When To Add A Second Brood Box

BEEKEEPERSTIPS.COM

At some point as beekeepers, we are tempted to ask when to add a second brood box? Adding a second brood box has benefits and also can introduce certain complications. 

The brood box is typically the first box after the bottom board in the hive. In this box, the bees raise brood and normally will have some pollen and nectar stores.

Do you know...

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 it can be advantageous to allow your bees to move into a second brood box. This will allow the hive to increase numbers and take advantage of a big upcoming flow. 

When To Add A Second Brood Box

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They will just stack supers on top of this brood box once it is full, and allow the bees to manage the size of their brood nest.

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Adding A Second Brood Box To Make Strong Splits

prefer splitting smaller hives with nucleus boxes as it is less stressful.

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How Many Brood Boxes Should A Hive Have?

Crazy Hives - Then he placed two brood boxes in the middle of this layer of hives, and two pieces of wood over the bits of the brood exposed on the edges of the bottom hives.

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How Many Brood Boxes Should A Hive Have?

Lazy Hives - You may be a lazy sod like me. I find a brood box, a queen excluder, and two shallow supers give me two shallow supers of honey every year. 

Queen Burnout -  queen laying at a very high rate you place her under more stress.  Producing A Bee Flow, Not A Honey Flow -  flow of bees, and, as your honey flow ends, there will not be enough flowers left to produce a honey flow. 

Disadvantages Of Multiple Brood Boxes

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ADVICE

Beekeepers will add a second brood box and not use a queen excluder. They will just stack supers on top of this brood box once it is full, and allow the bees to manage the size of their brood nest. 

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