Removing Beehive from wall into a Top Bar Hive 2/3

[adamziegler]

Did you put some of the comb on upside down? Does it matter with brood comb?

[OutOfaBlueSky]

@adamziegler I don't think I did, but I really botched this job. I did plenty of other things wrong. Anyway, the orientation of comb is important. Queens won't lay in upside down comb. The brood with hatch out and that comb will be abandoned. No honey can be stored in it either.

[debay777]

I recently purchased a package of bees to put in my top bar hive. THis is my first top bar hive and has been an adventure to say the least. The package was in there for about a week when I opened it and found the comb started out ok, and then went across the bars. In an attempt to straighten it I broke all of it off. At one point the most densely populated piece fell to the bottom. I smoked and brushed all the bees off that I could and removed the comb. it was full of eggs. I managed to ...

[debay777]

get the comb reattached using melted bees wax. I also ran strips of foundation down the middle of the top bars. I had cut them square and used strips of melted wax and string to try and keep construction simple. Wont do that again. So i get all the wax back in and let em go a few days. I have a few lang hives in the yard and I knew one was bound to swarm. Well I had a swarm and called a fellow beek to come get it. I didnt want another hive. He came and got it. It was my top bar hive. ...

[debay777]

I just reinstalled a package from a cut out we did. we got about 4 packages from two hives and about 40-50 lbs of honey. Not a bad haul. Cant wait to see how the new girls like the Top Bar.

[OutOfaBlueSky]

I completely concur, the honey is the most dangerous part of this cutout. Spill it wantonly and the robbing will destroy any chance the cutout had.

[brendhanhorne]

Good job. Next time shake or brush the bees off the comb directly into the new hive box. Remove any honey comb as all it tends to do is leak.