How To Move An Existing Colony Into The Keeper's Hive

Moving Colonies Into The One Queen Keeper

Hive Placement

  • Position The Keeper's Hive in the exact location of your existing hive to prevent bees from returning to their original hive location.
  • Place the hive in a sunny location where people or pets are unlikely to walk in front of the hive.

Time of Day

  • Transfer bees late in the day to minimize robbing pressure.

Brood Frame Transfer

  • The brood chamber of The Keeper's Hive holds up to 8 frames.
  • Transfer brood frames from the original hive into the brood box, keeping them in their original order.
  • If there are fewer than 8 brood frames:
    • Center the brood frames in The Keeper's Hive brood chamber.
    • Place food frames (honey, nectar, pollen) as the outer frames on either side.
    • For colonies that take up two or fewer brood frames, use the follower board to reduce the brood box size.
  • If there are more than 8 brood frames:
    • Place additional open brood frames in a deep five frame nuc above the medium "spacer" box.

Adjusting Frame Sizes

  • If the original hive uses medium frames:
    • Place them in the brood box, noting that bees will draw new comb beneath them.
    • Gradually add deep frames between the medium frames to transition to deep frames over time.
Medium Spacer Box
  • Transfer medium food frames into this box.
  • If no medium food frames are available, place foundation inside instead.

 

Moving Colonies Into The Two Queen Keeper

Hive Placement

  • Ideally, position the hive so bees can fly out from entrances on both sides, with bottom board entrances facing in opposite directions.
  • If possible, move the two original hives closer together over two weeks, with entrances facing opposite directions (if the original hives are in the same apiary, bees will return to their old hive locations unless reoriented).
  • Moving hives from another apiary to the new location is optimal.
  • Place the hive in a sunny location where people or pets are unlikely to walk in front of it.

Timing

  • Perform the transfer later in the day to reduce robbing pressure.

Brood Frame Transfer

  • Each brood chamber of the Two Queen Keeper holds up to 8 frames.
  • Transfer brood frames from each original hive into the separate chambers, keeping them in their original order.
  • If there are fewer than 8 brood frames:
    • Center the brood frames in The Keeper's Hive brood chamber.
    • Place food frames (honey, nectar, pollen) as the outer frames on either side.
    • For colonies that take up two or fewer brood frames, use the follower board to reduce the brood box size.
  • If there are more than 8 brood frames:
    • Place additional open brood frames in the divided spacer box above the queen excluder.

Adjusting Frame Types

  • If the original hive uses medium frames:
    • Place them in the brood box, noting that bees will draw new comb beneath them.
    • Gradually add deep frames between the medium frames to transition to deep frames over time.

Following these steps will help ensure a smooth transfer while maintaining hive health and stability!