Spring Colony Equalization

Equalizing colonies to prevent swarming before splitting in two weeks.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Moving along quite nicely by the looks of it !

[@bobbinnie9872]

The fuse is lit!

[@Warren76317]

I don't like surprises unless it a Bob Binnie Video, lol

[@noahG82]

Haha I'm super happy lol

[@meloneycrews]

Absolutely!! Happiest surprise of ever!!

[@Sebsbees]

True 😁

[@NevadaBeeMan-nq3po]

Thanks for posting in the middle of the week Bob a real treat !!

[@CentralKyBees]

A random vid from King Bob, what a treat!

[@mikewebb5247]

Bob Bennie you have the best videos on KZbin Thank you for all the educational posts you post!! Kudos to you!!!

[@torgehildenbrand2004]

I wish i had all those broodframes right now! I live in the southern part of norway and we still have some snow and the temperatures are somewhere between 25f to 45f. But the bees have started brooding up just a little so i cleaned up their bottomboards today and gave them a little fondant and pollenpatty. So far it looks like every hive surrived the winter. Thanks for all your videos Bob and Crew =)

[@watsonrk1]

Seeing simular in southeast Virginia. Plenty of pollen and time to start making room in the bigger boxes by moving frames to smaller ones. I'll be splitting here soon. Thanks for the video Bob!

[@andrewstancil1723]

Can’t wait to pick up my two nucs in April from you Bob! First year be keeper!

[@andrewsherwin2664]

I started freaking out that I had my days all mixed up! lol!! Great video, Bob. Can’t wait to get into my bees in a couple weeks!

[@N8bees]

Thank you Bob! I feel like that video was the follow-up evidence to my question you graciously answered on the supering video. What a great way to use all that energy in the colony!

[@karlsteingall6832]

Bees look bangin Bob!! Thanks for the video! You are the best!!

[@kathyhathaway8823]

Hello Mr. Bob last week I had to add boxes to most of my colonies just to give some room an build comb . Thanks

[@tonyc44]

Love to see that fresh new wax. Hives are looking great

[@WildwoodsBeekeeping]

First, Great video Bob! Have a great day!!

[@bobbinnie9872]

Fast!

[@lenturtle7954]

Nice to see the bees doing great 👍

[@scrotiemcboogerballs1981]

Thanks for sharing

[@altaylor293]

Nice mid-week surprise.

[@robertdemers5125]

Good Evening Bob !

[@bobbinnie9872]

Good evening sir!

[@toddknecht2106]

I struggle with the bees filling the combs with nectar , taking laying space from the queen,any help would be appreciated! Lol Great video as always Bob I appreciate your help!

[@subjob]

Always great videos! Can't wait to get my packages next month on the 6th. Hope to see you there Bob!

[@BradfieldsBeeYard]

We’re a couple weeks behind you here in central NC.

[@dennisbarney869]

Great , a mid weed vid thanks, I give my bees 1 jar of one to one and supplement then there on their own LOL. seems to work so far. Thanks for posting.

[@simbobcrafts4843]

Looks like you guys can get into your hives pretty early over there in Georgia. We're still pretty much in winter over here in the UK

[@bobbinnie9872]

At times it's a blessing and at other times it's not.

[@carloscrenz9433]

Hola colega 🐝🐝😁 muy lindo 😃😊😃😊

[@Sebsbees]

@bobbinnie9872 Maybe Salix Caroliniana? Or other species of salix. But I don’t know when they bloom in your area :) Have a nice day!

[@tomkingsley4398]

What was the frame setup in the second box when you brought them home from S. Ga? Nice treat to get mid week management tip. Thanks for taking the time to share the info.

[@bobbinnie9872]

They came back as singles and the got the second box which had an average of 6 drawn comb and 4 foundation.

[@lahcenajar7489]

Good Morning From Malaga South Of Spain. Thanks Bob for the videos. I've always wondered how you go about assessing how many frames of brood you need to have in your hives before the nectar flow , to avoid swarming? You are saying in this video you will get nukes from them or equalize and leave only 4 frames of brood. Regards,

[@bobbinnie9872]

We'll leave four frames in these so they will build back to a good single story colony to sell in two weeks after splitting. In this location the main honey flow is still 5 to 6 weeks away so we would split them back to 2 or 3 frames of brood for a single story or 5 or 6 if we were going to add another brood box.

[@user-nu4me5yg1d]

Hi Bob, thank you for all your work. I was wondering if you mix your syrup using granulated sugar or do you buy in syrup and put half water in your totes? Thanks

[@bobbinnie9872]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mXfcpJ5ng52Lf80

[@gclark2771]

Hey Bob you’re an awesome bee keeper !! Love your videos, I have a question what plastic foundation do you prefer permanent or rite cell???

[@bobbinnie9872]

In my opinion Rite Cell is better.

