Run your hives 10 deep on brood chambers.  More brood = more bees = more
honey.
As you progress to a 'beekeeper' over a 'beehaver' your primary goal
will
be to 'encourage' bees to do what you want rather what bees do naturally
(i.e.
to give YOU honey over what bees store for themselves, and many things
along the way).

Bees sometime prefer to 'chimney' a hive where they lay only in a few
frames up
& down all the way up the hive.  Exchanging/manipulation of frames will
encourage your bees to fill out nearly every frame in a broodnest.  The
'trick' to doing this is where you learn to be a good beekeeper or not -
what to do, when to do it & what to give the bees (sugar syrup, pollen,
drawn frames, brood frames, etc) to get the hive stimulated in YOUR
direction.  An analogy of brood-frame-exchanging practice might be how
we give children a slightly bigger shoe than they actually fit.  Too big
and it falls off.  Too small and it won't fit.  Same with bees.   Too
much foundation at the wrong time and the bees do nothing, die off or
abscond.  Too little laying area and the hive stays small. The important
(!!) 'guiding' frames are the location of the frames of honey & pollen
(usually frames 1&2  on either side of a broodnest, respectfully).  Bees
always like to have those frames to the outside of the broodnest for
quick access to feed their young.

Whenever you open your hives for inspection, simply remove a frame from
either
end of the hive FIRST.  This gives you room to spread apart the
remaining nine
frames and shouldn't roll bees upon their inspection.  When you're
through, squeeze back together the 9 frames and re-insert the missing
frame.  As for congestion, you should experiment with moving drawn
foundation into frame-spot #3 & #8 (on a full broodnest).  Draw your
foundation out above the broodnest and move it down below as soon as
it's drawn or 1/4 full (or less) of  honey.  The queen will go right to
work laying the entire frame if there's still nectar coming in (natural
or feed).  If the hive is congested, move capped brood up into the next
broodnest or even above the queen excluder - but central to the hive to
keep larvae from becoming chilled.

I realize this is more info than you asked but the info should help you
become a good beekeeper - giving your bees what they need on a
10(!)-frame broodnest.

Also - a GREAT book to buy is "The Beekeeper's Handbook" by Diane
Summataro.
It's full of explanations and drawings.  Very easy to get the hang of
beekeeping with her book.

Regards,
Matthew Westall
     //        Earthling Bees
 >8(())))-     "Take me to your feeder"
     \\        Castle Rock, CO,  USA

Debra Sharpe wrote:

> I have wanted to keep bees for many years and this spring installed my first
> package.  After they had drawn comb on all 10 frames I put a full-sized hive
> body on top and moved one frame up leaving nine in the bottom hive body and
> nine on the top. I think I waited too long since they were very crowded

> recommendations about this - indicating you can move the fames around easier
> and not crush as many bees with less than 10 fames. I've read so many books
> but I'm still confused on a lot of these issues. I have talked to local bee
> keepers but many are more into production than I am so they have different
> concerns.
> Help!!!
> Newbee in Alabama

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