# Up to my ears in alligators



## DJM (Oct 27, 2011)

Good Morning!! I recently inherited 3 bee hives with bees. I took a short beekeeping class offered at the community college, hoping it would be enough for me to at least keep my bees alive through the winter, but now I don't know. The guy that gave up the hives said the two bottom boxes were full of honey and just wrap them for the winter. I went to do this, and I opened the boxes to meet the bees and see if they have enough to eat. One hive had some honey stored, maybe 3 frames in the entire box. The other two have no honey and the best I can tell no brood. The bees appear to be the same size. The comb that has been made is a very dark brown and is brittle, but I don't see scale or mold. So I guess my question is, do I requeen, feed, and hope or do I let the bees die off and start over in the spring?

I realize this is the welcome forum, but I can't figure out how to get anywhere else to ask. I am an Inn Keeper and I raise goats and chickens. I recently bought the strip of land next to my farm and it has 3 bee hives. The previous owner lost the property in his divorce and has walked away, so I'm trying. Any help you could give would be appreciated.


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## Myron Denny (Sep 27, 2009)

First off are you willing to feed these bees to get them with enough stores to get through the winter. I am sure you will need 40 - 100 lbs of sugar per hive?


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## JohnK and Sheri (Nov 28, 2004)

Hello DJM and welcome to beekeeping and the forums. Post your questions in the "Bee Forum" section, or Beekeeping 101.

Sheri


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## hemichuck (Oct 27, 2009)

Probably a little late to re-queen. If 2 of the hives have no brood or eggs and are queenless I would do a newspaper combine of all 3 hives and then feed the heck out of them till they stop taking it.I dont know if your fall flow is over but with all of those foragers maybe they will have some time to build up. If not you havnt lost anything by trying. I've seen some pretty motley looking hives pull through winter and surprise you in the spring.You might make a candyboard to go on top.Good luck.


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## DJM (Oct 27, 2011)

Myron Denny said:


> First off are you willing to feed these bees to get them with enough stores to get through the winter. I am sure you will need 40 - 100 lbs of sugar per hive?


I am willing to do whatever it takes to save the bees. Any suggestions would be appreciated.


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## mike haney (Feb 9, 2007)

heres my suggestions: go to your library and get a couple of basic beekeeping books, join the local club, buy some honey, make some friends.
good luck,mike


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

Welcome! I am sorry to say but the hives are in about the same shape as his marriage. Based on your description put what bees and stores you can together in one hive.


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## DJM (Oct 27, 2011)

mike haney said:


> heres my suggestions: go to your library and get a couple of basic beekeeping books, join the local club, buy some honey, make some friends.
> good luck,mike


Been there, done that, no club within 40 miles, still have questions. It's not about honey, it's about bees. Thank you


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## mike haney (Feb 9, 2007)

i was referring to buying some honey from a local producer/beekeeper so one could ask pertinent questions about local conditions/requirements for overwintering a hive.
good luck to you.


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## hemichuck (Oct 27, 2009)

I dont know about going to meetings and reading books and making friends but you could buy some honey to feed back to the hive after you have combined them.Its easier for them to store the honey than to make their own from sugar water.Looks like you might have some pretty serious time constraints so I would look them over to make sure the queens are gone and put them together. I would try and pack them into 2 deep boxes with the best looking drawn out comb you can find and then feed them inside the hive over the inner cover with a couple of jars of honey set up 1/4 inch on some shims and keep feeding till they stop taking it. Clean up the rest of the equipment and buy some new foundation to replace the old black comb with next year.If they build up fast in the spring you can split them back out into a couple of more hives then.


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## Bee Bliss (Jun 9, 2010)

Very good posts by hemichuck. I'm also a newbee. Weather determines a lot and September is crucial for beekeepers preparing for winter. October doesn't always cooperate. I wonder also if the beekeeper harvested the honey from the hives you got. Well, that is hindsight. Good luck and keep us posted. We all learn by each others experiences. 

Just want to add that the people that presented the class may be able to give you contact information with some beekeeper local to you to help you out in this emergency. Also, the club may be 40 miles away, but maybe there is someone in the club that is close enough to you to offer assistance.


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## Intheswamp (Jul 5, 2011)

First thing I'd do would be make sure there's at least one queen there.

Ed


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## DJM (Oct 27, 2011)

hemichuck said:


> I dont know about going to meetings and reading books and making friends but you could buy some honey to feed back to the hive after you have combined them.Its easier for them to store the honey than to make their own from sugar water.Looks like you might have some pretty serious time constraints so I would look them over to make sure the queens are gone and put them together. I would try and pack them into 2 deep boxes with the best looking drawn out comb you can find and then feed them inside the hive over the inner cover with a couple of jars of honey set up 1/4 inch on some shims and keep feeding till they stop taking it. Clean up the rest of the equipment and buy some new foundation to replace the old black comb with next year.If they build up fast in the spring you can split them back out into a couple of more hives then.


Thank you. I have bought honey from another farmer and will combine the hives today. Thank you for your help. Donna


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