Long Hive

[rail]

1. Who uses and enjoys them?

2. Feeding - what types of feeders?

3. Supering?

4. Division boards?

5. Screened bottom boards or solid?

6. Length of hive?

7. Top cover - one piece or sectional?

[BjornBee]

The following may not answer all your questions, but it might help.

http://www.bjornapiaries.com/uniquebeekeeping.html

1) I do

2) Don't normally feed. But you can use about any standard feeder. Jars, top feeder, etc.

3) Yes you can.

4) It help with such a huge cavity when starting the hive.

5) Your choice

6) Two standard hives made into a long hive holds 21 frames. but you can custom build bigger.

7) Mine is sectional.

[FRAMEshift]

1. Who uses and enjoys them?

We have switched completely to long hives.   They work fine and are a lot less work.

2. Feeding - what types of feeders?

Miller top feeders, open feeding at 100 yds, syrup poured into drawn comb

3. Supering?

Not so far but that will be an experiment for next year.

4. Division boards?

followers in winter

5. Screened bottom boards or solid?

screened

6. Length of hive?

4 feet

7. Top cover - one piece or sectional?

three standard migratory covers

[yockey5]

I don't.

[Michael Bush]

>1. Who uses and enjoys them?

I have a few and enjoy them.

>2. Feeding - what types of feeders?

Anything that works on a Langstroth.  I've used frame feeders, miller feeders etc.

>3. Supering?

I have, but it kind of defeats the purpose...

>4. Division boards?

Don't have any.

>5. Screened bottom boards or solid?

I have done both.  I will make any new ones solid out of either that coroplast (there is an election coming up...) or 1/4" luan.  I've used both before with good luck.

>6. Length of hive?

Mine are 48 3/4" so three migratory covers fit for a lid... which is about 33 frames.

>7. Top cover - one piece or sectional?

Mine are sectional.  But it wouldn't hurt to have one piece the fits over the sections... I'd rather not have it all one piece with ever gap between every frame exposed every time you take off the lid.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beeshorizontalhives.htm

[T Beek]

1. Have two, only using one now.  Love them.  They were a graduation from TBH.

2.  I feed on either end using followers that have a 1/4 " hole drilled for access, preferring the honey side

3.  Why?  I have bees in Longs basically 'for the bees' although they do provide honey, just not like a Lang.

4.  You bet.  I call them followers, but division boards are the same thing.  They're great for keeping hive as big or small as is comfortable for bees, although mine was exploding a while back (settled down since) and I had no place to put them at the time, but then just in time, acquired a late swarm that needed some brood (and I don't believe in coincidence ;)).

5.  One w/ bees in it has a solid bottom.  My new (as yet unused) one has some open screen on bottom (next year).

6.  Both fit 36  medium frames w/ room for followers and about 4" of space to place dry sugar on both ends or 8" on one end.  They're not going anywhere that's for sure.

7.  I use 3/4" slats of various sizes (1 1/2 to 3 3/4) as an inner cover (I only need to remove a few to view brood or honey supply which keeps bees very calm). One slat has a hole in it that can be moved anywhere.  My Top cover is one piece and this year I'm experimenting w/ an additional and/or replacement box for winter that's fully insulated.

thomas

[windfall]

Who uses and enjoys them?
I have one and some langs. first year. The long hive is super easy to work and learn on.

2. Feeding - what types of feeders?
I am using some division board feeders that were in the nucs I got. Feeds fast, drowns a lot of bees, have to go into hive to fill it....will probably find new solution next time.

3. Supering?
I built one for it but Have not used it.

4. Division boards?
Yes very useful, have 2 allowed me to put a split in far end. Let me change hive size as needed.

5. Screened bottom boards or solid?
Built to allow a standard size screen on a frame with a tray but has solid insert too

6. Length of hive?
48" and change..sized to fit three standard boxes. But the whole thing is built up from 2" material so it hold slightly fewer frames.

7. Top cover - one piece or sectional?
Three pieces, pitched and vented
Inner cover I am using slats around 3". It is nice sometimes as thomas noted to open just a bit, and it is really handy to have fine adjustment if your keeping 2 hives in there, but usually I want 3 or 4 off at any time. Next year plan on 2 normal size and some narrow in the middle.

[rail]

1. Side entrance or end entrance?

2. Should I install a cleat the length of the side to keep the side from warping?

[FRAMEshift]

1. Side entrance or end entrance?

Our entrances consist of three 1" holes next to each other on the long side of the hive near the end and two inches above the bottom.  A second identical entrance is at the opposite end of the same side.   The second entrance serves as a honey section entrance for foragers in a large hive or allows the box to be split so that it holds two smaller colonies.
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2. Should I install a cleat the length of the side to keep the side from warping?

We use 1" cypress and it doesn't seem to warp much.  I don't know about pine.

[Michael Bush]

>1. Side entrance or end entrance?

Going into winter the stores need to be a one end.  A side entrance will probably case them to be at both ends, which is not what you need and will require you intervention.  End is much better.

[T Beek]

Mine (w/ homemade migratory covers) are open on one end (facing south) wide open during summer, closed to two inches for winter.  (70% of honey is at other/back end, like MB says.)

thomas

[FRAMEshift]

Going into winter the stores need to be a one end.  

I understand that you are thinking the bees will move in one direction and be trapped by cold away from the honey that is in the other direction.  But so far our experience is that the bees don't move at all.  They bring honey from stores into the broodnest.  I have heard other folks with long hives say the same thing.  Maybe the difference is climate, since in North Carolina the cold periods don't last long and the bees have a chance to restock.

Do the bees in your horizontal hives always migrate the broodnest during the winter?

[T Beek]

I've had some issues keeping bees alive in my Long Hive for more than two winters but in that time they've generally kept broodnest near entry end and those bees that have survived to Spring have ended up on the other end in the honey, at least in my case.  I think we get too cold and stay too cold for individual bees to forage far from nest in mid-winter IMO. 

Although in some dead outs I've noticed apparent splits in the broodnest that were inching toward honey side and just couldn't make it due to being too spread out and then caught by freezing temps.

thomas

[Michael Bush]

>Do the bees in your horizontal hives always migrate the broodnest during the winter?

Yes.  North Carolina may be a different matter.

[Adam Foster Collins]

Going into winter the stores need to be a one end.  

I understand that you are thinking the bees will move in one direction and be trapped by cold away from the honey that is in the other direction.  But so far our experience is that the bees don't move at all.  They bring honey from stores into the broodnest...

This is interesting, as I found the same thing in my top bars here in Nova Scotia last winter. The cluster stayed pretty much in one place all winter. Winters here have regular fluctuation where the daytime temp reaches well above freezing.

Adam

[Adam Foster Collins]

I'm also interested in how people find production in their long hives, as compared to lang boxes stacked.

Adam

[Michael Bush]

>I'm also interested in how people find production in their long hives, as compared to lang boxes stacked.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beestopbarhives.htm#honey