Anything I can do to build up nucs to full brood size?

[Hawklord]

If adding emerging brood, where would the pollen come from to feed the larvae? A frame of pollen from another hive, again the beek is acting as a forager.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

If adding emerging brood, where would the pollen come from to feed the larvae?

If the brood are emerging they would be bees - not larvae

 

[Hawklord]

If the brood are emerging they would be bees - not larvae

True but they will beome nurse bees and they will need pollen to feed the newly hatched larvae.

 

[Little John]

He wants honey from nucs but it is not possible.

I haven't seen a single reference to honey - can you point this out ?

 

[Jimy Dee]

Finman - the nucs are 3 to 4 frames, good amount of bees for a nuc but very small in comparison to a good big productive hive. I can forget about honey for this year so. I'm learning loads too.

 

[Finman]

.
Keep the nucs warm that they make full frames of brood.

It takes time that new bees start to emerge. Then it is time to evaluate situation, when nucs get new bees and recent bees will be forager. Just wait now.

 

[user 6228]

i would have thought the basic idea: feed if no stores, if plenty stores dont feed applied to nucs as well as full size hives. keep insulated to reduce number of bees needed for temperature regulation

 

[oliver90owner]

the basic idea

It is, but some have ulterior motives, and that seems to be taken as gospel by a whole group of non-thinking beekeepers. Just on the basis that 'the supplier said do it so it must be the right thing to do'.

Hoodwinked is a better term, maybe? Yeah, right. The best thing for them. Funny how they didn't need feeding yesterday but do immediately after sale. The ones one has to watch out for are the 'thrown together' nucs on the day of sale. They may be short on stores at the next inspection!

 

[Little John]

the basic idea

It is, but some have ulterior motives, and that seems to be taken as gospel by a whole group of non-thinking beekeepers.

Non-thinking - or is it non-listening ?

Just on the basis that 'the supplier said do it so it must be the right thing to do'.

Hoodwinked is a better term, maybe? Yeah, right. The best thing for them. Funny how they didn't need feeding yesterday but do immediately after sale.

There is no supplier. There was no sale.

These are splits that the OP has made himself.

And for Finman's benefit - there is no mention at all of honey in the earlier posts - only one reference in post #25 confirming that honey isn't important. (my words)

I think it would be useful on this, and so many other posts in which people will insist in twisting a poster's words to suit their own agendas, to focus instead upon what the OP is actually seeking.

LJ

 

[Finman]

Non-thinking - or is it non-listening ?



There is no supplier. There was no sale.

These are splits that the OP has made himself.

And for Finman's benefit - there is no mention at all of honey in the earlier posts - only one reference in post #25 confirming that honey isn't important. (my words)

I think it would be useful on this, and so many other posts in which people will insist in twisting a poster's words to suit their own agendas, to focus instead upon what the OP is actually seeking.

LJ

Amen.
Finally experienced beekeepers was the problem.
It is a common disease.

 

[oliver90owner]

If it ('the feeding nucs pfoblem') has not arisen from suppliers with their ulterior motives, the we must put it down to non-thinking beeks passing the message down to 'believing' new beeks? The ONLY time I feed, feed, feed, would be to get the brood box filled as autumn feeding for winter. I rarely feed for winter these days as I do not steal every skerret of honey from the colonies.

Those that advise this practice of 'feed, feed, feed for a nuc without any consideration' need to think a lot more about the process of keeping bees.

 

[Dishmop]

And for Finman's benefit - there is no mention at all of honey in the earlier posts - only one reference in post #25 confirming that honey isn't important. (my words)

But you must understand that Finman is unable to compehend why anybody would want to keep bees if they do not intend to get a crop of honey that they can sell.

 

[Dishmop]

Those that advise this practice of 'feed, feed, feed for a nuc without any consideration' need to think a lot more about the process of keeping bees.

and I add to that that perhaps they ought to consider if what they are extracting is honey or some kind of honey syrup mix.
From what I see in my obs hive in spring is that bees eat the remainder of their winter stores before they start packing way new stores from foraging....However, if you start feeding again in the spring then I assume that they are/might be packing away syrup as new stores, so again, you have the question of ..what are you extracting?

 

[rolande]

He wants honey from nucs but it is not possible.

I haven't seen a single reference to honey

Easy misunderstanding, I also thought that was what was meant by this post...

Thanks for all the input. I was hoping they would be strong enough for a late summer flow.

 

[Dishmop]

.
Strange...sometimes walk away nucs and sometimes feed every day.
Is it better to learn some basic solution .

To feed or not to feed?

That is the question.

It may be simple in the mind,
5 say yes and 5 say no,
therefore down which track does the new beek go?

 

[Finman]

To profound a nuc and to rear it to normal colony is very simple task.

 

[Finman]

To feed or not to feed?

That is the question.

It may be simple in the mind,
5 say yes and 5 say no,
therefore down which track does the new beek go?

Question was how to fasten nucs build up.
And answer is very simple. Oliver and I explained it allready.

Good question...feed or not to feed in the middle of summer...how in heck those feral bees do. If they do not starve in winter, how they starve in summer

.

 

[Dishmop]

Question was how to fasten nucs build up.
And answer is very simple. Oliver and I explained it allready.

Oh I wasnt saying you are wrong ............I actually agree with you.
The answer is indeed simple.............but not to those who disagree.

Good question...feed or not to feed in the middle of summer...how in heck those feral bees do. If they do not starve in winter, how they starve in summer

Precisely...

 

[Finman]

Oh I wasnt saying you are wrong ............I actually agree with you.
The answer is indeed simple.............but not to those who disagree.

Precisely...

I got 100 kg honey / hive last summer, and most of beekeepers disagree it. But it is late to disagree. Accident has happened allready.

In last year in late May I had 6 hives where I took only queens and casted nosemic bees away. Then I got from those nucs 60 kg honey/hive. I surely know how to do it in my short summer. And I did not feeded them not a bit.

Two weeks ago I bought a 2 box hive and I delivered bees to 7 weak hives.
One hive had only 3 frames of bees and now it has 2 boxes.
At the end of June I evaluate the hives join them to main production for July. In August all is gone.

My goal is to get 2 boxes of brood during June, and with that trick the hive is able to participate to main yield.

And I had electrict heating in all hives up to 10.6.

But the danger is that strenghtening of nucs you destroy your productive hives.

 

[Finman]

.
But it is not so simple. There are allways hives which do not grow, what ever I do. And it is better that you do not sacrifice too much to those. In main yield I kill a weak queen and join the bees and brood to some another hive.

I pile for main yield units which have 5-6 langsroth boxes.
At same time I have 15 3-frame mating nucs.

Swapping the flying bees to the weak hive has a danger that the queen is good for nothing. Then you loose the game.
.