Advice on building up new foundation

[retired bill]

Hi All
I have only had my bee,s for one week I transferred the Five frames from the nucleus after Three days getting orientated I dident hang about I just placed the five frames into their new hive National Brood Box Put the feeder on the top and I have left them to it. I have toped the feeder up Three times all seems to be fine. Thay are also out foraging weather permitting.
I intend to have a look hope fully tomorrow weather permitting would It be better to checker board the frames to get the bee,s to build the honeycomb on the new foundation or leave them to it a little longer.

Thanks bill

 

[Erichalfbee]

Don't just put the frames into a cavernous new box.
You should put one frame of foundation each side of the five frames that you put in. Dummy down and add frames as they draw them out.
Was there a frame of food in your nuc?
There should be so they DONT need feeding until your next inspection. Feed a nuc and they will become honey blocked and swarm.

 

[retired bill]

Don't just put the frames into a cavernous new box.
You should put one frame of foundation each side of the five frames that you put in. Dummy down and add frames as they draw them out.
Was there a frame of food in your nuc?
There should be so they DONT need feeding until your next inspection. Feed a nuc and they will become honey blocked and swarm.

Thanks for that, So if I add four frames each side of the drawn frames and a dummy board that should help.
I will check if there is any Honey on any of the frames when I make the Inspection there was brood and eggs for sure and as I said thay are out foraging.

Thanks bill

 

[Erichalfbee]

So if I add four frames each side of the drawn frames and a dummy board that should help.

Thanks bill

No........... one each side. Dummy with insulation.
hive wall/foundation/nucleus frames/foundation/insulation/hive wall

 

[retired bill]

No........... one each side. Dummy with insulation.
hive wall/foundation/nucleus frames/foundation/insulation/hive wall

ericA

Thanks for that hopefully I will do that as soon as the weather permits.

Thank,s bill

 

[bigfathairybiker]

No........... one each side. Dummy with insulation.
hive wall/foundation/nucleus frames/foundation/insulation/hive wall

Eekk... this could be part of my problem as well.

Can I just pack out with cardboard or foam?

Mark

 

[Finman]

.
It depends how big is the colony. How many frames it can cover.

.

 

[bigfathairybiker]

.
It depends how big is the colony. How many frames it can cover.

.

Two and a half frames just.

Mark

 

[YorkshireBees]

Two and a half frames just.

Mark

If there are only enough bees to cover 2 1/2 frames they are best left in the Nucleus hive!

A Nucleus hive IMHO should not be sold unless it is just about bursting with bees and ready to be transferred into a full size hive. (That's at least how I sell them!)

Otherwise as the others have advised.

With the weather as it is at the moment they won't draw wax very fast with the cool evening temps.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Eekk... this could be part of my problem as well.

Can I just pack out with cardboard or foam?

Mark

Yorkshirebees is spot on.
Also there is some real rubbish being sold. A nuc should be ready to go into a dummied big hive.
Get them into a nucleus box.
EVERYBODY should have a poly nuc box for just this sort of scenario

Oh and to OP. Add some top insulation. 50mm PIR is just the thing.
Infact I leave mine in all year.

 

[Finman]

Two and a half frames just.

Mark

Ok. Give a warm nucleus box to them. No mesh floor. 2x2 cm entrance is good.

If you get a swarm, unite them. 3 frame nuc is very slow to build up.
It perhaps draw first 2 foundations and later more.

Do not feed it too much, that syrup steals space from brood.

 

[Obee1]

All very interesting. When I bought a five frame nuc last year it had been transferred into a new national brood box containing the five full of bees nuc frames plus the rest filled with foundation. I was told to feed feed feed it for a few weeks then look in to check after 2 weeks.
The small amount I've learned since then means I will be doing it differently with my new buckfast nuc I collect next week and adding foundation as needed alongside dummying down the space. However I thought it was normal to feed a new nuc?

 

[Finman]

.
Error

 

[YorkshireBees]

All very interesting. When I bought a five frame nuc last year it had been transferred into a new national brood box containing the five full of bees nuc frames plus the rest filled with foundation. I was told to feed feed feed it for a few weeks then look in to check after 2 weeks.
The small amount I've learned since then means I will be doing it differently with my new buckfast nuc I collect next week and adding foundation as needed alongside dummying down the space. However I thought it was normal to feed a new nuc?

Left handed people open doors with their left hand and right handed people use their right. (I am assuming)

The point I am trying to make is that in Beekeeping a lot of things can be done different ways and I am afraid their is not always a RIGHT way.
Through experience you will learn what works best for you and the way you want to keep bees.

In terms of feeding a Nuc there are plus and minuses in feeding.
You can help them to draw foundation faster but they may fill any comb with stores preventing the Queen laying eggs to build the colony up!

Personally I follow my common sense and it seems to work.

Listen to advice from more experienced beekeepers but think before blindly following any advice.

 

[retired bill]

All very interesting. When I bought a five frame nuc last year it had been transferred into a new national brood box containing the five full of bees nuc frames plus the rest filled with foundation. I was told to feed feed feed it for a few weeks then look in to check after 2 weeks.
The small amount I've learned since then means I will be doing it differently with my new buckfast nuc I collect next week and adding foundation as needed alongside dummying down the space. However I thought it was normal to feed a new nuc?

Obee1
This is my predicament exactly I was advised to feed when I swapped from the nuc in to my national I was told this will build up the new comb.
I have now eased up on the feeding until I can carry out an Inspection I will also dummy down and replace frames with Insolation leaving one frame eather side of the nuc frames.

Thanks bill

 

[YorkshireBees]

Obee1
This is my predicament exactly I was advised to feed when I swapped from the nuc in to my national I was told this will build up the new comb.
I have now eased up on the feeding until I can carry out an Inspection I will also dummy down and replace frames with Insolation leaving one frame eather side of the nuc frames.

Thanks bill

The thing is techinaclly the advice to feed is not in-correct but bees need warmth and numbers to build comb so in the right conditions you can feed them non stop and they will build comb.

However it's not been that warm yet, not overnight anyway and I'm assuming that these 5 frame Nucs were not absolutely bursting with bees!?

I put a large prime swarm in a 6 frame Poly Nc last Friday with, if I remember correctly 1-2 Drawn frames, so the Q (mated assumed = Prime) can start to lay immediately and the rest foundation. From the activity I have seen (my back garden is my isolation apiary) my guess is when I check them next they could well have drawn almost every frame and that's without feeding.

As I say, given the right conditions bees become a wax comb production machine!

If they have drawn frames and not filled them with brood / stores I will probably swap them for more foundation for now until I have time to move them into a full size hive.

 

[Cussword]

All very interesting. When I bought a five frame nuc last year it had been transferred into a new national brood box containing the five full of bees nuc frames plus the rest filled with foundation. I was told to feed feed feed it for a few weeks then look in to check after 2 weeks.
The small amount I've learned since then means I will be doing it differently with my new buckfast nuc I collect next week and adding foundation as needed alongside dummying down the space. However I thought it was normal to feed a new nuc?

I think that there should be food as well as brood with your nuc. Enough to last until they forage for their own.

 

[Cussword]

Wow, I Didn't think that I typed that slow... I must have slept between posts

 

[enrico]

Just so that you don't feel too bad. I have always used a full brood box of foundation in that situation! It might not have been right but...... There is also the fact that drawn foundation will make a difference.
Just because you haven't done it the most efficient way doesn't make it necessarily wrong but it helps to give the bees the easiest route to increase and smaller spaces to heat is the obvious way to do this.
E