What is the largest brood chamber anyone has used?
How large can a strong colony grow and maintain?
Largest size brood chamber? As in size of box. Or most chambers of bees on a hive @ once.
I would say one deep and most of three shallows.
Quote from: sc-bee on July 16, 2011, 03:58:03 PM
Largest size brood chamber? As in size of box. Or most chambers of bees on a hive @ once.
I would say one deep and most of three shallows.
Most chambers of bees on a hive @ once?
How many "ten frame deeps or mediums" and "eight frame deeps or mediums" for colony nest?
Most keepers in my area use 1 or 2 ten frame deep brood chambers with "several hives". My question about chamber/colony size; will a colony build up to and maintain in three deeps (8 or 10 frame)? Can a person manage two or three large colonies instead of five or seven small colonies?
You can do many things, but in your area, most beeks use one deep and one medium or shallow as a brood chamber. All above that is for honey. It's a matter of choice, tho, as a queen can lay up to 2000 eggs a day. The most brood she can have is 21 days laying.
Iddee he could try one of my tiny nuc's, there's plenty of space for brood in it. LOL
http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/5813/dsc036742.jpg (http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/5813/dsc036742.jpg)
I've seen brood in five or six eight frame medium boxes at the same time if that's what you're asking. I don't use an excluder so they can expand as far as they like and I have not seen them go past that. But that's the equivalent of three ten frame deeps.
Well like Iddee said, she can only lay so many eggs in a day. At somepoint the brood chamber will outgrow the queen. 2000 x 21= 42,000. So the brood chamber is only going to be approximately 42,000 cells big any way you slice it!
Sure hope the bees know how to use the calculator ;) :-D
Quote from: Michael Bush on July 17, 2011, 12:47:07 AM
I've seen brood in five or six eight frame medium boxes at the same time if that's what you're asking. I don't use an excluder so they can expand as far as they like and I have not seen them go past that. But that's the equivalent of three ten frame deeps.
Yes, that is what I was asking.
Thinking about splits for next season (colony growth- not honey production)! I have 8 frame deeps and mediums, I want one colony in deeps and the other in mediums. The new hive is finishing their first deep now; can I put a medium "under" the deep and let them expand. Then put a medium on "top" of the deep and other medium. So the hive would be "medium-deep-medium" and when ready to split, deal the mediums on one bottom board and the deep on another?
Sound like you have a firm grip on what you want to do....go for it, there is no reason it will not work.