We are in the deep freeze here, with no sign of spring in sight.

> I am seriously contemplating stopping feeding and adding a super to
> each colony so as to alleviate the overcrowding that seems to be
> occurring and to provide space for any possible honey production that
> might occur at this time.  If I don’t, they are going to pack it into
> the brood area and that complicates things to no end.


Adding supers too early can present complications.

I'd recommend placing any extra brood boxes you have under the hives. 
This allows more room for brood and if the queen goes down, makes 
splitting later easier.  If the weather gets cold again, or they do not 
need the space, no harm is done.

Even adding a box with no frames below can be helpful.  If they draw 
some comb down there, you can cut it off later, but in the meantime they 
have space.

Later, when you are ready to produce honey, you can just insert an 
excluder to separate any extra bottom boxes from the rest of the hive 
and remove them, or just remove them on a cool morning if they are not 
used by the colony.

Bee colonies are like fish.  Everything else being equal, they grow 
bigger in a big hive than they do in a small hive, but when they are 
going all-out raising brood, adding space above can stress the colony.

Adding space below is entirely benign and often beneficial.

---
Allen Dick
Swalwell, Alberta, Canada
51°33'37.58"N  113°18'54.24"W
40 years beekeeping
Current count: 89 hives

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