Debbie,  I see almost all Dadant Blatt beekeepers using a single brood
chamber.  I visited the primary hive manufacturing facility in
Chisinau,Moldova in July and the owner showed us his favorite hive, about
the most complicated 'jumbo' you could imagine, with 2 brood chambers with
a piano hinge between the two, a hinged telescoping cover, built-in feeder,
integrated bottom board with grated entrance.  I can send you photos
privately if you want to see it.  The ultimate gadget hive I would say, but
this guy was in the business of building hives and he makes them for each
beekeeper as a custom order.  He told me it takes him a couple of days to
refit his machinery and jigs to get everything set just right for each
custom order.

Our USAID project is recommending helping the Moldovans develop a standard
national hive design and then mass produce it to bring down costs and
increase efficiency.  I am pretty sure they will come up with some type of
modified 'jumbo' hive type, but time will tell.  We went through a similar
exercise in the Republic of Georgia on another project a couple of years
ago and the national hive design was more of a Langstroth type.

I am not going to 'tell' them what is best but let them tell us what is
best for them.

best regards,
Bill Lord
BeekeepingConsultingForDevelopment.com
Louisburg, NC

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