How many brood boxes?

[Gail Klein]

Hi all!  This is my first season beekeeping and I was wondering how many brood boxes people typically use per hive.  Right now I have 1 deep and 1 medium for brood boxes on each hive and I'm wondering if I should add a medium honey super above this or if I should use the medium as an additional brood box.  Thoughts?  Thanks!

[Joseph Bessetti]

I use 3 deeps (10 frame).  When implemented properly it is a great way to prevent swarming.

Joe

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[marvin]

Like everything in beekeeping, there are different opinions on this question (and it's an important question).  The differences in opinion sort of center around whether you provide supplemental feeding during the winter or not.  The "standard" that  I was told many years ago, was to overwinter in a minimum of 2 deeps, with one of those being full of honey (about 80-100lbs).  I'm now more inclined to go with a minimum of two deeps and one medium, with some the option of adding a winter fondant cake if needed.  Three deeps, like Joe suggested, is also a solid strategy.  In your case, with a first year hive, I'd say add another medium (without a queen excluder).  And I'd do it soon while the flow is still on.  You're probably starting with foundation, and it'll take a while for them to both draw comb and fill it with honey.  You also might want to start researching techniques for fall and winter feeding.  Getting first year hives on new foundation through the winter is an extra challenge, but doable if you have a plan.

[Matt H]

I run 3 deeps but as you see others have success with 2 deeps and a medium and probably some with just 2 deeps. Anything less is really pushing it in 10 frame equipment.

This past winter excluded (which was a bad one), I found that hives going in with 2 deep had ~50% survival while hives with 3 or more had 70-80% survival. My 5-frame nucs stacked 3-4 high (15-20 deep frames) have a 30-40% survival rate.

[Andy M.]

Joe,

What is "when implemented properly" regarding preventing swarming in 3 deeps?  Thanks in advance as I'm a 1st year beekeeper and am trying to soak up all the knowledge! :)

-Andy

[Paul Zelenski]

My preference is a medium and two deeps, but have had success with two deeps, three deeps or four or five mediums. I wouldn’t give up on a hive in a medium and a deep (they might make it with sufficient dry sugar on top), but I certainly wouldn’t make this my goal. I wouldn’t put on an excluder and honey supers limiting them to that size, not in WI. I would definitely try to allow them to build larger than that before winter.

> On Jul 18, 2018, at 9:21 PM, Matt H <matthew...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I run 3 deeps but as you see others have success with 2 deeps and a medium and probably some with just 2 deeps. Anything less is really pushing it in 10 frame equipment.
>
> This past winter excluded (which was a bad one), I found that hives going in with 2 deep had ~50% survival while hives with 3 or more had 70-80% survival. My 5-frame nucs stacked 3-4 high (15-20 deep frames) have a 30-40% survival rate.
>

[Paul Zelenski]

I am guessing he is talking about normal space management and reversals, but I would be curious to hear as well. 

3 deeps is fine, but the bees will usually fill the top box with honey during the flow restricting the brood nest to the lower boxes. If you want to be more natural and not feed your bees, this is excellent. If you want more honey in the supers and to feed in the fall, it is less ideal. This is a good time to point out that even seemingly simple questions are actually more complicated as all decisions need to mesh with your overall strategy. There are a lot of moving pieces that all need to fit together. 

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[Joseph Bessetti]

I try to winter in 3 deeps, so for a new colony I would aim to try to build it up to 3 deeps in the first season. 

Preventing swarming on overwintered hives and strong splits from overwintered hives requires more than 3 deep boxes during the summer, usually 4-6 deep boxes are necessary. 

I generally use all deep boxes, and I don't restrict my queens.  I also don't distinguish between "brood boxes" and "supers".  If the queen lays in it, it's brood.   I find that they will keep 12-16 frames laid up with brood, usually the center 4-6 frames of the lower 3-4 deep boxes.  As long as she isn't restricted there is little tendency for the hive to swarm.  If the flow is heavy I'll move honey out of the brood area and put in empty comb or foundation to give her more space to lay.   It is a lot easier to prevent the initiation of swarming this way than it is to check them frequently hoping to catch them after they've started cells and before they've swarmed away.

I don't reverse as a standard practice, though sometimes a new queen in a split will start laying in the top box of 3-4 deeps and then I'll move her and the brood down to box 2 or box 3. 

Joe

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From: mad...@googlegroups.com <mad...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Andy M. <wa...@umich.edu>
Sent: Friday, July 20, 2018 9:19 AM
To: madbees
Subject: [madbees] Re: How many brood boxes?

 

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