2 brood chamber to 1 Brood Chamber

Started by mathew, August 18, 2010, 09:45:37 PM

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mathew

August 18, 2010, 09:45:37 PM
I have just completed my honey harvest and preparing my hives for winter. I wintered my hives last year with a one brood chamber since I started them as nucs in July. This year, during the summer I ran 2 brood chambers. Now I want to reduce to a one brood chamber but I don't want to waste the brood and stores. Does anyone have any strategies?

Kathyp

#1
August 18, 2010, 10:02:24 PM
if your 2nd deep has brood and stores, leave it on.  you don't need to reduce space to less that what the bees are filling.  i don't know where you are, but you probably still have two good brood cycles to go through before the weather/daylight really shuts down the queen.  more if you are in a warmer climate.

put your location in your profile and it will help in answering your questions.
The people the people are the rightful masters of both congresses and courts not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert it.

Abraham  Lincoln
Speech in Kansas, December 1859

hardwood

#2
August 18, 2010, 10:03:03 PM
Why reduce?

Scott
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

beee farmer

#3
August 19, 2010, 01:47:48 AM
Having to option on wherther to go with one deep or two according to some depends on your location and latitude with the more southern areas more forgiving towards one deep than the northern ones.  Now dont all jump on me, I am sure there are several people in the north that use all mediums or any combination of deeps and meds. I am just expressing what I have read in the be journals ect.. I am in the south and run 2 deeps mostly because I seem to observe better brood patterns, its easier to pull frames to make nucs and swap brood and raise queens.
"Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do"  Benjamin Franklin

Kathyp

#4
August 19, 2010, 12:41:36 PM
i think it depends more on the condition of the hive, than on the weather.  i have several 2 deeps that are jammed with bees and honey.  they will overwinter in the two deeps.  i have a couple of late swarms that i'm not sure about yet.  i'll make the call next month.  it's not written in stone.  it's a judgment call you have to make.
The people the people are the rightful masters of both congresses and courts not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert it.

Abraham  Lincoln
Speech in Kansas, December 1859

mathew

#5
August 20, 2010, 02:32:16 AM
Quote from: kathyp on August 18, 2010, 10:02:24 PM
if your 2nd deep has brood and stores, leave it on.  you don't need to reduce space to less that what the bees are filling.  i don't know where you are, but you probably still have two good brood cycles to go through before the weather/daylight really shuts down the queen.  more if you are in a warmer climate.

put your location in your profile and it will help in answering your questions.

Thanks. I have placed my location in my profile. You are not very far away from me. About 4 degrees south from me. I run deep hive boxes. Last year, I had great success in a one brood chamber. But they were nucleus colonies started in July moved to a deep box, their population grew large enough in 9 frames plus a frame feeder in the hive for the entire winter. I've been told before that single brood or 2 brood chamber did not make a difference. But i wanted to check with others who have had experience in both methods.

Could you explain what you mean by having 2 good brood cycles?
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