How To Use The One Queen Keeper

You’ve heard that The Keeper’s Hive makes colony management easy, efficient, effective and enjoyable – but how does it actually work? If you purchased a One Queen Keeper, the information below will help set you up for success.

 

HIVE FUNCTION & PERFORMING INSPECTIONS

The hive is designed to be opened and closed in a specific order: 

  • To open the hive: flip open the hinged roof, remove the tempered glass observation window, and then remove the two “frame guards” with handles. The brood chamber frames can now be accessed. While propolis will not impact the hive's function, we recommend regularly scraping off the components from time to time to prevent any long term build up.  
  • To close the hive: place the two frame guards in place over the frame ends, place the observation window on them so that it “snaps” into the slots on both sides, and then close the hinged roof. The brood chamber is now fully sealed.

When performing an inspection, you usually will not need to remove all 8 frames in the brood chamber. Remember that the brood chamber is symmetrical, so whatever is on the first 4 frames should be mirrored on the other side.

However, if you do need to remove all of the frames we recommend storing them in a quiet box. If you don't have one they are fairly easy to make, but we will also have some for sale in the near future!

 

HIVE COMPONENTS & SUPER CONFIGURATION

In order to use the One Queen Keeper, you will need the following hive components (complete kits containing all of the below will be available soon): 

  • 10 frame solid bottom board*
  • Medium and deep frames
  • One 5 frame deep nuc box**
  • Two to three 5 frame medium nucs
  • 5 frame inner cover
  • 5 frame telescoping outer cover

*Using solid bottom boards is preferable with single brood chamber management because it helps keep cold air off the brood. Remember – the brood chamber is restricted to the very bottom of the hive. 

**If you would like to perform the Demaree method of swarm control, you will need at least one deep nuc to use as the “exchange box”. This is for cycling frames in and out of the brood chamber to prevent swarming. We like to use mediums for honey supers, but you can use deeps if you prefer.

 

HIVE SET UP & LOCATION

For detailed information on choosing a hive location, check out our guide on where to put your beehive.

If you would like to perform seated hive inspections (which are amazing!), we recommend using a shorter hive stand or a stand that matches the height of your preferred seat.

It’s also important to make sure that your hive stays stable in the face of winds and predators, so we highly recommend using a stand that allows you to throw a ratchet strap all the way over the hive. Many beekeepers use this method for securing traditional Langstroth hives. 


STARTING COLONIES

Introducing a colony into the One Queen Keeper is straightforward. We have several guides on how to start new colonies using a few different methods:

 

MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

We are currently working on extensive and informative guides on colony management and those will be published in the coming months! For now, please check out our overview of seasonal colony management and any of our relevant YouTube videos – especially this detailed breakdown from George about what to look for during a hive inspection.

Thanks again for your support! If you have any questions about our guides, feedback, or requests for additional information, don't hesitate to contact us via email at support@thekeepershive.com.

Every two weeks we invite owners of The Keeper's Hive to join our Co-founder and head beekeeper George Datto for a live Zoom session where we answer their questions and discuss management strategies. Below are recordings of the meetings, some topics may repeat a few times but every session contains a wide variety of information that could be helpful to any beekeeper!

As always, contact us with any questions at hello@thekeepershive.com

1/21/2026 - Zoom Recording

1/21/2026 Topics Discussed:

  1. Getting bees through the rest of winter!
  2. Late winter/early spring feeding
  3. Tips for buying bees
  4. Finding out why your bees died in winter
  5. How to replace the queen excluder on The Keeper's Hive for spring

2/4/2026 - Zoom Recording

2/4/26 Topics Discussed:

  1. Fastest way to have bees draw out comb?
  2. Should you add more wax to frames that come pre-waxed?
  3. Preparing equipment for Spring/having a strategy
  4. How to set up the brood chamber for starting packages and nucs in The Keeper's Hive
  5. Timing early spring feeding, when to add the queen excluder back to the hive

2/18/2026 - Zoom Recording

2/18/2026 Topics Discussed:

  1. Assessing dead outs
  2. When do you start managing your bees in the Keeper's hive? Adding the queen excluder and starting the demare method.
  3. Guide for feeding NUCs or Splits in a Two Queen Hive.
  4. Feeding NUCs or splits 1:1  with additives or not?

3/4/2026 - Zoom Recording

3/4/26 Topics Discussed:

  1. Assessing colony losses and learning from mistakes.
  2. First spring inspection - what to look for and how to assess status.
  3. Resetting the hive based on colony strength so that it is the appropriate amount of space.
  4. Watching the weather before switching to spring configurations.
  5. Requeening hives.