Second hand hive

[Stuart]

Hi all,

l have just got a second hand hive with bees from a friend of a friend of friend. The frames and comb look a little old, which l think tells me it has been a while since the frames had new foundation etc in both the brood box and the super.
My question is:
How many frames could l look at replacing at once, with out putting the hive at risk?
It is half way through summer here.

Also how long does a hive usually take to make comb and fill a frame with honey?

If l replace frames with new foundation, should l be syrup feeding to give them a boost to build up stock for the coming Autum and winter.

If doing the above should the queen excluder be removed?

Sorry for all the questions - Beginner Beekeeper in Training

Thanks Stuart

[Michael Bush]

I would never replace a frame of brood.  Just keep moving them to the outside as you feed empty frames into the middle and only as fast as they can fill the space with bees, quickly draw it and quickly lay it up.  You can pull honey off the edges if there's a flow to keep them fed.

But there's nothing wrong with old frames and I see nothing wrong with old combs.  If I was swapping out all the comb I'd be doing it to get small cell.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesnaturalcell.htm

[Stuart]

Thanks for your wisdom Michael.

[Scadsobees]

The darker the comb, the older it is.  Many beeks rotate out the oldest, replacing a few frames every year.  There can be a buildup of disease spores and chemicals from treatments over the years in the comb, wax and cocoons.   If you don't know the history of the hive, such as diseases or treatments, it might be in your best interest.

If the comb isn't dark but just a bit tattered, then don't worry about it.  After winter some of my stored empty honey super comb is a little worse for the wear of getting handled, moved, and scraped.

If the supers where the honey is stored is too dark, then I'd recommend replacing that too after you extract.  That may or may not affect the honey, but that is my opinion, I don't like seeing too many dark specs suspended in my honey, and when I do I suspect that it is tiny bits of old wax and cocoon.

If your main flow is over and not much else coming in, then if I replaced much comb I'd also feed some light 1:1 syrup to help them out.

But there are differences of opinion, and you need to do what works best for you.

Rick

[Michael Bush]

In one year the brood comb will be dark.  In five it will be black.