Probably every experienced beekeeper has heard about Dadan's hive more than once. It is not surprising, because it is this design that is considered to be one of the most successful. And at some time she was also one of the most common. So, telling about the size of the Dadan hive, its history and advantages, will be very useful.
History
Beekeeping never stood still. Observing the millions of their wards, experts painstakingly modified the existing hives, changed the shape of the framework and made other changes.
The Frenchman Charles Dadan, who lived in the nineteenth century, was no exception. He carefully studied not only practice, but also theory, relying on the advanced achievements of beekeeping of his time.
And as a result, he established that the beehives used at that time with 8 frames did not meet the requirements - a young, strong uterus, laying 3 thousand eggs a day, together with a strong family actively collecting honey, very quickly fill the entire available volume.
As a result, the beekeeper has to pump out honey too often, spending too much time on it. Yes, and bees such an intervention causes a lot of discomfort. That is why he decided to increase the number of frames (the frames he used standard, Quimby) to 11. Thus, a spare volume was formed, allowing the bees and the uterus to work without interruptions.
However, this design did not suit another beekeeper - from Switzerland. Blatt, believing that the number 11 does not fit well with the hive scheme, added another. So the size of the 12-frame hive of Dadan was formed. Moreover, in the early years it was called the Dadan-Blatt hive, but subsequently the name was shortened.
The design was very successful - it was adopted by beekeepers around the world. As a result, in some decades of the nineteenth century, it was these beehives that became one of the most popular in the world.
The main difference between the design of the hive
To begin with, the size of the Dadan hive by 12 frames is quite large - larger than the popular Langstrota-Ruta. Therefore, many do not instruct them in a row. Most often, one housing is used, or at most two - in this case, they are set on top of each other. But experienced beekeepers try to do this only in extreme cases, when you have to save space in the apiary. Usually, single-hive hives are used.
Main advantages
It is worth noting that the size of the Dadan hive was not chosen by chance. It is these dimensions that allow you to get a number of important advantages.
One of the main ones is the ease of access to all frameworks. For example, when working with the Langstroth-Ruth hive, to get honey from the third building from above, you will have to remove the lid and two upper hives. This takes extra time and, of course, causes serious discomfort to their inhabitants, introducing confusion, reducing productivity. With Dadan's hive, such problems do not arise - just remove the cover to gain access to the frames.
The large dimensions of the hive allow even a very strong family not to look for a place to store honey or eggs - all this easily fits in specially designed frames for this.
In addition, serious dimensions allow a large family not to swarm for a long time - experts know how much this weakens the hive. If you are aimed not at the earliest possible increase in the number of families, but rather at getting honey, this will become an important advantage.
In the winter season, you can simply divide the case into two parts by a partition, leave a frame with honey in each of them and calmly populate two families here at once.
It is very good that on hot summer days, which are observed in many regions of our country, where they are engaged in beekeeping, it is easier for bees to maintain the temperature at the optimum height. Large dimensions and the presence of empty space in the lower part of the hive provide some ventilation - the bees are not in danger of overheating, which is detrimental to their well-being and health.
Finally, for beginners who have never had experience with bees before, it will be much easier to master this difficult task if they start with the hives of the Dadan system.
Shortcomings
Alas, any medal has a flip side. Therefore, opponents of the hives of Dadan often mention the shortcomings that this design has.
The main disadvantage is the complexity of manufacturing. In most cases, you have to buy new equipment - it’s quite difficult to create a hive or a framework for it yourself. An error of several millimeters will inevitably lead to the fact that all work will have to start from scratch.
In addition, the total area of all cells in the hive is relatively small - approximately 465 square decimeters. An amateur beekeeper who is not going to get honey by industrial methods, going for this to various tricks, this is quite enough. But for professionals, this is a serious drawback.
Dimensions of ten frame hive
Although the Dadan-Blatt hive with 12 frames is considered classic, sometimes ten-frame ones are also found. They are used in areas where there are not too many honey plants and therefore it is important to quickly fill in all the available frames so that honey can be pumped out as soon as possible.
In this case, the internal dimensions of the hive itself are 435x300 mm with a height of 860 millimeters. Of course, the external dimensions are several millimeters larger, since the thickness of the boards or plywood that are used during operation should be taken into account here.
However, the most important thing is that the standard frames fit tightly into the hive’s body, and all the parts fit as tightly as possible, without gaps that the bees do not like. The rest is not so important.
12 beehive hive
But if you are interested in the dimensions of the drawing of the 12-frame Dadan hive, then there will be certain changes in the design. However, the basic principle remains the same - it is very important that the standard framework fit the hive without gaps.
The internal dimensions of the case in this case are 450x435 millimeters. The optimal height is 310 millimeters. If you plan to use the store as well so as not to slow down the pace of honey collection in a good year, then its area will be exactly the same, though the height is already less - only 145 millimeters.
As you can see from the drawings, the dimensions of the 12-frame Dadan hive are not too different from the 10-frame one. And the most important thing here is not to comply with the dimensions (except for the hive body and the store), but to fit all the parts to each other extremely tightly.
To whom such a hive is suitable
As mentioned above, the Dadan hive will be the best choice for beekeeper amateurs. For example, if you live in your house, in an area where a large number of honey plants grow, and you decide to start your own production of honey, so as not to buy it in a store. But at the same time, you are not going to do big business on this at all, traveling on a beekeeper to places where the honey carriers bloom most. Also, you do not seek to get the first batch of honey as soon as possible in order to sell it and make money.
Bees will slowly collect honey, filling a rather spacious building, knowing exactly where their house is located, how to find it. Yes, the amount of sweets collected in this case is reduced. But this approach allows you to get certain advantages. For example, you don’t have to spend too much time collecting honey. And at the same time, you do not need to carefully monitor the hive, since a swarm that needs to be caught can come out of it at any time. No, swarms, of course, will come out - because the number of bees in a healthy hive is constantly growing. But still, the large dimensions of the hive allow swarming much less frequently.
Yes, and bees such stability will only benefit. If they know for sure that their hive stays in place all the time, this does not cause them unnecessary stress, they are less likely to get sick, work better. That is, they are doing everything so that their owner is completely satisfied with hundreds of thousands of their employees.
What to make a beehive
If you have at hand the design and dimensions of the 12-frame Dadan hive you know, then you can try to design it yourself.
Of the tools you need: a saw, a planer, a ruler. Of consumables - primarily PVA glue. Many experts prefer to use it, as it reliably holds wood together, has no unpleasant odor, unlike most glues, and when it is used (unlike screws and nails), the possibility of damage to thin bars or plywood is excluded.
Choosing the right material also needs to be approached very seriously. Softwood of deciduous trees - aspen and alder - is best suited. But getting it does not always work. Then you can take a pine or spruce. Although they are representatives of conifers, even with strong heating, tar is not released, which can cause serious discomfort to bees and even cause the death of some of them.
Having everything you need, a person who is used to working with his hands will be able to construct a beehive and frame that is perfect for breeding bees without any problems. This will save a lot of money, and if necessary, make certain changes to the design so that the hives fully meet your needs in all respects.
Conclusion
On this our article comes to an end. Now you know everything about the Dadan hive: drawing, dimensions, history of occurrence, as well as the main advantages and disadvantages. So, you can decide whether it suits you or whether it makes sense to find the best option.