Work Through a Bee Yard Equalizing, Transferring and Queen Checks

a Canadian Beekeeper’s Blog

[@jonhatchcirclejfarms1628]

When I'm in my bees any problems that I may have get pushed back and my focus is on bees. Bees for me is therapy. I love the smell and looking at what they are doing. Honey is great but working with them is the best.

[@andrewmcmullen1388]

I feel like I'm in the yard with you and getting a personal lesson as you go. You have a great way of teaching. You don't say things like "you need to..." you just go through and explain what you are doing, observing and how you are reacting. Great job and thank you for taking the time to do this. It is definitely appreciated

[@nancynolton6079]

I like that... A Rootbeer Queen! Just gave me another name to use when describing my queen colors! What's next a Dr. Pepper Drone! Maybe Orange Crush for one of those real blondie orange queens! LOL

[@ThatBeeMan]

Some time communing with the bees. Exactly what you needed, under the circumstances. I'm SO happy you took the time to do this and to share it with us!

[@hootervillehoneybees8664]

Enjoyable vid

[@oneshoo]

Ian after watching 41 minutes of you assessing and equalizing this yard , I found it was very relaxing and cathartic. This was definitely a mental health afternoon for you after all that you have been through! Skip the Baileys and open up a nice bottle of wine !! 👍👍

[@mikeries8549]

Beekeeping is the Las Vegas of bugs. Hell of a ride. Spiritual as heck. Beekeepers are nutty because they're free. Nobody messes with a guy in a bee suit.

[@marcelosalgadovaldes2926]

I believe that this work is one where the beekeeper's expertise is demonstrated,... for me one of the vital ones in raising the less favored colonies, thanks for showing us a little of your activities, greetings from Chile Araucania.

[@calvincheney7405]

Your technique & decision tree spiced with a salty philosophy lesson benefits all who shall ever watch this as well as those that learn from them. You're paying forward an abundance into the future~

[@eddielloyd13]

Hi Ian, them Double brood boxes are working for you 😉. Good to here. I don't have your numbers lol 🤯. But them double brood boxes are a great way to increase your stock. I did it on 4 hives, got 14 splits from 3 . The last one just superceded, ahh well. Keep it up buddy, your smashing it.

[@tracyweilandrealtorbeekeep3957]

Ian, I love how you take such great care of your bees. And talking through it for the rest of. Take all the time you need!

[@danielhiller9165]

very happy your in a better mood

[@Bobcagon]

I can see it puts you in a good mood. Working bees is like meditation. For a time you forget the recent battered hives and the problems catastrophe brings. Focusing on the positive not the negative is better for the soul.

[@dwebberplank]

Ian, thanks for this post, one of your best! Both detail of process & contextual level set operations regardless size of apiary...brilliant and well received.

[@jeannecourter6349]

Thank you for sharing this ordinary, happy workday - I appreciated the calm that I often feel working the bees - and I learned more about how to equalize hives. Wishing you a peaceful week ahead.

[@naturessweetbees3033]

Thank you so much for talking about time being spent in a Bee yard. I don’t know how many times I’ve beaten my self up because I figured I’m spending too much time in a single yard. It’s gotten to a point where I try to do 2 yards a day just so that I know I’ve accomplished something but hopefully I’m still doing a good job.

[@gregm312]

that was nice to se you moving nucs to bigger boxes . thank you

[@weshawkins7165]

As a third year beekeeper I learned a ton watching this video. Thank you. It’s nice to see that I’m not to far off from what I’ve been doing. I add supers to my singles and doubles rather than split only because I don’t want to increase the number of hives, I have 11 and would like to stay around that number. Excellent video.

[@leesbeesapiary]

Thanks for showing us a glimpse of your day, makes us 'small time' guys hopeful that one day we may have an operation like yours... After seeing most of your videos, this one is probably one of my favorites!

[@markspc1]

It was nice to see that things are looking good today.

[@tonyjenkins272]

Some smooth work! No substitute for experience 💯

[@anabelaramos8399]

Good work there. Thanks for sharing.

[@ECP]

Hi 👋 Ian, Been bottling Spring Honey all this weekend.... ECP - Chris

[@hootervillehoneybees8664]

Like reading my mind on this video. Long story short over wintered nucs in double 8 frame hive setups .. pulled off the two nucs put whatever was left in single deep box like 3 to 4 frames of brood and a queen cell .. left me with 80 nice production colony's and heavy flow hits 2 to 3 weeks later. Didn't have the time or drawn deep foundation for second deep so I just added excluder and my med drawn suppers . Thinking that's not how Ian does it or does he sometimes . He likes little brood above the excluder . Bees are on major flow they need suppers now. I only have 500 or so med suppers to cover 80 units .. will just have to pull honey sooner than later get them back on the hives.

