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Author Topic: Nucs, how do you?  (Read 6473 times)

Offline bee-nuts

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Nucs, how do you?
« on: May 12, 2010, 03:21:40 am »
I made four nucs recently.  I was trying to stop a couple hives from swarming and the one that started preps did anyway as in the video I posted.  Anyway, when I made them I think I put to many bees in them and they soon were over crowded and because I was short on boxes I had to make a second box to put on top of nucs.  So when you make nucs how many frames of bees do you put in them, 2, 3?  Do you put two frames of brood with bees and a frame of honey and pollen on the sides of these and an empty comb or feeder in fifth? 

Im curious because you obviously dont make nucs that need to be transfered into a deep in two weeks right?

If you were making five frame nucs that you intended to be full in two or three weeks for sale how would you make them?

Im thinking three frames of bees, two capped brood will fill box when all emerge.

Thanks you for any help
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Offline fish_stix

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Re: Nucs, how do you?
« Reply #1 on: May 12, 2010, 03:12:08 pm »
bee-nuts; everyone has an opinion on the "correct" way to make up nucs. I can only tell you what I use and that it works for me! We take 3 frames of capped brood with the covering bees, 1 frame of honey/pollen, 1 empty but drawn frame. If the frames are light on bees we shake in more nurse bees, from a couple hives if necessary. We queen them with ripe cells due to emerge the same or following day. We are real happy when they build up as fast as you have experienced and the nucs do a lot better; I like to be moving them into 8 frame boxes in 2-3 weeks, but some of them will slack off and take 4-5 weeks to build. BTW, we replace the brood frames we take with drawn frames, when available, to keep the donor hives as strong as possible. We rarely have to feed the nucs and we split at least 3 times during spring and summer as we can get mated queens as late as November in FL. If I were selling them, I'd do it exactly the same and give my customers nucs that are busting at the seams and ready for a bigger home immediately! Unless you're going to sell your nuc boxes with them just have the customers bring 8 or 10 framers to move them into.  :-D

Offline Bee Happy

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Re: Nucs, how do you?
« Reply #2 on: May 12, 2010, 03:40:40 pm »
The people we bought ours from to get started had the corrugated plastic kind. They waived the deposit because we lived nearby and they felt comfortable that we'd bring them back. I would figure that you charge "X" amount for the 5 frame nucleus colony, then ask a deposit for the value of whatever nuc you decide to go with, if they bring a hive to install to then there's no need for the deposit.
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Offline bee-nuts

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Re: Nucs, how do you?
« Reply #3 on: May 13, 2010, 01:22:51 am »
bee-nuts; everyone has an opinion on the "correct" way to make up nucs. I can only tell you what I use and that it works for me! We take 3 frames of capped brood with the covering bees, 1 frame of honey/pollen, 1 empty but drawn frame. If the frames are light on bees we shake in more nurse bees, from a couple hives if necessary. We queen them with ripe cells due to emerge the same or following day. We are real happy when they build up as fast as you have experienced and the nucs do a lot better; I like to be moving them into 8 frame boxes in 2-3 weeks, but some of them will slack off and take 4-5 weeks to build. BTW, we replace the brood frames we take with drawn frames, when available, to keep the donor hives as strong as possible. We rarely have to feed the nucs and we split at least 3 times during spring and summer as we can get mated queens as late as November in FL. If I were selling them, I'd do it exactly the same and give my customers nucs that are busting at the seams and ready for a bigger home immediately! Unless you're going to sell your nuc boxes with them just have the customers bring 8 or 10 framers to move them into.  :-D

How do you transfer the nuc into the customers box without losing your field bees?  Unless they come at sun up or sun down that seems like a bad idea.
The moment a person forms a theory, his imagination sees in every object only the traits which favor that theory

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Offline fish_stix

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Re: Nucs, how do you?
« Reply #4 on: May 13, 2010, 11:36:53 pm »
Yes! Pick them up at sundown. Or screen them the night before then dump them in his boxes; won't lose many!

Offline bee-nuts

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Re: Nucs, how do you?
« Reply #5 on: May 14, 2010, 12:11:48 am »
Thank you fish stix
The moment a person forms a theory, his imagination sees in every object only the traits which favor that theory

Thomas Jefferson

Offline Monie

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Re: Nucs, how do you?
« Reply #6 on: July 22, 2010, 08:02:20 pm »
I make mine like fish_stix. As an added value, I also make wooden nucs, so I don't have to fiddle with transferring the bees. It costs me about the same to build a nice wooden nuc as it does to pay for the corrugated with shipping.

Offline specialkayme

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Re: Nucs, how do you?
« Reply #7 on: July 22, 2010, 08:17:52 pm »
My first nuc purchased (and first hive) was a 3 framer. He had me put a deposit of $20 down for the nuc box he made, but told me I could just keep it, and I did.

Every other nuc I bout had 4 frames of brood in various stages of development and one frame of pollen/honey. They all recomended/needed to be transfered to 10 frames in the next day or two.

My last nuc was 2 frames of brood, one frame food, and two frames of half drawn out comb. I notified the seller that it was on the weak side in comparison to all the other nucs I got. Not as an insult, or demanding a refund or anything, but more as a feedback so he knew where he stood in comparison to competition. He offered a partial refund (which I rejected, thankfully), but explained that he talked to a few commercialists in the area and they claimed they packed all their nucs with 2 frames of brood, one frame food, one frame drawn comb, and one frame foundation only. He thought two frames of partially drawn was better than one frame drawn and one frame foundation. I told him if I bought a five frame nuc, I expect five frames of something. If they tried to sell me a five frame nuc and one was foundation, I would request 1/5th my money back.

But that is just my experiences. As I explained to the seller, these may not be the industry standard, just what I've seen.

Offline Yuleluder

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Re: Nucs, how do you?
« Reply #8 on: December 09, 2010, 07:41:19 pm »
I make my nucs that are going to customers the same way as previously described, with three frames of bees and one frame of honey and pollen and one frame of foundation to give the bees something to do while the queen mates.

Now nucs that I plan on keeping I will use two frames of brood and two frames of honey and pollen.  It all depends on what the goal is of course.

 

anything