| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| rhyddid |
converting from national to TBHI want to convert some hives from national to top bar hives (phil chandler's design). I've tried the 'chop and crop' method and it's way too messy and stressful for my girls.Would be very interested in hearing other people's conversion experiences. Thanks. l |
||||
| Tavascarow |
IMHO the easiest way to populate a top bar hive from a framed hive is with a shook swarm, or a natural one.
It still leaves you with bees in the framed hive, but you can use it to populate more top bar hives in future or when queen cells have been formed split it into nucs & when the queens are mated & laying well, sell them on. Phil Chandler has just released two videos on transferring from frames to top bars using conventional equipment. You can do the same with a framed brood box over an existing horizontal TBH. Another method is to construct a hybrid hive like this. I've not tried it but can see how it works & have read of it's success. 
|
||||
| rhyddid |
That's very useful thank you. What bees are left in the framed hive ? If you have shaken off all the bees what happens to any brood left in the framed hive ? Thanks. |
||||
| mochasidamo |
Hi . Experiences with conversions...one six-frame National into a TBH. Worked but set them back a little, not too messy. Said we wouldn't do it again. Ever....
....then an MD nuc arrived ten days ago and needed hiving somewhere. This was a bargain buy and bursting with bees and brood...and an entire capped frame of honey which was much too heavy to crop and was part taken for the house, part put in a feeder and fed back. Too big to safely put on top and let them build down (hybrid). So at 6pm as the wind had finally dropped (a daughter's birthday, she helped me, family curry out put off three hours!) we started. The bees were very calm (we don't smoke TBH. Ever) well except when my partner decided to come down without a beesuit and clanged one on the nose from a guard bee at twenty feet). These frames are enormous and properly tooled with wire cutter, scissors, branch lopper etc, jute string, a large needle, knife and plenty water to wash sticky gloves it went well and immediately the bees were stringing out the frames. Made two frames out of each...central crop and two edge bits sewn on. They will have filled the three foot hive shortly having been in there less than a fortnight. "Powerful bees" we were told. It stressed them less than being solid in the nuc box....no stings to us and straight onto comb building. But NEVER again....shook swarms only from next year but had to get the numbers up ahead of the BKA queen rearing. Three queens at the mating station as I write...hope they're happy .
Maybe see you on our social forum...see sig. |
||||
| Tavascarow |
If you put a queen excluder over the new box with the bees in & then put the brood over that the nurse bees will come up through to tend to the brood. One gentle but firm shake is enough to dislodge most of the bees any left are probably young bees anyway, & with fewer bees it's easy to check if the queen is present on each frame. It's easier to demonstrate than type about. To be honest, on afterthought, I think Phil's method is far simpler, requires less manipulation with less risk of damaging the queen & could still be done now, whereas a shook or artificial swarm is best done at the beginning of the swarming season (May). [/url] |