So I have had this idea for starting a new hive and was wondering if it was worth trying.
I was thinking of using 2 packages of bees and starting them in separate boxes. After they get good and established in their boxes I was thinking of stealing the queen and a few frames out of one hive to start a nuc and then doing a newspaper combine with the 2 boxes, thus making a large (ideally more productive?) hive much sooner in the year.
Has anyone ever done this.... Any thoughts?
Sounds great on paper. Execution is another story, to many variables for things to go astray and set you back and miss your timeline. Personally I think you would be far better off to forgo buying two packages and buying a nuc that is already raising brood.
Homer,
Keep in mind what goes on inside a newly installed package.
You install the package, it takes a couple days for the queen to get out, a couple days for her to start laying, and another 21 days for her bees to emerge, then another 12 days for them to become field bees.
So at least for the first four weeks, the numbers inside the hive will decrease as the bees naturally die off. Brood production during this time is mainly dictated by how much area the cluster can keep warm at night. Day temps may be nice and warm, but it is the night temps that matter when your talking spring brood rearing.
So many times, a package starts out with a good amount of bees, but four weeks later, they may actually be raising LESS brood, as their numbers decrease. And brood production is about maxed out based on the number of bees. At other times, such things as comb space, the queen's ability, and other factors come into play. But with packages, it all numbers.
So any manipulations such as this within the first 4 to 8 weeks of a package, usually means messing something up. Leaving behind bees for one hive, and "starving" the bee numbers by making a nuc, only begs to question "How much brood will be raised by the nuc by such a manipulation?"
I think your idea of waiting until they are "good and established", combined with taking a "few frames", and then trying to make a "more productive hive sooner" in the year, are all conflictive with each other.
I guess I could see an increase in one hive if more bees are added, but are you talking about "more productive" to mean brood rearing, comb produced or honey? Because at the end of the day, you will have one more productive than the other. But together, they may not be any further ahead. And there is a risk that you could be behind.
The best thing you could do for rapid build up is feed sugar and even substitue till the cows come home. They will draw like crazy. Just make sure they have enough brood area and you can back off the feed a bit if things get to tight later in the year.
Thanks for all the good advice. It sounded good in my head.... I appreciate all the input! I think I'll just pretend that I never had that idea :-D