Adding nucs

robthir · May 25, 2012, 03:42:19 PM

I'm picking up a couple of nucs today. What is the procedure for adding them to the apiary. I have two strong colonies here now, should I put them far away or does it matter?

D Coates · May 25, 2012, 05:38:15 PM

To me it doesn't matter. I've got a few more hives (15) than nucs (12) in my apiary. Many of my nucs are recently caught swarms. I take them to my house and "proof" the queen by making sure she's laying eggs. Once I've got a laying queen I move them to my regular apiary 3 miles away and I treat them the same. I've never had a nuc robbed out doing this.

Finski · May 25, 2012, 08:10:53 PM

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If you feed the nucs, that may atract big hives attention. So it is better to do in the evenning,

or the best way is to give a food frame from big hive. And then, if nuc has too much food, give the food frame to big hive.

robthir · May 25, 2012, 10:16:24 PM

I planned to use Boardman feeders.

Michael Bush · May 26, 2012, 04:59:18 AM

Boardman are the worst for starting robbing. But any feeder can work if you don't put too much in and you feed in the evening and the syrup is gone by morning.

cdanderson · May 28, 2012, 11:14:30 AM

I have nucs mixed in with my big hives...just be very careful with feeding options and keep their entrance reduced .

AndrewT · May 28, 2012, 02:28:03 PM

And when you're feeding a nuc this time of year, especially with boardman feeders, you need to keep a close eye on them. Things could be fine while there's a good flow going on, but if anything interrupts it, the bees from the bigger colonies can zero in on your little nuc and make considerable trouble before you even know it.