# building an ob for our farm market



## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

It sounds as though that your observation hive is either outdoors, or in a building that that is not heated or cooled (except by Mother Nature ). Is that correct?


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## scott2666 (Jan 8, 2013)

Correct, the building was built specifically for the observation hives. No heating or cooling. Here in michigan in the spring when we are starting the ob hive in may were looking at temps in the 40's for lows and anywhere from 60's to 70's for highs. Last year we had highs in the 50's and lows in the 30's for a long period in may. Although when our beekeeper is bringing in hives we may see some morning lows in the upper 20's for several mornings. usually in the 30's to low 40's.


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

If I understand your situation correctly, you had a single wide OB hive that swarmed then late in the year absconded, right? No offense, but it sounds like you are just getting started with bees, so my first suggestion is to find a local experienced beekeeper to help with your local conditions and assist with any issues you have throughout the season. 

A single frame width OB is nice because visitors can always locate the queen. However, they are also terribly hard to manage, particularly in the Fall when they will almost always abscond due to the lack of clustering space. I'm pretty certain that your bees absconded in October because they could not cluster in your hives. Swarming is also an issue with OB hives since space is so limited. It will be very difficult to keep an OB hive alive outside in Northern MI, and forget about even trying a single frame width hive. You'd have much more success if you attempt to run it as a seasonal display, with larger full sized colonies to support the OB hive, to both receive and donate resource as needed.


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

Sorry, I posted my response before I saw post #3.

Also, see: http://www.bushfarms.com/beesobservationhives.htm


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