[@79PoisonBreaker]

Very nice. I like these longer videos. Hope it dries up a bit so the rest of the summer goes smoothly for you 🍻🍻

[@drjmarkrodgers1428]

Wow, thanks so much taking us with you!

[@Hunter-ys5yq]

Keep going Love ur job 👍👌

[@mikep4514]

Absolutely enjoyed you sharing your hands on work. Thanks Ian.

[@melvinlantz9572]

How did your bees fair after the 2nd wash out. I hope you could save all of them. Thank you for your great videos. Prayers that the rest of your season goes great. 🙏

[@blaahster]

Definitely lost some hives on the last flash flood.

[@healingfrominneru6249]

Truly appreciate it 🙏 🙌 Starting here in coast California cold and wet has been Truly insightful to watch what crazy sh!t you gone through. Let your good work come out in the wash.Buzzz 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝

[@captainwinky]

Awesome job , I like how you take care of your bee’s.

[@dacoelec]

Excellent video, Ian! Thanks!

[@julieenslow5915]

Hugs from Florida! This video is so enjoyable - getting to watch you assess the bees and adjust populations - it's the kind of beekeeping I find fulfilling. Not that everything else is not also good... except the ones we are not mentioning. No more of that, please, you have had more than enough of your share of that.

[@time2fly2124]

So i guess the best way to lead a beekeeper into a trap is instead of candy, just drop down a line of queens: "ooh! a pretty queen! ooh! a pretty queen!"

[@joakimsaxin6135]

As a master beekeeper he doesn't need to light the smoker.

[@billybobbarker3175]

I am in an area that has had copious amounts of pollen coming in for past 2 weeks. The result are brood nests becoming a bit spotty, because all that pollen stuffed in is blocking her out from holding tight patterns. Now with the onslaught of dandelion coming it, exacerbates the issue. When I plopped on a second box of bare empty combs, the queen promptly moved up and produced spectacular bar2bar2bar2bar brood combs ... until the bees started random plugging cells here-dere with pollen and nectar up there too. Don't cull her out too soon. Wait for things to level out. They are frantically trying to catch up.

[@lagrangebees]

Please... Don't handle Apivar bare-handed too much >.< Seeing you work... It's encouraging because it shows me I'm on the right path. I work a little slower than you, being only in my third year but I ended up proceeding very similarly to what you're doing. Sounds corny but theres some satisfaction to that :)

[@danielpereiraabelhaseflora9563]

Obrigado amigo.

[@zacbeemaster1014]

Greetings From Australia

[@abram8808]

they all pretty

[@youn9567]

화이팅! 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍 힘 내세요!

[@M-SH_Honey_Bees]

I learn a lot from you man, i love your videos and work with bees. But you are to behind from us 🤗. We are closing the honey flow 🖐️

[@danielweston9188]

Equalizing is sometime we do a lot , so few do . . . .

[@TheFarmacySeedsNetwork]

Thanks for taking us along with you on evening things out. I bet it was therapeutic to have a day just working in the bees. Also, I caught bits n pieces of radio chatter in the background... Love it! Is that commercial communications radio for the farm? cheers!

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Ya that’s field work

[@khatpaufridaytalks2670]

Thank you

[@danielpereiraabelhaseflora9563]

Muito bom mesmo, parabéns irmão sou inscrito Bahia Brasil.

[@ozkankarakecili]

hi. There is one thing I am wondering about. What is the logic of the white buckets you put on the buckets? sugar supplement or medicine?

[@emmawood2784]

Great to see techniques that no one else iv seen use, the queen excluder plus news paper to loan workers to help the smaller colony grow is great. But when you move a frame from strong to small does the receiving colony not kill the extra bees you move with it??? You defo do thing differently.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Not if you consider that the majority of those bees on that frame are very young bees

[@beekeepernova]

What’s your success rate with mergers? Do you apply anything to help bonding like sugar water etc?

[@mikeries8549]

On weak colonies and giving them a boost: i think many times the "problem" holding a colony back is a poor mix of ages on the bee population. Too many old and not enough nurses. Just not able to produce royal jelly in the amount required. Adding a frame of "about to emerge" capped brood is exactly what a colony in that condition needs. Its a no brainer

[@karenfifelski9146]

If the queen is in the top of the double brood box, do you put another queen in the bottom when you split it or do you let them requeen themselves?

[@SageandStoneHomestead]

I'm a second year keeper. Will the colonies boosted with nurse bees not be violent toward those bees shaken into the hive? Are nurse bees relatively non-threatening to the colony they are shaken into? Thanks!

[@blaahster]

Correct, you will have more problems with older bees.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

This time of year there are loads of nurse bees.

[@leoncarpenter958]

Thanks for that. I've been stealing with my eyes for 40 minutes. As someone with 7 hives I can say it may take as long as if takes to do the work but if can also take longer. What are you using in your smoker?

