number of hive bodies?

red rambler · Post by **red rambler** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 12:17 pm

Just went through the last class and I have built two hive bodies, one brood and one med. super each. After reading many of the posts I am wondering if I ought build a couple of "extra" broods and supers just in case things go well.

What is a reasonable backup?

Post by **Jacobs** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 1:26 pm

Michael Bush advises using all mediums for ease and uniformity, but most people in this area use 1 deep and 1 medium for brood and then additional medium supers for extra brood space or honey. More boxes are better. If you are starting out with nucs (5 drawn deep frames of bees, brood, honey and pollen) they can really take off fast with a good spring flow and you may want 2-3 extra mediums per hive. If you are starting with packages with no drawn comb, the buildup will be slower, but having the extra boxes, frames and foundation won't hurt. You really don't want to be scrambling for this stuff during the flow (around Mid April here--possibly earlier). Last year the supply places were overwhelmed and lots of supers, frames and foundation were on back order during the critical periods. It doesn't look like the economy has slowed demand for bee equipment from what I have seen and heard.

I tend to want to have plenty of equipment in reserve. It will get used.

red rambler · Post by **red rambler** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 1:52 pm

Starting with two nucs. Supposed to get them in early May. Figured once I had the jig set up for the boxes, might as well make a few more. So might want to think along the lines of 6 more suppers. Two of which could serve as space for brood.

Thanks for the info.

gingerbee · Post by **gingerbee** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 12:10 pm

Based on advice from another beekeeper, I am converting to two deeps and will add queen excluder/shallow honey supers on top of that.

What kind of extracting equipment will you be using? Will it extract medium supers?

red rambler · Post by **red rambler** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:47 pm

Not that far down the road yet as far as extractors. Start spending time with Olav and hanging together the pieces and parts (hardware and knowledge}

Given the volume of sales on medium frames, I don't think extraction will be a problem.

gingerbee · Post by **gingerbee** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 5:45 pm

I don't know many of the members of Guilford Beekeepers association so I don't know Olav. He's not listed as a member on this site. Sounds Swedish, or Norwegian though.

We extract borrowing the equipment of a fellow beekeeper, who is a member. His extractor is modified to fit medium frames, so my husband had to modify it to fit our shallw supers. That's why I asked about extractors, what you were using since you use medium frames.

Post by **Wally** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 7:16 pm

Now watch me be totally wrong, but I THINK Olav is a professor of entomology and does bee research at UNCG.

Now Kirt can correct me when he signs in.

red rambler · Post by **red rambler** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 7:36 pm

He is in the biology dept. at UNCG. He was one of the early instructors.