Bailey Comb Exchange
- Why do it?
- Brood comb should be changed every 3 years.
- Old cells get contaminated with disease.
- Old cells are smaller due to debris from previous occupants.
- May be part drone comb which is not needed.
- Why use the Bailey Comb Exchange?
- Any brood you have will be able to mature.
- This is not true for a "shook swarm" method.
- All the comb is changed at the same time.
- This is not true for the "ad hoc" method.
- How do I do it?
Busy hive with dirty comb - Prepare a fresh brood box.
- Fill the new brood box with frames of foundation.
- Remove the roof and crown board from the hive.
- Place the new brood box on top of the old brood box.
New brood box in place. - Place a queen excluder on top of the new brood box.
- Put a feeder on containing strong syrup.
- Put back the crown board and the lid.
- After a week the queen has moved in to the new brood box.
Queen upstairs - Check the queen is in the upper brood box.
- If she is not then find her and put her there.
- Place a queen excluder between the new and old brood box.
Queen excluder inserted - This has trapped the queen in the new brood box.
- After 21 days all the brood in the old brood box has hatched.
Old brood box now empty - Remove the old brood box and lower queen excluder.
All new brood comb - The wax from this can be recovered.
- Variations
- One
- Find the queen on a frame in the old brood and move her frame into new brood box.
- After one week remove swap that frame for a clean frame.
- Put that frame in lower box to bring on its brood.
- This means that one of the old frames is carried over.
- Two
- Once queen is in upper brood box and has larvae
- Has to be larvae as nurse bees will stay with larvae even in the cold.
- They wil abandon eggs if it gets too cold.
- Place an eke with an entrance below the new brood box.
- Block the entrance to the lower brood box
- Foragers will quickly learn to use the upper entrance.
- The workers will bring stores from the lower to uper box.