tim said
>It worked well with single queens, as long as the stock had the right 
>attributes. Which unfortunately current stock does not have, so we 
>abandoned the system.

what attributes were lost?
We started using the system when we were using Strachan carnis, and Wenner stock,   which was surprising as carniolons are not known for wintering in large clusters, which they didn't,
But they did grow very quickly into the thirds come spring.  Mike is right, pollen was always in abundance in the triples. We are still using Strachan stock, but they will not utilize the thirds anymore. 
We had for a while raised our own queens, which worked well, but at best it was 1100 a year, last year we used 3000 queens, between time and personal we are unable to generate those kind of numbers. I would agree
If you are running triples, raise your own stock, it is by far the best you can get. 
Unlike many other Alberta beekeepers, I am not longing for packages, I pine for triple broods.
Tim

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