Hi all,
This is my first post - apologies that it's so short, but I'm anxious that I'm running out of time on this one. I'll do the polite introdcution thing later today - I promise :)
I'm a first time beekeeper with a single hive in the backyard installed from a nuc nearly 4 weeks ago. At the moment, it's just a single deep brood box, but the numbers have really built up and I have to add a second box. This is ready to go, with frames etc....I just hope I get it on before my girls run out of room and swarm.
Unfortunately, I screwed up my original location for the hive - it turned out the spot was dank and shaded until 10am, and then sat in the blazing Australian sun all day. I found the perfect spot about five meters away under a pear tree that will offer shade in summer and let the sun through in winter.
I did lots of Googling and it seems the best bet is to move the hive a few km away for a couple of weeks, then move them back to the new spot. This really isn;t an option for me, so I went a second methond of moving them three feet (about 70 cm) every second day, either early in the morning or late in the afternoon. It seems to be working okay - I haven't noticed too many lost bees wandering around in the grass. But who knows - perhaps they're all off dying somewhere?
I've still got about a meter to go, plus the hive will be raised about 20 cm higher than it is now. Problem is, I'm getting really anxious about their numbers and want to get the second box on ASAP. It would be pretty hard to move with the two boxes....so I guess my question is what gamble should I take. Do I move the colony further than normal (and a day early!) and put the second box on today? Or do I wait a couple more days...keep doing the process I have been doing, and risk the swarming?
Any opinion or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Cheers!
Mike
ps. I am having so much fun with this! What other hobby mixes animal keeping with carpentry and even electricty! Plus there's honey to be had! :o