# when to remove reducers and switch brood boxes



## pokerman11 (Feb 9, 2009)

Each of my hives are double 10 frame brood boxes. I've also got the mouse guards on all my hives. You know the metal bars with the little holes in them.

When should I look at removing the reducers - and also the books tell me that it is good to swap the top box for the bottom. I understand the logic as to why the swap, but don't know when to do it. 

Looking for suggestions.

tks


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## roadster (Apr 28, 2009)

Reverse your hive boxes when the dandilions are rolling good.
Joe


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## DutchBee (Jul 14, 2009)

Ok new guy here wants to know why I should swap my boxes?


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## pokerman11 (Feb 9, 2009)

in the winter the cluster of bees moves towards the top, in the spring the upper deep will be full of bees, brood and such. The lower is mostly empty. 

Swapping the boxes gets the bees to better distribute things around and then givem them room again to move "UP" - The bottom line is bees like to move "UP" and generaly reversing the hives speeds up hive growth.

A lot beeks do two swaps, one in the early spring, and then one just before the main nector flow


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## bigbore (Feb 25, 2008)

just be sure that your brood nest isn't so big that it is in both boxes again. if you wait too long, you will do more harm than good. ( don't ask how I know)


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## Jerry Kinder (Jan 16, 2009)

On swapping boxes, I was just wandering who swaps the boxes on wild bees? Is this one of the old grandfathered practices that won’t go away or does it really help with swarm control? Seems to me that natural hives just sit there, unless you count something like a tornado now and then. Is there some other benefit to the bees that isn’t required in nature that drives beekeepers to swap the boxes?


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## Beeslave (Feb 6, 2009)

In wild hives they swarm if strong enough. Thats how colonies reproduce. The reasoning behind swapping is to stop/reduce swarming.


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## The Honey Girl's Boy (Jul 26, 2009)

Okay, 
I just posted some questions about switching brood boxes, just before I saw this one. So I see that the timing to switch boxes is when the dandilions are in full bloom. If the nights are still cold, (40 degrees +, sometimes chance of frost) will it disrupt the cluster? 
Ernie


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## Beeslave (Feb 6, 2009)

If the bees have the main broodnest in the top box, they also have some brood on the top of the frames in the bottom box, and you reverse the order of the 2 boxes you could get chilled brood in the top box which was the bottom box. The bees will cluster in the main brood box that is now on the bottom leaving a space of empty cells between bottom and top brood.


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## Oberlinmom (Mar 11, 2009)

I've read various things about reversing. Many negative. My question is if my bottom deeps are completely empty why would I leave the empty on the bottom? The empty is drawn ready for the ladies to just fill up. If I move it up it give the bees more space. It seems like a win-win. :shhhh: By the way our spring sprang up so fast I was very happy I'd mistakenly reversed early. I had to put supers on this week. The girls were cramming up all the empty areas with nectar and pollen.


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## StevenG (Mar 27, 2009)

Reversing the brood boxes is a matter of timing, e.g. dandelion bloom, and cluster location. Sometimes, even when the dandelions are blooming, the cluster/brood location and size is such that it isn't time to reverse yet. Some colonies may need to be reversed more than once, some once, and some not at all before the main honey flow.

For instance, I have one colony that the brood nest and winter cluster stayed in the bottom box. Top box was mainly honey. Queen has kept the bottom box full of brood as they've eaten their way into the top box. Now I'm to the point I may have to super for honey flow, rather than reverse. 

That's the beauty of beekeeping. Just when you think you have all the rules down, and have the little darling figured out, along comes a colony to remind you, they're going to do what they want to do, irrespective of your desires.
Regards,
Steven


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