Questions about moving hives

Beeboy01 · October 15, 2016, 11:21:32 PM

I need to move my three hives across the back yard for about a week. Hurricane Matthew blew through last week and dropped a real large swamp oak on the back of the workshop and in the bee yard. I didn't loose any hives but need to move them for the tree people to come in and cut up the oak.
My plan is to install screened inner covers during the day for ventilation, block off the hive entrances at night and then move them the next day. My question is how long is it safe to keep the bees locked up in their hives?
From what I have been able to find it is recommended keeping the bees locked up in the hives for 2-3 days before releasing them to re-orientate to the new location.
There is a good chance it will only take one day to get the tree removed which means I'll be releasing the bees the day the tree has been cleared out of the bee yard or maybe the day after.
Would it be a better plan to keep the bees locked up for the duration and then just move them back to the yard or should I release he bees after 2-3 days, let them re-orientate to the new location and then close them back up for the move back to the yard where they will need to re-orientate a second time. Don't want to stress the bees any more than needed.
Also should I feed them some sugar water while they are locked up.
Haven't had to move hives a short distance before and could use some advice.
Thanks, Ed

Oldbeavo · October 16, 2016, 06:09:27 AM

How far is across the back yard?

Beeboy01 · October 16, 2016, 10:11:37 AM

I'm moving them about 250 feet with a hand truck. Forgot to include that in my original post.

cao · October 16, 2016, 12:23:15 PM

Sorry to hear about the tree. I would say if you could time it right and move them the night before the tree guys come and if they are done in a day, you could just keep them locked up. Then move them back to original location. IMO there is no need to have them reorient to another location and then have to reorient back to the original location. If you do keep them locked up for more than a few hours, I would provide them water to keep the hive cool if it is warm outside.

divemaster1963 · October 16, 2016, 12:28:14 PM

also mark the hives so as to alow you to place them back into their original locations.

john

Beeboy01 · October 16, 2016, 12:45:34 PM

I just moved them about 250 feet this morning with no problem. They are in the shade but when I checked the hives by removing the outer covers to look at the screened inner covers one hive that is packed with bees had a lot of hot air blowing out of it from the bees fanning. I sprayed the screened cover with sugar water and put an empty shallow on top of the hive to increase the air space above the screened inner cover for better ventilation. I'm hoping that along with having the outer cover sitting crooked will do the trick. I might drill a 1/2 inch hole in the bottom deep and cover it with screen for more ventilation if needed.
The other two hives were not fanning as much and appeared OK but they don't have as many bees in them. Still would like to know how long I can keep them restricted to the hives. I'm hoping the tree people can get here by Tuesday or Wednesday so I'm only looking at 3-4 days.

divemaster1963 · October 16, 2016, 01:07:23 PM

I would not keep them confined more than two days. exspecially the fulll hive.

john

Beeboy01 · October 16, 2016, 05:18:26 PM

John, that's where I'm confused, a lot of the info I've found says to keep the hives closed up for 3 days for a short move while others say to open the hives up after 24 hours and restrict the entrances with brush. Of course I could split the deck and just release the big hive while keeping the other two locked up for the duration.
I'm starting to lean to opening the hives after 48 hours and then let them re-orientate while I put the yard back together which will take a day. Then I'll close the hives back down, move them to the yard and set them back up.
Want to get this done but need to do it right.

divemaster1963 · October 16, 2016, 05:36:07 PM

with the heat that youhave in your area. i would check with sawdustmaker . he may be north of you so maybe pm some of the other guys down in florida.

JOHN

Acebird · October 16, 2016, 05:50:04 PM

Quote from: Beeboy01 on October 16, 2016, 12:45:34 PM
I'm hoping the tree people can get here by Tuesday or Wednesday so I'm only looking at 3-4 days.

Yikes! Why not let them re orient to where they are now and then close them up the evening before the tree guys come? I would not close my hives up for 3 days no matter how small they were.
If the bees don't have a hive in the tree it shouldn't be a problem working around them if they are not aggressive.

Beeboy01 · October 16, 2016, 07:35:27 PM

Ace, thanks, I'm thinking along that lines. It's just that most info I've found says to lock up the bees for 2-3 days for a short distance move before releasing them and re-orientating the bees. I really don't want any bees to head back to the bee yard while the tree removal crew is taking out the tree, it could get messy.
I'm thinking about splitting the ticket and releasing the big hive Tuesday and keeping the other two locked up till the job is done. A lot depends on when the tree removal crew can show up and how long the job will take.
At least I'm going to get a chance to clean up the bee yard.

