frequent robbing vs more supers

[windfall]

I am wondering if it matters how I provide the bees with more space during a strong flow; Robbing out capped frames frequently or adding empty supers to the stack?

The hives are all in the backyard, so it is an easy thing to drop in once a week check and pull a few capped frames of honey if full. That is just what I did about a week and a half ago.

On my strongest hive I pulled 3 deep frames honey from the top (for us) and a frame of brood and 2 of pollen for some nucs. When I went back this weekend they had drawn new honey frames, but had not fully capped some of those I left from last time.

The hive is 8 frame deeps, four high with a medium of sawdust on top as a quilt box. That plus the stand and a slatted rack have it pretty tall. I am reluctant to make it any taller for fear of wind during thunderstorms. It is easy to keep checking and robbing, but I am wondering if they would do better having more open combs to work?

Perhaps I am just not used to how tall I can safely stack?

[windfall]

to clarify: the bottom box is mostly pollen a little brood, the next 2 almost all brood, the top all honey. no excluder.

[AllenF]

I have 8 boxes on one hive out my back door right now.  Most I keep about 5 at the most.  That would be 2 deep brood boxes and 3 honey supers most at a time.   You can run as many as how high you can reach.   It is all up to you whether you want to pull a few frames or several boxes at one time.   

[Finski]

.
Idea is to exract at least one full box of frames.
honey will be lost much in frame by frame prosessing.  

Arrange so that the lowest box is pollen store like it is. Then brood boxes.
Then supers so that bees may rippen honey in 2 boxes and in one capping is on.

Add allways empty frames and boxes between brood and honey.

When big show is over, swap the brood boxes. So combs will be consumed evenly.

If the hive has full honey frames in brood boxes, lift them up that bees cap them and then extract. Reason is that honey in them may crystallize if it is long time against cold wall.

Give foundations into brood box instead that hive do not swarm. Foundation drawing prevents swarming.

Look how many boxes the hive stands. If you put too much boxes, they let the lowest be nonoccupied.


I keep hives without excluder.