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Author Topic: Unattended Hive Packed with Honey  (Read 1411 times)

Offline hrtull

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Unattended Hive Packed with Honey
« on: August 01, 2020, 04:13:45 pm »
Myself and another employee  kept bees at a golf course we worked at but the Covid threat for a couple of 71 year olds kept us away this year.  2 hives swarmed early in the year and this hive was left unattended until yesterday. It was a hive that we captured late summer last year, placed in a deep where they overwintered. I assumed they would be long gone but golf superintendent called an said there was a lot of activity so I made the 50 mile round trip and this is what I found.  I came unprepared to deal with honey extraction if required. I placed a 10 frame deep on top and left.  I plan on moving this 25 miles to my house. My question is how do I deal with this packed box and get it sorted out to move. I did not pulled any frames because it seemed to be one huge mass bonded together when I attempted to do so.. I was surprised at the amount of bees and more so the amount of honey.  Curious where the room is for brood. Never been here before. Any guidance on this would be appreciated, Thanks HT

Offline Acebird

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Re: Unattended Hive Packed with Honey
« Reply #1 on: August 01, 2020, 06:29:10 pm »
Why didn't you take it while you were there?  It is going to be harder now.
Brian Cardinal
Just do it

Offline iddee

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Re: Unattended Hive Packed with Honey
« Reply #2 on: August 01, 2020, 07:21:21 pm »
Normal situation for lazy folks like me. Give them a week to clean up. Then take it home and treat like any other hive. Nothing special needed.
"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . . Anything can happen, child. Anything can be"

*Shel Silverstein*

Offline FatherMichael

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Re: Unattended Hive Packed with Honey
« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2020, 07:21:31 pm »
What a great problem to have!
41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?

42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.

43 And he took it, and did eat before them.

Offline TheHoneyPump

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Unattended Hive Packed with Honey
« Reply #4 on: August 01, 2020, 10:25:57 pm »
Put a brood box of empty drawn combs UNDER, put it on the bottom board.  The brood nest will naturally move down.  Once queenie is down below laying out her patches, which you verify one week later by seeing her .... then add a second empty box on that bottom one AND place a queen excluder on the second box.  Put the super you just added today/yesterday above the QE as the third, next take that heavy packed box and put up on top as the fourth.  Then they will be good for awhile, until your fall/winter preps start wherever you are and you get on with reducing them back down for winter.  At that time adjust their winter reserves level and take you honey for extracting.

Hope that helps!
When the lid goes back on, the bees will spend the next 3 days undoing most of what the beekeeper just did to them.

Offline iddee

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Re: Unattended Hive Packed with Honey
« Reply #5 on: August 02, 2020, 06:11:12 am »
I don't know about Ohio, but the honey flow is over here. They will not fill another deep before winter here.
"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . . Anything can happen, child. Anything can be"

*Shel Silverstein*

Offline Acebird

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Re: Unattended Hive Packed with Honey
« Reply #6 on: August 02, 2020, 09:13:51 am »
Put a brood box of empty drawn combs UNDER, put it on the bottom board.
If the deep is full of honey it is not going to be fun fooling around with a box underneath especially if you are 71 years old.
Brian Cardinal
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