Unlimited Broodnest Management

Unlimited broodnest management is an old method of managing bees using three deeps brood chambers. In unlimited broodnest management the queen is given maximum amount of laying space which has the advantage of reducing swarming to quite low levels due to lack of congestion. Most do not use excluders as frames can be manipulated to any place within the colony. A benifit of the ULBN colony is that it provides for a maximum amount of stores for wintering and yet at the same time gives enough area for a good winter population. One also has a greater abundance of pollen stores because of the increase storage area. Usually in the spring there is a significant amount of pollen in the bottom brood chamber for the bees to utilize for brood rearing. Because of the nature of the setup the beekeeper often will find that colonies need little feeding for winter if any. Also the use of artificial pollens can be eliminated. This in itself saves time and labor from dragging out feeders. Whipping up syrup, not to mention clean up and extra trips to the bee yard(s). The ULBN colony doesn't have to be made up of three deeps but can be done with equivalent of mediums or shallows if desired. It is the principles that matter. During the flow the beekeeper should keep the third deep "opened up" by harvesting honey and adding back wets to keep queens at maximum laying. Then towards the close of the season allow the honey to push the bees down and provide for winter stores. In the spring colonies should be reversed as usual.

SOME FURTHER ADVANTAGES OF THE FOOD CHAMBER (variation of ULBN) (FROM 1959 COPY OF ABC XYZ) 1. When the food chamber is used the queen is likely to use the entire area of the combs in the brood chamber because the brood combs are not clogged with honey in the upper portion. This will result in better combs because the cells do not stretch when the queen once occupies cells of combs to the top bars. 2.With the proper use of the food chamber there is no danger of any leftover dark fall honey getting mixed in with the fresh crop of white honey the following summer, provided white honey and not dark honey is reserved for food. All leftover honey is in the food chamber and not in the brood chamber at the beggining of the major flow. 3. The proper use of the food chamber makes it possible to weed out undesirable queens. This in the end will mean a survival of the fittest, resulting in a more hardy, vigorous race of bees with superior honey-gathering qualities. Only genuinely good queens can meet the requirements of food chamber hives. No other kind of queen is worth the while.