My question is about how many brood boxes to use. My first hive I have 2 deeps for brood boxes. I caught a swarm saturday and installed them into a deep box, (both hives are 10 frames).
I am trying to figure out if I want to keep the second hive in just 1 deep or add another deep or a medium.
What are the advantages and disadvantage of using any of the combinations. I know one advantage of just 1 deep is the weight of the hive if you have to move it. Neither of my hives will ever have to be moved.
What are the different combinations that everybody is using on here?
Start each hive out in 1 deep, once they have 7 of 10 frames drawn out add another deep.
If I'm using a hive for honey production, I use one deep for brood. I let them build up into 2 deeps to get strength of numbers, and then I confine the queen to the bottom deep and I'll get alot of bees with a single deep for continueing brood with more honey because of lots of bees with less brood to feed.
If I'm using a hive for making increase, raising queens or making up nucs or mating nucs, then I let the brood bee 2 deeps. This gives me more continueing brood production for making up my nucs.
So I guess the answer to your question depends on what you want from your bees?
I keep mine in two deeps, although I am letting a huge hive build in a third deep for a split or good honey production.
David
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesulbn.htm
What MB said... although I'm a neophyte at this (started last year), I am really, really fond of the concept of having all boxes (and frames, of course) be the same size, so I'll be running all mediums this year. Lots of upside, no downside that I can see. I think the math is 3 mediums = 2 deeps...
And they are a LOT lighter.
-T
Quote from: TimLa on April 14, 2009, 05:02:39 AM
Lots of upside, no downside that I can see. I think the math is 3 mediums = 2 deeps...
30% increase in equipment cost is a big downside to many, especially when you have many hives. There are other things as well, but we don't have to hash through them in this thread again. It is more of a personal choice that can be argued either way.