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Checkerboarding- How it's done

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sc-bee:
You have to have the honey a super or could get away with a little less to implement the system. Cold weather beeks say the system is not for them because they never have a full super of honey coming out of winter. Well it seems that means you did not leave enough honey stores going into winter. Bees prefer the honey as fed and it is better for then right? But we leave them short and are forced to feed.

The system takes sacrificing some honey the first year and most are not willing to make the sacrifice although the dividends could/should be greater> How much sacrifice, you would have to figure that out as it is of course area dependent. Will the system work in the cold brutal weather areas.... yes. A beek in Wyoming uses it. I think Wyoming qualifies for cold. He used to go by the handle beewrangler, I will locate his blog and post it for reference for the northern/ cold weather folks.

As far as reversing I have rarely used it and what I advised would only be hear say. Good luck.

cinch123:

--- Quote from: sc-bee on March 06, 2014, 08:06:17 pm ---Well it seems that means you did not leave enough honey stores going into winter. Bees prefer the honey as fed and it is better for then right? But we leave them short and are forced to feed.
--- End quote ---

The hives that are into their emergency feed were started last year and no honey was taken from them. The ones that came through the previous winter still do have plenty of honey and are good candidates for Checkerboarding. I look forward to giving it a try. For the other ones, the alternate method described above might be a good option. I will have plenty of drawn comb to work with; just very little with honey in it. Thank you for your response.

sc-bee:
Here is the link to beewranglers description of checkerbaording. Even Walt gives beewrangler credit for explaining it a little simpler I guess you would say in layman's terms. Remember Walt is an engineer by trade  and it don't take much to talk over my head :-D

Beewranglers simple description of Walt Wrights checkerboarding:

http://talkingstick.me/bees/checker-boarding/

hjon71:
That sounds like a resounding endorsement to me. Well written and easy to read for sure. Thanks.
 

sc-bee:

--- Quote from: cinch123 on March 06, 2014, 07:00:30 pm ---What do you do when you don't have a super full of honey to work with? My bees are all up into the top box and into the emergency feed at the end of a brutal winter. There are boxes of empty comb below them. If what you are trying to prevent is the perception of a honey band above the brood nest, no such thing exists at the moment. All I can really do at this point is reverse boxes and feed, right?

--- End quote ---

 I misread your post I thought you said you were emergency feeding not in the emergency feed/.... long night shifts. Do you think the queen is in the top box? Are you saying the brood chamber is empty. Even if so I hear northern beeks talk about worrying about chilling brood if they reverse to soon. I have never reversed often because I have not had an issue with my bees not moving down.

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