Choice of Nucs

[Allen Dick]

This request came in by email and I am too busy to handle it right now. Besides this group has been kicking this topic around for a while and has some good thoughts.

Some of the questions are answered already in this forum, but maybe someone can provide links or add to what has been already discussed...

As always, I recommend using the search function at http://honeybeeworld.com/beesearch.htm

It can take some playing around to find the most effective search terms, but I often use it myself when i am looking for something I did or thought in the past.
-------

Hello , again Allen .

Currently I have 50 hives ( 35 hives and 15 nucs )

I am in the moment were I need to decide what type of nucs to use for my operation . I use for my hives 10 frames deep super double brood box . I plan to palletize everything so the pallet will be the bottom for the hives with 2 per pallet . The pallet will have metal mesh underneath and a metal sheet to close it when the hives are in the yards . For feeding them i want to use buckets with holes so the feeder will be on top of the hive . The question is if in colder weather the bees will eat the syrup from the feeder or should i use instead a frame feeder for colder weather ( spring especially ) and the bucket's for fall feeding ( I can't use drums because of other hive nearby here ) . For insulating the hives i have found some aluminium bublerap foil to put under the migratory lid ( spring and fall and winter ) . I saw that you use upper entrance . If i dont have a upper entrance can I insulate the hive with those black pillows ? I ask because I dont now how is vented the hive in winter if it is insulated if dont have that upper entrance ( just to the bottom entrance ? , aren't vapours condensate inside the hive having nasty mold without upper entrance ? ) .

How do you make that in the fall you have some big hive populations because up here we are get frames out from the boxes ( the second brood box ) because the bees aren't enough to cover all 10 frames so I will have from 5 to 8 frames maximum in the fall in the upper box and all 10 frames in the lower one . How you make that you dont get out any frames in the fall amd have big populations .
I saw that in your area beekeepers are using for nucs 3-4-5 or 6 frames double brood box deeps hive bodies ( Langstroth ) and for the hives 10 frames one . Why that decision . I saw it on to prariebees.ca ( Wendel farm ) that are using those 3-4-5 or 6 frames nucs to repair hives in spring and to collect some more honey from them through the period when they are build up .

How you do that from 1 frame of bees on 15 May you get a 2 boxes hive until the fall ? feeding syrup an protein patties weekly even if is a good flow ? .

I saw some videos from a guy from Romania that works on the Wendel farms and showed how things are maked up there and he presented how from that one frame he has in fall a two boxes hive ? how he do it ? and he take a number o supers with honey from them .
Resuming I cant decide if to chose to use 6 frames double brood box nucs ( three on a pallet ) and staking two 10 frames honey suppers for the honey if needed or using a piece of plywood to separate a standard 10 frame box in half ( 4 frames for a nuc and other 4 for another one ) ? . Why the variety of those nucs that are used ? and not chosing lets say the 6 frames one ? .

For mating queens what do you prefer because I have to chose beetwen 3 frames nucs ( 3 nucs per box ) and mini-matings nucs from Lyson with those mini frames . I need in a year up to 100-150 queens .
What type from those two is more convenient from the perspective of easyer manipulation , hive starvation , mating succes , using less resources , unitary equipment .

https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy ... qvAaYCYl5U

In the link that i had attached (above) you will see some videos from that guy that work there and when he presents some stuff from the farm . He said that he presented things that are made in the summer and fall but not what they make in spring because those are the secrets of a beekeeper and the competition should not now . How you thing he is doing that it have taht amount of bees in those hives and so rapidly build up from a frame of bees .

Some opinions and secrets if i could call like that because here I strugle to have more bees in the hives for the flows . He said that 80 % of what they are doing can be aplied he in Romania but what are the stuff that are not said or presented that make what they have in the boxes if you now . He is from Saskatchewan .

Cristian Nichifor .