The nectar flow here started with a bang, my strongest hive drew and filled 2 mediums in 1 week, the other hives drew and filled 1 box or so. As for my queen rearing I had 24 cells, 21 came back mated 2 failed entirely and 1 was salvageable (I gave them some eggs). This year is looking so good far 😁
Ian for your 6's how do you have the entrances? Are they all facing the same direction and wide open or do they have entrance reducers. Could not make it out in the video. Next can you show the set up?😊
Scientifically a 6 frame almost makes kind of sense since that constitutes 6 * 7000 or 42,000 potential brood cells. And if the brood cycle is 21 days and she lays 2,000 a day then that gives her two full generational cycles of new bees at all times. However once hatched they live longer than 21 days so the colony would be perpetually slightly overstuffed but that's why he has so many deep supers on top to contain the overflow
The worker bees in 3*6 queen pallets become cooperative and never fight? Do you have any hunch or eyesight as to whether they spread the love evenly or do they stick with their queen. You'd think three separate queen mandibular pheromones would drive them crazy or make them selective.
From my experience over the last 5-7 years with 6's, I have far better winter survival in 6's. I've hardly lost any 6's and been 5-15% loss in my 10's.
Hopefully Ian the weather doesn’t change so you can maximize the honey harvest. I am saying this because here in N Texas the vegetation becomes brown. No rain in this area for about one month or so. Success.
so do you have a link here to a video as to the method you are applying and how it is done. Since this seams like something interesting and a unique beekeeping technique that many here do not know about. :-)
2 weeks and you’re going to be looking at wall to wall bees. I was skeptical about those packages but looks like they’re going to pay for themselves and more.
Do you see a lot of pollen down in those 6's? I was thinking of how I could do this in Ohio. Our pollen flow in May is very strong and I often have to take solid palen frames out of my single brood boxes because more comes in than they can use
I can't figure out how they don't swarm with only 6 frames?! My bees are gearing up to swarm with 4 boxes no queen excuder , i have been making them draw though but they aren't totally backfilling. Definitely constant management!!! Glad to see the improvement in your bees!
First year queens shouldnt have swarming in their minds, next year however they will get transfered into a full box in an attempt to stop them from swarming.
It sure is nice to see your yards has turned around an wide open. On your nuc yards stacked out with regular supers is it your thought that you get more protection or more honey from them . I have heard other people talking about that and I took it that we could get more honey from the three nucs connect as a group like you are doing or am I wrong on this. What is your thoughts on that. THANKS
Very interesting Does that centre nuc end up being all brood and the outside 2 have honey near the outside walls Do they end up acting like a large single brood chamber ??
How do you over winter your 6 frame nucs? I made my first 6 frame nucs this year and started them with queens I raised. The weather here has not been the best for the flow where I am in Missouri, but they have filled 2 supers and working on 2 more.
I'm not sure I understand your meaning of "the power of sixes". I can see what looks like 3 brood boxes below the QE, and 4 honey deeps. Are these 3 hives side by side, or one hive packed horizontal ly and vertically?
I'm going to try this with nine 6 frame nucs this Spring. Once you set them back a peg before swarm season, do you have to keep checking back in during the flow and eliminate swarm cells? And it looks like the middle box is facing the opposite direction, right?
Hello Ian, Do you and your family use coated canola seeds or natural ? I am a hobby beekeeper and ask myself whether I should visit canola with my bees or not. Here in the Netherlands, they use a lot of coated canola seeds. I have been told that the neonics can do the bees a lot of harm. Do you have any experience in these matters? Thanks for your continuing insights in beekeeping on a large scale. Greetings, Marcel
The white frame at 2:50-3 min mark by his thumb had a black spot with the girls surrounding it in a fashion that I don’t recognize. Can anyone tell me what I am seeing?😊
Great stuff Ian. Beautiful yards. Do you have any concern about the bees plugging out the brood box in those 6s or do they continue to push the nectar up throughout the flow? Also any issues with swarming in those boxes as they explode in population?
Man it is looking really good 👍 But I would rather mine have more space mentally speaking so they don’t get into their minds of swarming… would be great if had 100,000 boxes 😂 could just pull an store an replace and do a one time honey extract 🤷🏻♂️ lol yep I am living in a dream world 😂😂😂😂
@@lavenderlilacproductions Sorry I meant the worker bees, if I put a hand full of bees into a hive from a different colony they would fight etc. Different smell??
I guess somehow they start sharing instead of fighting. They say hey since you can't kill my queen and I can't you kill yours let's just work together.
Please remember last years Canola It turned Hard ! You Have New bees ! ORGANIC is the way to Go ! For the bees and for the People who eat from the Fields !!!
Ill have to do some reading on this but my question is, are you using the top 4 as strictly honey boxes or do you ever allow the queen to work say the middle two boxes? Never even heard of 6's before but interested in the idea for sure
I think he denies them access and if they swarm they swarm. He probably has grafting Queens ready at all time. Besides if he were to let them access the middle two boxes then the Queen's could cross over and kill each other
Im curious about your timing with adding an excluder. Do you notice any increased swarming if you add tbe excluder too late in the season? My thought is that if they have started backfilling the nest adding an excluder could trigger a sense of no laying room and therefore swarming.
May I ask "what verity of rape seed are you planting"? The rape seed we have in N. Carolina USA doesn't seem to produce the amount of Nectar that you are getting.
We’re I live in north eastern Nevada my bees are devouring patties too but it’s still been cold… there’s a lot of blossoms in the fields but there still struggling
