spring Layens configuration

[Bob Wilson]

Yesterday, I shifted all my colonies further back into their Layens boxes, away from their entrances. I filled the void with 5-7 foundationless frames.
I did the same with my long langstroth.
Any long hive beeks doing something different?

All the colonies are doing well... one already very large.

[Occam]

Good to hear Bob. Unfortunately my horizontal Lang I found dead out last week. The were a little light going ivy the cooler weather but it was too cool for syrup. I gave sugar mountain house style but it went untouched for some reason. Its been untouched on both of my other hives as well, hopefully they start taking it if they need it. I'll melt down the sugar into syrup once it's warmed up enough outside.

[cao]

You have become the resident expert on long hives.  That is good to see.  I have had shb issues and lost several of my long hives and they are also in need of repair due to rot.  I think I may still have bees in one of them.  I need to put some kind of shb trap in them before I put bees in them again.  It is good to hear about what you are doing and that they are doing well.  Keep up the good work.

[Bob Wilson]

To be truthful, the only reason I kept on of my Long Langstroths is to use it as a standard deep 5 frame nuc maker. I pull nucs for sale through the season.
Otherwise, I have transitioned to all Layens to avoid the problems inherent with Long Langs.
So far I like them much better.

[Ben Framed]

I have used only Langstroth hives. In your opinions' what is the advantage of the Layens over the Langstroth hives?

[paus]

I give up on trying to google what a layens is. I should have come to the experts first, so someone please explain.  where I can understand. I built one Langstrop longbox for my daughter, I don't remember but it was about 25 frames.  I do remember that it made more bees than any other hive I ever saw, now what is a Layens??

[The15thMember]

It's a long hive style with extra deep frames.  It was invented around the same time as the Langstroth hive by Frenchman Georges de Layens.   

[paus]

Do the frames work in n extractor and can you buy the frames.  I have walked up on several beekeepers working their bees in Europe South America and Korea and have had a very interesting experiences with the keepers.  In Scotland I "watched" a young lady work a hive by a restaurant and the hive had very deep frames.  I wonder if this was a Layens hive.

[The15thMember]

Do the frames work in n extractor

You can get extractors that fit Layens frames. 

can you buy the frames.

Most big bee supply places don't carry them that I know of. 

[Ben Framed]

I have used only Langstroth hives. In your opinions' what is the advantage of the Layens over the Langstroth hives?

As they say, variety is the spice of life but I'm still asking . 

[Michael Bush]

You can buy all kinds of extractors as far as what will fit, and I think they have some that it will fit, but a standard extractor in the US will not fit a Layens frame.  Special extractors are always significantly more expensive.

[Bob Wilson]

LAYENS HIVE
It's frames are more narrow, 13 inches VS 19 wide, but they are significantly deeper, 16 inches VS 9 deep.
This allows a much better brood nest with a nice honey band across the top.
Rather than vertically stacking, it is a long style hive (like a filing cabinet drawer). Many Layens I see are 14 frame, which to my opinion is way too short. spring build up alone starts filling that up. Mine are 4 feet long and hold 30 frames, which is the equivalent of a deep brood box and four medium supers.

[Bob Wilson]

LAYENS ADVANTAGES
1. No lifting boxes.
2. Well formed brood nests. A standard deep langstroth frame is only 9 inches tall, and there a gap break between boxes for the queen to cross taking her nest upward.  The same problem happens in a long langstroth. The queen tends to pull out a long, thin brood nest through 10-20 frames because she has no upward mobility. In a Layens hive, the 13 inch wide frame is plenty wide for the brood nest, and the queen uses the 16 inch height to lay a large nest with a good honey band at the top. Layens hives tend to have great brood nests.
3. Its easier to inspect and manipulate the hive. Its all about shifting frames further down the 4 foot box and inserting empty frames where needed.
4. There is less trauma on the hive. Simply by opening the lid, you can see all the frames (nest and resources) without disturbing them at all.
5. Uniform equipment. There is only one frame size throughout the whole hive, easily exchanging between different areas of the hive, into nucs, or between different colonies in the apiary.

LAYENS DISADVANTAGES
1. All long hives are unwieldy to move. It takes two people, even in early spring.
2. You can fit two standard hives in the place of one Layens.
3. Standard langstroths enjoy cheaper equipment prices and a huge beekeeping learning community, while Layens equipment is expensive (unless you build it yourself).
4. Long hives, including Layens, have to have honey pulled more often. There are no stackable supers to take you to the year's end.