if SHB is not a concern).
The OB hive will have a hose leading outside the house!!
It's a Kenyan TB so it has the sloping sides. I would be fine if it were standard. But with the slopes I need some new ideas.
I'd probably close them up for a couple of days. Assuming you have a method of feeding feed either diluted syrup or just make sure there is adequate honey and pollen and give them some water for that couple of days. I would never leave an observation hive closed more than three days or so. Mine are always free flying unless I'm going to a demonstration of some kind.
Yes, it has the feeder. This is the one I asked you about the space on. It has the jar feeder on the outside.
Should I just wait about the TB hive until the spring? They probably will not be able to build comb in time for winter. A flow just started here. Small hive stopped taking syrup.
The bees are probably done drawing comb in any significant amounts for the year here. I don't know about Georgia.
We have a flow on right now. Bees have been bringing in a lot of pollen. So they may draw a little more. I hope so, i got a call about another cutout. I'm going to get it saturday.