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Bark, which didn’t catch very well lol

[@cowdudy]

Maybe I misunderstood the process. I thought the bee power in your single brood system is the double brood chamber separated with a queen excluder. When the brood emerged it filled the box with honey and build from there like an explosion, all the while the queen is chugging along in the bottom box.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Yes exactly, except this is different, what you see here is a boost

[@cowdudy]

@@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog yes I was referring to your comment that you would manage these as a single. I thought that meant you would not build them to a double before nectar flow. All the best to you and your family and thank you for all the information you share.

[@keithsteele5580]

What mite strips are you using, Ian, I'm Australian & am keen to learn all about, how you treat your varroa, we don't know nothing about medicating varroa, yet, cheer's Keith ☺️.

[@MinnesotaBeekeeper]

Confidence is sitting square down on a Nuc that is missing the cap plug.

[@trond380]

Hi Ian, instead of the relatively black drawn comb you inserted, you wouldn’t consider foundation to cycle in new comb/wax?

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Yes I do, but the comb I have is still useful

[@johnolsen1192]

What temperature in Fahrenheit do you keep your bee shed

[@Бджільництвов6тирамвуликах]

Добрый день Ян,я с семьёй с Украины переезжаю в Канаду по программе CUAET.Всю жизнь занимаюсь пчёлами, очень хочу попасть к опытному пчеловоду чтобы работать и продолжать моё любимое дело. Я думаю вы понимаете ,что такое всю жизнь заниматься пчелами и остаться без пчёл. Моя семья из 3 человек жена и дочь 13 лет. Буду благодарен вам за помощь в поиске пчеловода который согласится нас взять, семья без вредных привычек. Спасибо.

[@ETsBees]

Hello Ian, I have a question it’s very general and hope to get a very general answer. How many pounds of honey do you think you will get on a box of bees with 5 frames of brood and let’s say a 3 week honey flow?

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Oh I couldn’t say, the population would need to peak properly. Some years I pull my entire crop off 3 weeks

[@bub1683]

I took a Replay on this video.

[@aust0570]

You say you're considering adding a box above an excluder to give them more space next week. Will they gather much honey into that box in that time? How are you managing the withdrawal time period for the Apivar strips?

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Strips out first , Soave just to put the bees while I wait until the flows

[@freedomspeech6822]

If you boost a colony this way do you have to worry about the stronger hive balling the weaker queen

[@michaelshelnutt3534]

Where can I get those yellow plugs you use for the lid holes?

[@Weshole5W]

I got mine off Amazon I think. They are called caplugs. Just have to figure out what size you want to go with

[@nieldcreek2098]

I’m relatively new to watching this channel and learning about honey bees, therefore I’m curious to know what the white ribbon type thing is that you are sliding down between the frames?

[@rosspenner8437]

Apivar - it's medication to control the varoa mite. Or attempt to control it, anyway.

[@mhmdkawtharani4458]

Good morning, my friend, the beekeeper, excuse me for my question, in which province are you?

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Manitoba

[@mhmdkawtharani4458]

Minutoba is great. I've heard about beekeeping and beekeeping training camps.

[@flee4357]

What's the strip...?

[@berserkersbeefarm8041]

Ian do you keep your refletix on all year I just got the reflectix for my 100 hives?

[@xhelalplakaj1590]

Uroj që bletaria juaj të punoj mbar dhe shpejtë,më vjen keq për humbjet qe keni pasur nga koha e ligë!

[@ddtompkins5961]

what material do you use so the lids do not seal? It looks kinda like parchment paper?

[@pauldow1648]

Is that a low laying area ?

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

LOL OF COURSE IT IS ha ha My whole farm is a low spot

[@jasondigby4372]

Hi Ian. My Daughter and I are buying our first hive we are getting two singles and three doubles. We are from the Roblin Russell area in Manitoba. Just wondering if you know of any bee clubs or an organization that we should get into I’m looking for somebody that would be able to answer like where to get bee keeping equipment locally and who might do custom extracting and all sorts of those kinds of questions.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Red River Apiarist Association

[@jasondigby4372]

@@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog thanks

[@jaswindersandhu3196]

Hi sir Is it possible to work with you Bcz i am planning to study in canada and in india we have own bee farm ‘have experiance of 10 years bcz my father is working with bee hives from 1988 . If i would come to canada i to work in bee farm

[@mustafaozden6659]

Merhaba

[@СергейМищенко-н4ф]

Не розумію но цікаво.

[@mangalbariapurehoney]

Hi

[@dacha_tv]

Расширяем отводки kzbin.info/www/bejne/fF7Ce2SOYpeIbtU

[@عليالشمريالعراقيه]

مرحبا بك انا علي من العراق ممكن ترجمه بالغة العربيه

[@bahdoulhou2595]

سلام الله عليكم انا من المغرب أعجبني نحلكم سلم جد ليس شارس والمرعا موجود للأسف لا أفهم لغتك