Running Single Brood Chamber
There are different methods of how the queen is used in the hive but three of the most common are:
- Single Brood Chamber
- Double Brood Chamber
- No Queen Excluder
Each method has advantages and disadvantages. You have to evaluate your equipment and how you manage your bees throughout the entire year. Part of the criteria to evaluate what works best, is the examine the following:
- Ease of overall management (spring, winter prep, swarming)
- Taking off honey
- Queen Management
Given these 3 factors, we have decided to keep using single brood chambers. Many who use double broods, complain that the queen doesn’t have enough laying space. Let us examine how a single brood chamber is almost like a double brood.
The secret to single brood chamber beekeeping is to allow the queen to lay into the second box in spring until a month prior to extracting. This is essentially giving you the double brood advantage for 6 weeks in spring for quick buildup. It also encourages bees to move up through the excluder once it’s put in place because of the brood frames in the second box. Bees are usually reluctant to go through the excluder, but if brood is present, they will always go up.
Two points to remember if you are using this method. You have to allow an opening on top for drones to leave because they cannot fit through the excluder if they hatch above it. They will try to squeeze through the excluder and die when they get stuck. This creates a messy hive for bees to clean.
Many beekeepers put 2-3 new frames into the brood chamber every year. This is a great management strategy and can still be done. When you add a second box (step 2), you can exchange 3 frames from the brood box and the first honey super. Put 3 drawn out frames into the brood chamber and move the 3 brood frames into the center of second box (what will become honey box 1). If we do a frame exchange and manage to spot the queen, we’ll move her to the bottom box and add an excluder. That hive is done and the queen is in the bottom with 3 new frames. You simply check the hives that already have an excluder and skip the fume board step later on. You will find that half your hives are done manually simply from spotting the queen when working the hives in spring.
We mentioned the fume board method. A simple way to get bees out of the second box into the bottom one is to use a fume board and Bee Go or Bee Repel. Bees hate that smell and will vacate the box in a minute. After they are gone, simply lift up the second box, add an excluder and put it back on. Done.
Using this method, you can have brood on 12 – 15 frames. Your hive population will be huge when it comes time for honey flow.
July 25, 2018 @ 1:02 pm
I’ve read many times that you should collect honey from frames that have had brood on them. Can you comment on that.
July 26, 2018 @ 9:51 am
Not sure I understand your question but I assume you’re taking about using frames that were used in the brood chamber as honey frames. We do this all time time because you want to keep a rotation of fresh new frames in the brood chambers. Simply move these frames from the bottom box into the honey super before adding an excluder.
We do NOT harvest honey from frames that have brood on them. Those can be used to make summer splits or summer nucs. Many frames in the brood chamber will have honey around the outside and brood in the center of the frame. They are not harvested. Hope this helps.
August 17, 2018 @ 11:45 am
Goldenbee,
Those brood frames in the first honey super that have hatched and been replaced with honey, do you harvest that honey as you would if there had been no brood in those frames?
This is a great article. Thanks!!!
August 17, 2018 @ 12:43 pm
Yes, if there’s no brood on the frames you can harvest them. You will notice that in many brood chambers, the outermost frame on both sides are usually filled with honey. These can be pulled and replaced with new drawn out frames. Also a great way of getting new frames into the brood chamber. But if you pull them, make sure to provide enough feed to fill them up for winter.
As a side note, get all canola honey out of the brood chamber. It granulated and bees will starve with canola honey in their brood chambers over winter.
January 8, 2019 @ 7:38 am
I’m trying beekeeping for the first time this year and I’ve read some about single brood setups. This diagram makes sense to me but it brings two questions to mind.
1) what is your swarm prevention method if you even have one with a setup like this?
2) How much honey do you leave for the bee’s for the winter season?
January 26, 2019 @ 11:00 am
1. When you pull honey, you can check for cells. However, if you put 2-3 frames of brood out of the brood chamber and into the second super and provide 3 frames to lay in, you get that extra time. With experience, you get to judge and see the rate of growth in a hive so that it’s peak during honey flow. I like to keep my hives as close to the line of swarming but not cross it. It’s risky but I’ve learned you get twice as much honey that way.