Acebird · October 16, 2016, 09:18:49 PM

OK I am just going to tell you that I live on a commercial piece of property. One of the the things we have on the property is a bill board. The bill board company has the right to "clear cut" anything that in their view obstructs the view of the sign. Trust me they cut anything that gets within a 50 ft path of that sign. So why am I telling you this? Well they came in with a 60 ft cherry picker drove it right within 10 ft of my hives on an active day right through the flight path of the hive. They cleared their "view of the sign" and no one got stung with three chain saws running. For the most part, foraging bees have no interest in what is in front of them they will go around whatever, be it on the search for nectar run or the return with nectar. They don't care.
I don't know who you got to cut up your tree but if they have never come across honeybees in their experience then they haven't been doing it long. Most tree cutters are burly guys that wouldn't be wimping out over a honey bee. Sawing through a hive in a tree, maybe, but managed hives next to a tree, doubtful.

Beeboy01 · October 16, 2016, 11:20:41 PM

Ace, the tree is down behind my shop with the only access being through the bee yard through the location of the hives. The bee yard is along the rear of my property and the tree is leaning on the shop at the very rear of the bee yard against the rear corner of the shop. There is no other access to the oak except through the bee yard which is why I've moved the hives. It's a large tree, about 60 feet high and a good 24 inches across at the base. The tree company will need to bring a Bobcat in not only to move the wood but also hold up the base of the tree while cutting it to get the weight off the rear of the shop. If they could go around the hives they would but there isn't enough room for them behind the shop get the job done properly unless the hives are moved. It's a lot different from the bill board experience you had with your hives with a cherry picker, I'm dealing with hives that have just been moved not hives that are stationary during a flow.
My concern is how long can I keep the bees confined, please keep to the original question of the thread, thanks for your help so far.

Acebird · October 17, 2016, 09:56:35 AM

Two hours during the day or overnight.

Beeboy01 · October 17, 2016, 10:13:39 AM

Two hours seems unrealistic since packages bees are confined up to 5 days prior to installation and the commercial bee keepers keep their hives on trucks for days at a time while moving from orchard to orchard.
Ace, could you give me the source that you are quoting concerning the two hour maximum for confining bees. I'm just wondering if you took it out of context.
Thanks

Michael Bush · October 17, 2016, 10:24:20 AM

Bees in a screened box don't have brood to cool or heat or wax to keep from collapsing and they have a feeder with thin syrup so they can stay hydrated and fed. A colony has much higher needs to feed brood, keep brood cool or warm, etc. I try never to confine a hive unless I absolutely have to and then I try to keep it as short as possible. And I try to give them water and make sure they have stores.

Beeboy01 · October 17, 2016, 07:32:15 PM

Thanks, MB I have the hives in the shade with screened top covers along with plenty of sugar water and water. It's been 24 hours and they all look fine but I've not opened any of them. The big hive has taken up a quart of sugar water and about the same for water while the other two have taken up about half that amount. I'll let everybody know how it works out.

Beeboy01 · October 19, 2016, 07:55:41 PM

Here's a follow up. spent the day redoing the bee yard, raking debris, setting up the fence and setting up cinder blocks for the stands. moving the hives wasn't a lot of fun, dragging the hives across the back yard with a hand truck over soft ground was almost comical. If you can't laugh at stuff you do you are missing a lot of free humor and entertainment.
I removed the entrance blockers from all three hives and found about 300 dead bees piled up on the bottom boards of each hive. I expected some loss but the hives with top and bottom screened boards had the same amount of dead bees as the one with just a screened top, thought there would be a difference. Don't know if the hives overheated or the losses were from other issues. They seem to be settling down pretty well and are doing a lot of orientation flights around the hives.
It's still too early to open the hives, need to let them get comfortable in their new location before checking them. I'm planning an inspection next week.
I had them confined for 4 days in the shade with screened covers along with feeding them sugar water and providing them with lots of water for cooling the hives. Not sure about the losses, maybe older bees that were stressed by confinement or just attrition from stress.
Long term damage is going to be a wait and see.

Acebird · October 20, 2016, 08:46:30 AM

4 days! Boy I am shocked they made it. The two hours I stated is my own comfort level, like if I were going to pick up bees in my un-airconditioned car. I don't have any research data to back it up. I do know that people have lost nucs on a 30 minute drive.

Beeboy01 · October 20, 2016, 12:46:16 PM

The jury is still out on the confinement, I'm hoping there wasn't any long term damage to the hives. I need to take off the screened top covers next.