Extraction timing

[JEK]

Hi everyone

I have 6 hives all with 2 deeps for brood, a queen excluder and a 3rd deep as a super, the issue I have is that  2 of the hives are ready for extraction, and the other 4 are not, I did an inspection today and suspect they will need another couple of weeks. I'm in sydney Australia and it is the end of spring.

Shall I extract from the 2 hives now and the other 4 in a couple of weeks, or wait for the other 4 to build up and extract all at once? What do you guys do in this situation?

[splitrock]

Well for starters, if you have two ready to extract, you either better get to extracting, or be adding another super before they run out of room and swarm on you. Either way though, you need to will need to get another box on there and give them more room.

I pull all my supers at the end of the season, and just extract for a few days.

[iddee]

We have SHB here. I pull a super when it is full, then freeze it for a few days, seal it in a plastic trash bag, and extract when I get ready.

[Joe D]

If you have the frames to replace the ones you take out of the supers that aren't ready yet.  You can that go through those hives and get the frames that are ready.  You could also remove the frames that are ready and the supers that are, extract them and place them back on.
I have also done some the way Iddee does.  Good luck to you and your bees whichever you decide.




Joe

[JEK]

Ok thanks that sounds like a good plan.

[homemaid]

I have a question on this also. If you are to replace the frames as you take them out for inspection. When you takes frames out for extraction and replace with fresh frames do you put those in where the frames one out? Or move the partial filled frames to the center and empty fresh frames on the outside?