To double brood or not to double brood

[graemew1]

First year beekeeper question:

I have about 8 frames of sealed brood but only a partially drawn out super. I have a queen excluder on.

At what point would you add a second brood box?

Many thanks in advance!


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[gavin]

At what point would you add a second brood box?


Personally I may add it next May if the colony is vigorous then and looks like needing a brood nest bigger than one brood box. You may still get something in that super this season if there is the forage for it. Heather, willowherb, Himalayan balsam.

However C4U lets the colonies run through additional brood box(es) at this time of year. He harvests honey from frames in those boxes whereas most of us take only from supers above an excluder.

[graemew1]

Thanks Gavin. The additional brood box I have is drawn out - I double brooded over the winter. If that makes any difference. Does c4u only have a second brood or a super on top too?


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[gavin]

If your hope is to winter on double brood, and that's a sensible way to go with more vigorous stocks, then get that second box on. Ian Craig has a beekeeping system that uses dummy boards to to double brood on 8+8 frames and that seems to work well too.

C4U just runs bees in deeps (brood boxes) I think. Have I got that right C4U? More will get added as needed.

[Mellifera Crofter]

... Ian Craig has a beekeeping system that uses dummy boards to to double brood on 8+8 frames ...

... 'My Beekeeping Year', with a link from the SBA website here (http://www.scottishbeekeepers.org.uk/study_notes.html).

Kitta

[graemew1]

Good o. Thanks for advice.


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[Adam]

It's unlikely that your bees will need any more brooding space that what they have. So it depends on storage - whether you can or will extract any honey from the super and then what storage you need until spring. For a 'relatively' small colony I will get them to fill a super before winter and then put it underneath. See link: http://www.norfolkbee.co.uk/beekeepers-resource/winter-preparation Dates will need to be different in a different part of the world to me. Many of my colonies I run as double broods which means there's plenty of storage space for winter.

[SDM]

It's a question with a thousand answers as everyone will use what they think is best suited to the colony I use double on my(mostly) buckfast bees, brood and a half, single brood on less prolific colonies and as of this year I'm even keeping some that will never outgrow their nuc( if they fill a nuc super I'll be chuffed).
Is it possible to ask whoever you got them from as hell probably have the most relevant answer.

[graemew1]

Excellent. Many thanks for all your help. It is hugely appreciated.


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[Jon]

If your hope is to winter on double brood, and that's a sensible way to go with more vigorous stocks, then get that second box on. Ian Craig has a beekeeping system that uses dummy boards to to double brood on 8+8 frames and that seems to work well too.


I tried that last winter with 8/8 or 7/7 and insulated dummies each end of the brood box and it worked very well.
In the spring when more space becomes necessary it's easy to remove the dummy boards and add some more frames.
Bees seem to like a chimney shaped nest.