# How Far apart should each hive be seperated?



## honeyman46408

6 foot is good or 3 foot it dosnt realy matter but if you are getting packages watch for drifting (drifting is whe one hive gets more bees than the other)
Have fun :applause:


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## concrete-bees

you can set a new hive anywhere that is easy for you to work the hives - i place them about 6 feet -10 feet apart

you sont want to have to walk 100 yards between hives

but in all reallity you can set the new hive ON TOP of the other hive and point the entrance in a different direction - and they would never have a problem 

so to answer your question ..... put the hive in a level dry spot that YOU prefer !!!!--- the bees will make due !!!!!!


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## honeybeekeeper

honeyman46408 said:


> 6 foot is good or 3 foot it dosnt realy matter but if you are getting packages watch for drifting (drifting is whe one hive gets more bees than the other)
> Have fun :applause:


What do you do in a case if they do drift??? If you place some from one hive back to the other wouldnt they get confused in front of the hive?? I do know that i heard if you move the "hive" more then 2 feet you have this problem.... What is the procedure on drifting?? Thanks for the advice from everyone!!

The first package was installed last satuday, a week ago! The 2nd package i will be picking up today in a few hours!


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## MichelinMan

If you only have 2 hives then drifting is really not much of an issue. The bees orient themselves. They go by landmarks so they will know their hive is the one on the left or the one on the right etc. Drifting becomes an issue when you have more hives and they are closer together in a straight line. In any case you should put a rock or a stick on the landing board. Make each landing board different. When the bees come out they will see this and remember it.

As far as placing them 6 feet apart... that's your choice. But they are tricky to move once the bees get established ( like you have read) so choose a good spot. Personally my hives are in a semi circle about 1 foot apart. I do this to minimize the foot steps. With only a couple of hives it's not a big deal. But when you get to 15 or 20 and they're all 6 feet apart... well you get the idea.

Luc


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## honeybeekeeper

MichelinMan said:


> If you only have 2 hives then drifting is really not much of an issue. The bees orient themselves. They go by landmarks so they will know their hive is the one on the left or the one on the right etc. Drifting becomes an issue when you have more hives and they are closer together in a straight line. In any case you should put a rock or a stick on the landing board. Make each landing board different. When the bees come out they will see this and remember it.
> 
> As far as placing them 6 feet apart... that's your choice. But they are tricky to move once the bees get established ( like you have read) so choose a good spot. Personally my hives are in a semi circle about 1 foot apart. I do this to minimize the foot steps. With only a couple of hives it's not a big deal. But when you get to 15 or 20 and they're all 6 feet apart... well you get the idea.
> 
> Luc


There will only be 2 stand up hives in the center and then i plan on putting a KTBH on both ends, one on each side and thats it. They are behind my 24 foot wide garage facing east! Im not in it to see how many i can own...The more hives the more work!...hahaha Just a hobbie is all!...  Thanks for the advice!!!!


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## Michael Bush

Mine are not seperated. They are all touching...
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmisc.htm#hivestand


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## alpha6

They can be touching like MB says and it isn't a problem. In spacing them think of how easy it would be to work them and more important how much of a wind break you want to build for them in the winter...the further apart they are the bigger (longer/wider) the wind break you have to make.


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## EastSideBuzz

honeyman46408 said:


> 6 foot is good or 3 foot it dosnt realy matter but if you are getting packages watch for drifting (drifting is whe one hive gets more bees than the other)
> Have fun :applause:


Drifting is right. Mine are 2 feet apart and I had 20 packages drift into one hive. 
http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?p=527113#post527113


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## honeybeekeeper

EastSideBuzz said:


> Drifting is right. Mine are 2 feet apart and I had 20 packages drift into one hive.
> http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?p=527113#post527113


I had some drifting that was trying to take place but the 1st hive defended their space very well. When the sun went done the few that was still wondering what to do in front of the hive finally went on inside. Today & tomorrow here in ky is gonna be severe thunderstorms with flash flood warnings so hopefully they will stay inside and work really hard...


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## odfrank

1/2" works for me


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## kiwiBee

I like them side by side that way I can use the lid for putting my smoker on so I dont have to bend down to often and makes them more stable so not easy to knock down. although I'm sure you dont have cows or vandals in your backyard!.
kiwi


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