Extracted from  NBU South West Region Fact Sheets

Bailey Comb Change


1. Is it easy?
	All procedures are simple unless you have difficulty in finding queens. If
so it would be wise to get an experienced beekeeper to help with that stage.

2. When can I do it?
	March to early June, but the earlier the better. If the colony is strong
you can start the procedure in early March, the old comb can then be removed
before the honey flow; but remember you will need to feed to get the new
combs drawn.

3. How do I perform a Bailey comb change?
	Prepare a clean brood chamber filled with frames of foundation. Place this
chamber over the existing brood chamber. Unless there is a strong nectar
flow feed with winter strength sugar syrup i.e.1/2 ltr. of water to 1 kg. of
white granulated sugar. When the bees have drawn out some of the foundation,
find the queen and place her on this comb. Put a queen excluder over the old
brood chamber and under the new, thus trapping the queen in the upper
chamber. Remember to keep feeding so the bees build comb. After three weeks
remove the old brood chamber. The brood will by then have hatched so the
comb can be destroyed or rendered to recover the beeswax.

4. What else should I be aware of?
Make sure that your foundation is 'fresh'. Old foundation becomes hard and
brittle so bees tend to chew it into holes. It can be restored by carefully
warming it, which releases the oils making it usable again.
Use accurate spacing between the frames and make sure it is 'narrow', not
wide or out of parallel.
Combs at the end of the chamber tend not to be drawn on the outer face. This
is because the bees find it hard to cluster there to generate wax. Turn the
frame round or move it further into the box so that they can draw it out.

-----Original Message-----

 Michael Palmer asked


What is the full "Bailey Frame Change" method?
Mike

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