# HELP needed to overwinter small colonies or nucs???



## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

Duplex hives. Look at what Michael Palmer does in Vermont. 
Try and copy that. I did and it's a great savior for them dink colonies that I want to try and get thru the winter. 
Once you do it you're hooked tho.


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## gomarciab (Aug 7, 2013)

aunt betty said:


> Duplex hives. Look at what Michael Palmer does in Vermont.
> Try and copy that. I did and it's a great savior for them dink colonies that I want to try and get thru the winter.
> Once you do it you're hooked tho.


Thank you Betty for the quick response!

Unfortunately Mike doesn't keep a website. I did look to Youtube but there doesn;t seem to be a video on this there. Can you direct me to a link? I have heard Mike keeps these duplex hives but I have never seen the setup or seen a description.

Thank you
Marcy


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## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

gomarciab said:


> Is stacking these a possibility? If so what would you suggest goes between these colonies.


I sometimes use a double screen bottom board to stack a small colony on top of another colony (entrance facing the opposite direction), for added warmth.


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## lharder (Mar 21, 2015)

What zone are you in?


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

mike is overwintering with two stories of 5 deep frames for a total of 10 deep frames. this is about the volume equivalent of your two stories of 10 frame mediums. 

some might argue that having the space more vertical in the 5 over 5 deeps makes it easier for the cluster to brood up coming out of winter by taking advantage of the rising heat from the broodnest and they might be right about that.

i think you should try it out and see how it works for you. mostly you want to make sure the top of the hive is insulated to prevent condensation from forming on the ceiling and dripping back down on the cluster. a little venting at the top wouldn't hurt as well.

another option would be to add a 3rd medium and stack your frames in the middle of the three boxes, flanking them on both sides with foundation frames. this would make them more like a 5 over 5, and the foundation frames would buffer the cluster from the cold sides. disclaimer: i've never tried that, just thinking out loud.


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## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

Here's what I meant about duplex hives. The video is way off topic but look at the way the hive is set up. You could do the same thing with medium boxes.


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## bee keeper chef (Nov 1, 2015)

Here is a link to most of MP videos http://twolittleladiesapiary.com/cms/node/30


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## DavidZ (Apr 9, 2016)

This is Mr Palmer's newest lecture on overwintering He talks about all you are wanting to know, you need to watch it all
This is another of his new lectures
I suggest you watch both there's overlapping info.


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

If sugar is not good why am I hoarding them? See my latest post.
Oldtimer also saw his Spring hive growth. He's all convinced now!
I turn them into Lauri's sugar bricks on the top bars to overwinter all of my hives here.
Without the sugar bricks I don't think my 2-3 frames can make it although we're in a mild
winter enviornment. Good for moisture absorption too!


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## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

For me here 10 frames winters just fine, no need to stack them 5 over 5. I can see the benefit in colder areas with harder winters. 

It's the hives 8 frame and under that need a bit of help at least in this zone. I get about 90% winter survival with hives that are 2 - 8 frames, these hives come out of winter as a powerhouse;

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?295359-Over-Wintering-in-the-Garage-Update


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## gomarciab (Aug 7, 2013)

Hi All

Thank you for your input.. I had a crazy week and just getting back to my bee issues today. Supposed to be in the 70's here in Brunswick so today is the day!!!!! I will be reading through all of your suggestions today and post here later!! This forum is just the BEST!!!!

Marcy


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

You're very welcome, Marcy.
Hope your bees are doing well. Need to feed them a little to
keep the fat winter bees going now. 
And aunt betty is a man by the way.


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## gomarciab (Aug 7, 2013)

lharder said:


> What zone are you in?


I am in Zone 5-6. I am coastal and we do get damp.


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## Saltybee (Feb 9, 2012)

I would hesitate to use sugar bricks in your location. I lost nucs to snow fog. That moisture absorbing dry sugar tuned into a dripping mess with a 12 hour shift from below zero to 40 with an east wind. Not going to happen every year but it is a gamble.


