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Moving Hive
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Posted by marcindy z5b (My Page) on Tue, Jan 17, 06 at 14:30
| Hello all, last spring I started with two hives, and enjoyed every minute I got to spend with my bees. I did however notice that I put the two hives too close together to work comfortably on them. Lot's of bumping into the next hive when bending over. Also, I usually work with my partner on the hives and there is just not enough space on the sides and backs of the hives to be efficient. I know that you can't just move hives around, even for short distances. But I am wondering if I could move one hive one foot sideways (away from a fence) and the other hive two feet sideways and a little backwards (about a foot)from the hive next door now that it is winter and the bees are not active outside? Not sure if that would work. Let me know what you think...
Thanks a lot!
Marc |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Moving Hive
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| Yes. (Maybe the shortest answer I've ever given on this forum) |
RE: Moving Hive
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RE: Moving Hive
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| The 'rule of thumb' is 3 feet or 3 miles, so the distance you want to move should be OK. How do you plan to move the hives? Do you intend to move them intact or to break them down (bad idea in winter)? Either way, given your zone, I would recommend waiting until the spring. Right now the boxes are all sealed tight with propolis. If you break the seals by jostling the hives around in the move, even if you leave them stacked, then the bees will have cold air blowing in on them for the rest of the winter. They won't be able to break cluster to reseal the gaps. If you wrap your hives, then I guess it wouldn't be a problem. But, I would wait until warmer weather, just to be safe. Of course, if your temps in Zone 5 out there have been as warm as they have in Zone 5 around here (54F today), then the cold is probably a non-issue. In 10+ years of beekeeping I have never seen so many bees flying around my hives in mid-January. |
RE: Moving Hive
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| You can move them as far or as little as you want when you are ready and the temps are okay. Just close up the entrance, move them, and then put a stick or branch in front of the hive and re-open it at night. The stick will cause the bees to re-orient on the hive. They will find their way home. |
RE: Moving Hive
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| Thanks a lot everyone for your thougths and input. My plan was to move the hives intact, but I hadn't even thought about breaking the propolis seals in the process. Thanks for pointing that out, narcnh. And yes, we have a non-winter this year, though I fear we'll pay a price for it when spring is supposed to take place... Anyways, thanks again folks, and btw txbeeguy...that was the shortest answer I have seen on this forum...LOL your answer settled it then. :-) Marc |
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