Getting Queen to lay in the deeps

[gdog]

I have deep supers for brood on my hives but the Queen only seems to want to lay in the mediums. Any ideas on how to get her down in the first deep and not just stay up in the medium? I thought about getting her on a frame and placing her into the deep an put a queen excluder on which should work.

Thanks

[Psparr]

You could swap boxes. The bees usually work up.

[GSF]

This is funny (or not). I did what Psparr said do. (not saying it's wrong) Did it work? Nup. Dang bees wouldn't leave the mediums to save their lives. I finally got them in a deep the next season. It didn't have anything to do with the wrong time of year either.

[Joe D]

Put the mediums that have been laid in under the deeps and put a queen excluder on top of the deeps.  Or something I have thinking of doing to a few of mine, to do away with the deeps, cut the deep supers and frames down to mediums.  It will get you to one size super.  Now I have mostly deeps for brood and mediums and shallows for honey supers.  My extractor will do 8 shallow or mediums and only 4 deeps.  All my supers are still 10 frame.

Good luck to you and your bees


Joe D

[gdog]

Yeah I wanted them go from the mediums to the deeps and fill them with brood, instead they insist on the mediums for what ever reason they will not touch them. They already have comb and some pollen in them. Bees are Bees!

[Oldbeavo]

Put the deep on the bottom, add a Qx to the deep, put some pollen and honey in the deep, one frame of brood and some new or empty frames.
Shake the frames from the mediums outside the entrance to the deep, probably including the queen, if you can find her put her in the deep.
Put the brood in the medium above the deep with the Qx, all the nurse bees will go through the Qx to look after the brood and some will stay on the frame of brood in the deep to look after the queen.
The queen will start laying in the deep, the brood hatches in the medium and you now have your deep brood box.
I would leave the QX in place, up to you, but we use Qx's on all hives as part of our management.