2. We are in a canola area, so I take everything out that I can possibly get because they can’t use it during winter. I feed them enough to keep through the winter anyways. They will still have a little honey on some brood frames etc.. I leave them that.
August 12, 2019 @ 2:42 pm
Should I leave a medium super of honey for the bees for the winter in Michigan?
March 7, 2020 @ 2:09 pm
I cannot comment on your specific area. I would rather have you as a local beekeeper.
December 8, 2019 @ 7:38 am
Where are you located and how do you winterize a single brood chamber for winter?
March 7, 2020 @ 2:08 pm
Manitoba. We winter indoors and all that is required is a mite treatment and 5 gallons of sugar water in the fall. I also remove as many honey frames as I can because Canola honey granulates quickly and bees can’t do anything with it in winter.
January 23, 2021 @ 12:32 am
I’m going to winter outdoor.
Would you recommend single brood management system in this case?
Winter is 3 months in our region and we can have up to -20 (calcium).
March 7, 2020 @ 1:12 pm
Can you comment on your varroa treatment timing with this method. Specifically What products you use & when. Excellent article.
Regards,
Sal
March 7, 2020 @ 2:07 pm
Hi, I try to use different treatments to avoid resistance. Years ago we used Apivar strips in the Spring and Fall and never had mite issues. But we have switched to more organic ways by using MAQS or Oxalic Acid. We treat once in the Spring and then again the Fall. 2 Treatments all hives, no exceptions. So far, we have no mite issues. I am also careful to be sustainable and not bring any bees into my yards. This also helps I believe.
May 25, 2020 @ 8:20 am
We purchased our bees last June so they were set up and ready to go. We treated them for mites last fall with Bayvarol, but just realized today that we did not treat them this spring. Is it too late? We had planned to use Apivar this spring. Thank you for all of your information.
May 29, 2020 @ 11:07 am
It is a little late for Apivar because it is to be removed 6 weeks before honey flow. There are other treatments available like MAQS. I have used it in the past and had good results. It’s also organic.
Additionally, if you know a commercial beekeeper who could treat them with Oxalic Acid vapours, that can also be done at this time.
May 27, 2022 @ 8:23 pm
Excellent information. I see you add your excluder a month before extracting but where does that fall with your main flow? My main flow starts between June 10-15 so I’m trying to time that with moving the queen down and adding the excluder.
Thanks!
Klint
December 29, 2020 @ 2:26 pm
You said you leave 2nd box for queen to lay in until a month before extracting. With my main flow here in SW MO that’s about the time my flow starts. So are you saying you give her two boxes to lay in till the main flow starts? Keeps them from swarming with spring buildup then could shake down and add QE let 2nd box brood hatch then they should back fill with honey. Am I thinking right on this?
April 6, 2021 @ 10:04 am
In a single brood chamber preparing for winter, is there a certain number of honey frames that should be left? Is there a preferred placement of the honey, brood and drawn comb frames in a 10 frame box?
May 19, 2021 @ 5:12 pm
Hi, can you explain your process a reducing the bees back down to one box for winter?
April 6, 2022 @ 5:33 pm
This is extremely helpful. I’m a new beekeeper. I’ve decided upon the single brood method. You may have addressed this above but I’m not sure I fully understand how you explained it.
Since bees are reluctant to cross the Queen excluder if the super only has frames of foundation, can I take two or three frames of drawn comb from the brood box and put them in the super? Then put undrawn foundation frames into the brood box and install the excluder? If so, would I use middle frames which would, I think, have the most brood?
April 29, 2022 @ 11:24 pm
What should i do with the bees after nectar season? And go back to a single brood box?
May 5, 2022 @ 7:25 am
I like to try the single deep method and Honey super on like up to Three or so with out the queen excluder because the queen can go up lay higher up that means more bees and she come back down later.
Bees can fill in later with honey.
What do think if I do it that way out come would be ?