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Cleaning brood frames

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9:21 pm
7 July 2011


bobh

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I have had to unite a struggling colony – seems to have gone well and they are now starting to fill up a new super. I now have the old brood frames from the 'abandoned hive' which have a little uncapped honey in them. I assume that the water content is too high to make it edible / storeable. If I store the frames with uncapped honey, the honey will crystalise.

Should I put these frames in the open air, and let all and sundry 'rob' it, put it into an empty hive, or can it be washed out. The frames are old and quite dark wax but in good order.

Any advice greatly accepted.

11:31 pm
7 July 2011


ThePath

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Cant you stick another super on one of your hives and add these frames to it?

Some on this forum would say that you shouldnt let robbing happen as the bees will fight etc over it but I dont think it matters to much, you would only lose a few bees max due to fighting.

I would say do either, add them to another hive or let them be robbed. No point wasting them. Dude

1:16 pm
8 July 2011


oliver90owner

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Sorry, but not at all confident of the advice given so far!

Putting the box of brood frames below the brood would allow the bees to clean up the frames from within the hive – so no risk of spreading disease all around the area (particularly getting into your colonies from other infected stocks!) or of setting up 'robbing' from your hives.

Putting brood frames into effectively two supers is encouraging wild comb on the 'short' brood frames or to get more nectar stored in those frames, if, as you seem to say, there is a good flow coming in.

The risk with my method is one of getting brood in the box you want cleared or wild comb on the brood frames proper.

Done quickly at the right time is the key. If they build wild comb from the upper brood frames or lay in the bottom box, they obviously needed more brooding space. Otherwise arrange for Q/E above the box (and a small eke above, with an entrance) and close off the bottom entrance).

You could confine any drones (Q/E fitted, but still using the original entrance), in the hive, but I do not do that sort of thing unless really needed and only for a short period of time.

Hope that helps, and explains the very real shortcomings of the other suggestions.

RAB

2:30 pm
8 July 2011


ThePath

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Apologies I didnt read it properly and missed that they were "brood frames"!

I take it these brood frames dont have any brood in them just honey?

I did think that if you have an extractor you could extract the "honey" thats in these frames and then add it back into the hive with the use of your feeder!

4:42 pm
8 July 2011


bobh

Avatar of keithbeekeeper
Worker Bee
 
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The old brood frames don't have any lavae/eggs, just some uncapped honey which the ants are feasting on at the moment.

What is an EKE please ?

3:46 pm
13 July 2011


ThePath

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An eke can be as simple as four planks of wood put together to fit the size of your hive. Basically creating another level or more space. They can be used to house feeders, or in this case your frames that need emptying or even underneath brood boxes or supers if you have comb thats to deep for them.

This is a good idea, thanks for mentioning it oliver

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