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## gomarciab (Aug 7, 2013)

Saltybee said:


> I would hesitate to use sugar bricks in your location. I lost nucs to snow fog. That moisture absorbing dry sugar tuned into a dripping mess with a 12 hour shift from below zero to 40 with an east wind. Not going to happen every year but it is a gamble.


Interesting Salty.... one never knows what Mother Nature will throw at us or at her bees. This is what makes bee keeping so interesting. Seems to me there are 10,000 persnickety details in bee keeping and each one presents an option. 

Thanks for your input!

I think I am staying away from the bricks anyway


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## Saltybee (Feb 9, 2012)

I find fall feeding to be trickier than posts. Feed early and they keep on brooding, feed late and it is a rob or uncured, and you never know when late is. Could be Sept. ,could be Dec. 
I do not have a problem with sugar feeding.
Leaning towards MB style of dry sugar down the upper outside empty frames with a caulking of moist sugar to start sealing or wax paper to seal framebottoms, top box only. At least if it soaks it will not drip. East side or west side is current debate.


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## gomarciab (Aug 7, 2013)

Saltybee said:


> I find fall feeding to be trickier than posts. Feed early and they keep on brooding, feed late and it is a rob or uncured, and you never know when late is. Could be Sept. ,could be Dec.
> I do not have a problem with sugar feeding.
> Leaning towards MB style of dry sugar down the upper outside empty frames with a caulking of moist sugar to start sealing or wax paper to seal framebottoms, top box only. At least if it soaks it will not drip. East side or west side is current debate.


I agree Salty.. how much to feed is not that easy to determine. Each colony is different. I do know beekeeps often chose a target weight and try to assess this by using a scale. Still some bees are "easier keepers" than others and over feeding which I have observed can limit the ability for bees to cluster "well" in winter. This year has been interesting. Most of my colonies due to the dearth have sucked down syrup. I have one that seems well with very good population that has (judging by weight) barely touched their stores. Not certain why...

Thank you for your input and I will be following Mr Bush's advice on the sugar too!

Best
Marcy


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## AAIndigo (Jun 14, 2015)

Brushy Mountain sells them. They call them Resource hives. I am running 150 of these but mine are all hand made. I use a 1/4 luan divider with 1/2 top board. I also have matting nucs 4 wide with removal dividers. Pull the divider and you have a 2 by nuc. All have screened bottom boards with escapes at the bottom for stacking weak hives on top of strong hives in the winter. They had them on sale over the summer for 85 but see that they have jacked the price. These are 4 frame nucs. 

http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Resource-Hive/productinfo/432/


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## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

beepro said:


> And aunt betty is a man by the way.


But the day I signed up for bee source I was FEELING sort of girly so... 
Don't be judging.  
What a world what a world.


From what I've observed in my hives...the ones that go into winter honey bound are the ones that need splitting right away in spring. The ones I've had in that condition turn into two monsters once split because they've got everything they need already. Have had to split the splits on a few as well. 
If I could arrange for that to happen every season I'd be tripling or quadrupling my yards each year.


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

I don't think feeding sugar to bees is bad, just that honey is more nutritious for them as it's more than just sugar. Beepro, you're feeding fortified sugar bricks correct, which also isn't the same as just feeding syrup or straight sugar bricks.

Marcy, I know a guy around here who stacks his weaker colonies. Basically each top acts as a bottom board to the next hive up and the entrances kind of rotate as you go up to prevent drifting. They seem to do quite well this way and heat gain/loss is fairly efficient.


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## SpELunkY (Jun 25, 2016)

I'm a little further south than you, and a bit inland. I'm putting 1/4" foam insulation in my top covers for the 2nd winter in a row. Seems to help. I am also using solid bottom boards, and 2 entrance per hive with the plan of plugging the lower entrance before it gets too cold.

https://i.imgur.com/w3YQ1ou.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/nyR0HiG.jpg

apology for large image size


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