How many chickens in Eglu Cube

[Old Speckled Hen]

I have read many posts here and on other fora about starvation even though the cluster was near to stores.

Am I missing something here (I'm a beginner.....sorry) but is there any reason you can't put a hive in an outbuilding for the winter? It would be sheltered and warmer.

[v8landy]

There are people in the Uk that use bee sheds all year long, but for more reasons than just overwintering.

[beesontoast]

I have read many posts here and on other fora about starvation even though the cluster was near to stores.

Am I missing something here (I'm a beginner.....sorry) but is there any reason you can't put a hive in an outbuilding for the winter? It would be sheltered and warmer.

 

There's a balance you have to strike here.

 

If you keep a hive artificially warm, the bees think the air temperature outside is higher than it really is, and may fly out and become chilled and unable to return home. So they need to have a real experience of cold air at their entrance to keep them indoors.

 

Also, when it is really cold, they go into a state almost of suspended animation, not unlike hibernation, and consume very little food. If they are kept warm, they are more active and eat their way through their stores much more quickly, and may starve as a result.

 

The best compromise seems to be to keep their hives outdoors, but provide them with good insulation over the winter cluster, so they can regulate their own temperature.

[Macfoy]

I have read many posts here and on other fora about starvation even though the cluster was near to stores.

Am I missing something here (I'm a beginner.....sorry) but is there any reason you can't put a hive in an outbuilding for the winter? It would be sheltered and warmer.

 

Another point to add as well as to the previous 2 posts is that the bees will fly on good days through the winter. The ground may be hard with frost, but if the sun is warm enough a few bees will venture out. Inside a shed can sometimes be damp and cold even when the sun is shining especially if it is in a sheltered position.

 

Those who keep bees permanently in a shed will have some means for the bees to exit. You may be just thinking of putting the hives in a shed to overwinter and protect them from the worst of the weather - a bit like Geraniums

 

I insulate mine using ply dummy boards with a polystyrene lining and reduce any surplus space in the hive by judging the amount of frames taken up by bees at the onset of winter, taking out frames which have no stores. This reduces the space the bees have to keep warm. I also put polystyrene immediately above the crown board in a super. You just have to watch the bees don't chew it though.....painting it works. Polystyrene is cheap, house insulation blocks work too.

 

Macfoy

[Old Speckled Hen]

I insulate mine using ply dummy boards with a polystyrene lining and reduce any surplus space in the hive by judging the amount of frames taken up by bees at the onset of winter, taking out frames which have no stores. This reduces the space the bees have to keep warm. I also put polystyrene immediately above the crown board in a super. You just have to watch the bees don't chew it though.....painting it works. Polystyrene is cheap, house insulation blocks work too.

 

Macfoy

So is it OK to leave this insulation in until your first inspection in the spring?

[Macfoy]

So is it OK to leave this insulation in until your first inspection in the spring?

 

In theory I wouldn't take it out until I needed to, in other words I'd leave it in until such times as I was going to super, the reality is because I wasn't organised enough I had to take it out to put some syrup on the other week. The organisational skills needed were to cut rings in the polystyrene in the autumn so I could take them out and put a feeder on and the poly could stay (I use jam jars as contact feeders in certain circumstances) but it didn't get done......sigh

 

Macfoy