# First cut out. When can I add another brood box?



## woodstock22 (Jun 28, 2013)

I just completed my first cut out. This is also the only hive that I have so I don't want to make any mistakes. I ended up with 5 frames of brood in rubber bands and filled the rest of the brood box with empty comb. I would like to put a box of foundation on top to get the queen laying on good frames, sneak in an excluder and then after all the brood in the wild comb has hatched, remove it. Should I put that next box on now or give them time to settle in? Should I feed them? What size of entrance should I use? Feel free to answer any other questions that I haven't asked but probably should. 
Be Good,
Charlie


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## Bill91143 (Jun 7, 2013)

I am in my second season with bees, so I'm certainly no expert, but I have done 3 cut outs this year. What I did was get all the brood I could and all the honey I could, and I rubber band it into frames and put in in my hive box with the bees. The bees will go ahead and attach the comb to the frames and they will eventually chew the bands into. I also feed them until they quit taking feed. On 2 of them I did not find the queen so I let them make a queen from their own brood. I figure if I am after their survivor genetics then I need them to make their own queen. As far as the 2nd box goes. I would only put it on if they are in need of the room. I'm sorry I can't tell you more, but I'm still in the learning mode myself.


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## Huntingstoneboy (Feb 10, 2013)

I am new also, however we did our 7th cut-out today. As previously stated the bees will attach the "wild" comb in place, so no reason to worry about removing it. Keep the feed on, especially if there is no or little flow. I wait a week before I look at them. A couple have been very large hives with several frames of brood. With any hive, once the bottom is close to being all drawn out, and bubbling with bees, I go up. Be sure to bring up a couple frames of brood and center them when you put the second box on. This will bring the bees up. I didn't do this with my second hive in early may, and when temps dropped I lost heat and got some chilled brood in the hive. The bees have straightened things out since then. They are fairly resilient, especially with all the mistakes I've made! There is only one way to get away from being a "newbie", and that is just doing it! Right or wrong!


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## woodstock22 (Jun 28, 2013)

Thanks guys! We are in the middle of a clover bloom, this is the main honey flow and will last a couple of more weeks. I will start to feed just before it starts to fade. Against your advice I put on the next box with two frames of drawn comb above the brood. I am trying catch the queen in the upper box and keep her there until the wild (hard to maintain bee space) comb has hatched. Then I plan on fitting them into a box or boxes based on there strength then. Sounds like I am taking a gamble, but I have already rolled the dice. I will post up dates once in a while to let you know how it is working.
Be Good,
Charlie


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## Bill91143 (Jun 7, 2013)

If you give them to much space to soon look in the hive about once a week and keep an eye out for small hive beetles and moths. If you have more drawn comb than the bees can police SHB and moths will move in and overrun the hive in a very short time. I had this to happen in one of my hives. The larvae was still in the comb so a quick trip with the affected comb to the freezer took care of it.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

Myself, I would have left them alone for at least two weeks, not feed and use a small entrance. You can demoralize the bees by giving them too much space too fast and they will stop making comb. Bees like to be a bit crowded... it gives them a sense of security.
Good luck with that roll. Hopefully it will come up 7's.


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## woodstock22 (Jun 28, 2013)

So, I guess I at least got the small entrance right. What is the best way to deal with wild comb then? Do you guys just leave it and work around it? Or remove it at some point?
Be Good,
Charlie


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

First off there's no "right" way of doing things when it comes to beekeeping. lol
Leave the comb and work around it. It is great for brood rearing, terrible for honey extracting. Comb (non reinforced) tends to fly everywhere when spun.
I re use the wild comb for the swarm calls I get the following spring. Works well.


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## woodstock22 (Jun 28, 2013)

Well, I suppose it is time for an up date. I left the super on for a couple of weeks with absolutely no activity in it, so I removed it. I have been feeding and they are taking about a quart every three or four days. Yesterdays inspection showed that they almost have all of the open space filled with natural comb but had not touched the four frames of foundation that I put in. I scrounged up four frames of drawn comb and put them in instead. Once those are close to full I will again super but will try to find a full box of drawn comb. My question is... If I can get these bees through the winter, when do I remove the wild comb to use in swarm traps? Do I just pull that box in the spring and then super or replace it with a box in the bottom again?
Anyway the bees are dong very good and I am very hopeful.
Be Good,
Charlie


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## rwlaw (May 4, 2009)

Unless the old comb is causing a major malfunction in hive insp, just leave it. It took me well over a year to get mine weeded out.


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