Layen hive

[mystang89]

I'm looking to try something different with my bees since I can't get them the last a winter. Right now I have the Langstroth have but it's a pain. Having to take of 2 deep brood boxes along with full supers just isn't what I'm up for if there is a better way. I looked around and saw the Layen have which seems to have good reviews and be a bit on the side I'm looking for.

My question though is can I use my deep brood box Langstroth frames for the Layen somehow? Do the frames have to be vertical instead of the normal horizontal?

Anyone have a better set up?

 

[Maggiesdad]

I have no experience with the layens hive. Here in Virginia the bees overwinter just fine in top bars, and several of my friends have started Long langstroths this summer. The long langstroth would be your easiest bet to avoid heavy lifting, if you went with the layens, you could use this style. Tag on mediums below

 

[mystang89]

Thanks for that info. I was able to narrow down what I liked and didn't like about different horizontal hives. For example, the double deep horizontal hives don't seem what I'm wanting but the single horizontal does. I just don't know how well they winter with those. I read that the reason the honey was put on top was because it helps insulated the hive during winter. Anyone find this true?

Another thing I'm trying to figure out is if the bees store they're honey on the sides like normal, how many of the honey frames would you harvest in the fall so that the bees would still have enough to survive the winter?

Anyone have any thoughts on that or use horizontal hives themselves?

 

[mystang89]

• http://www.beesource.com/forums/sho...-should-I-consider&highlight=horizontal+hives http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?343665-Single-Box-Hive&highlight=horizontal+hives http://www.beesource.com/forums/sho...-and-disadvantages&highlight=horizontal+hives I read through half of that last one and couldn't go on any further. There was just too much of a wealth of information for my poor head to absorb.
  I have read a few threads concerning horizontal hives, Dadant hives and Langstroth hives. I currently own a Langstroth hive and have been trying to take care of bees for 3 years - quite unsuccessfully - but I have learned some things I like and don't like about design. I know that I don't like having to lift multiple boxes in order to check my hive. I don't want to have to take off 2 supers + 1 deep in order to check all my hive. I would much rather it be all in one spot which is why I like the idea of the horizontal hives and I'm also going to be using the frames from the Langstroth hives with whatever I decide to build this year.
  I looked into the double deep horizontal hives but it seemed to be fairly labor intensive to get to the bottom frames as well. Not nearly as much as the Langstroth but with the box being tall enough to hold both the honey frames (on top) and the brood frames (underneath) it seemed like you had to reach fairly far over the side in order to get your brood frames. Along with that it also seemed as though taking the brood frames out meant trying to tilt them at an awkward angle in order to bypass the two bars which hold the honey frames up. Mainly it was having to reach so far down the box to get your brood that I don't like though. One of the pros for this system though appears to be that they winter well since its so deep.
  I also looked at the single horizontal hive which really seemed like what I would like. You have all the brood right at the top so you don't have to destroy anything to inspect them. You have the honey on the outside edge. You don't have to take off all sorts of different boxes in order to see what you want. Sounds great until I read that they don't overwinter well in areas that have winters in the teens. There aren't too many days of our winter that hit those temps but it seems to happening more and more often in recent years. If I built this style of hive would insulating the inside walls of it with foam board, along with the bottom and the roof be enough to overwinter the bees successfully?
  That last link I posted got me thinking about the Dadant hive which seems nice as far as not having 2 brood chambers but don't you still have to take off the super boxes in order to reach where you want? And since those boxes are fairly larger than the Langstroth supers wouldn't that also mean they were much heavier than the Langstroth supers which I already don't care to cart around?
  Thanks for reading and any responses are very much welcome.