[@gclark2771]

@@bobbinnie9872 thank you Bob I appreciate your time, and I watch all your videos and I am in eastern Ky and I am really wanting to get some queens from you but you are over 5 hours away so I don’t know if I can make the drive for it or not, I’m hoping though.

[@johnthebeekeeper1706]

Great content as always but how do you stop them storing any syrup in the frames and clogging up the brood nest

[@bobbinnie9872]

So far they have been drawing foundation instead of back filling brood frames. With the addition of a couple more foundations it should be OK until we split soon.

[@timfeckley1689]

NW Ohio same build up looks like it’s an early start

[@charlesoneill466]

Thanks Bob, what is your feed concentration to get them to pull out comb. Thanks again.

[@bobbinnie9872]

If we're not trying to put on weight 1 part sugar to 1.5 parts water. To also put on weight as shown here 1 to 1.

[@davidwhitman9182]

Good afternoon Mr Binnie. I live near Augusta Ga and am looking forward to picking up the 2 single story colonies that i ordered from you on april 6! I was wondering that in the future if i split or requeen with a double screen board can i just take the new colony off the double screen board after they build up strong and put them anywhere in the same yard and face entrance in same direction as the other colonies? I have seen in your vids that you sometimes reverse entrance on screen board when splitting. Is this reccomended for a single split always?

[@bobbinnie9872]

Even though they will lose their field force, if you wait until they have their plenty of new hatching bees they will adjust in a short time.

[@ROD_OF_IRON]

Looking Bob ! My bees are from your stock and are about the Same I wish I could Get some Queen cells for Splits ? Any suggestions here

[@bobbinnie9872]

You can purchase cells from us but of course they would be pick up only. They will become available in mid April but we need three weeks notice. Call the store at 706 782 6722 and ask for Marilyn if interested.

[@johndismang]

Bob how many frames of brood do you cut a double deep down to to prepare for honey flow but also prevent swarming? I always seem to over or under do it

[@bobbinnie9872]

I don't think I can give an exact equation. I over and under do it at times too. There's a few things that dictate it for me. How often am I going to be getting back to check on a colony? How many nucs do I need to make? And how is the long term weather forecast? When in doubt I try to lean towards less brood because smaller colonies that don't swarm will average more honey than big ones that do.

[@scottgage4865]

I'm farther north, so trailing behind you. How do you decide it is time to equalize? For us, we can still have freezing weather, so should we wait for a period of warm weather or other method to decide it's ok to equalize? I'm concerned with breaking propylis seals and then have future cold drafts entering the hives.

[@bobbinnie9872]

We equalize a lot and often but we wait until we have ample hatching brood.

[@raysbees7650]

Hi Bob, I have 2 questions for you please. I bought 5 of your migratory covers at the convention. I can’t seem to find the lids to cover the holes and I thought you had 3/8 in. rims for feeding on those? These will sit flat on top. Where can I find the lids? Please thank you

[@bobbinnie9872]

They are a standard metal quart jar lid. If you can't find any email with your information and I will mail you some. Email address is on the "about" page of this site.

[@cairnparadigm]

Hello Bob I Live in Northeast Ohio and was wondering when I can add a frame feeder to build up and build comb in my overwintered hives? It's about 34 Degrees at night still here for a few weeks.

[@bobbinnie9872]

That temperature would be too low. I'm not very familiar with your region so couldn't really say when would be the right time. Generally speaking, when you see heavy pollen foraging in the spring, and when they start to hatch new bees, they should be capable of it.

[@frankspataro9714]

Mine was working the skunk cabbage the other day bringing in yellow pollen or atleast that is what i seen

[@doctortcbkk2027]

Bob….do bees make honey from sugar boards?

[@bobbinnie9872]

I've not used sugar boards but it doesn't seem likely to be very good for that.

[@rodrigogabrecht7945]

👍🤗👏💝

[@brianbennett4374]

Bob do you pre wax your Foundation's Thanks 4 the info 😊

[@bobbinnie9872]

We do if it needs it. Sounds dumb I know. If it comes well coated from the manufacturer we go with that. If it has been in the colony for a while without being drawn out there is a good chance that the bees have striped all the wax off and we may choose to re-coat it. More is always better if you have the time and resources to add it as long as the cells are still defined. You might check out our video "How to Apply Beeswax to Plastic Foundation" kzbin.info/www/bejne/qpeweoZ5bt98l68

[@brianbennett4374]

@@bobbinnie9872 thank you 😊

[@zamarronvictor18]

Whered she get that shirt I want one

[@bobbinnie9872]

At our own store. 706 782 6722

[@andywhite9932]

Hey Mr Bob. Is Kevin new? And wheres John?

[@bobbinnie9872]

Kevin is a friend from Nebraska that is helping us for the month of March and while John is gone for a couple of months.

[@aaronparis4714]

I wish we had your wether 😅