feeding up and overwintering a nuc

[Curley]

Hi

I am going to try overwintering a nuc for the first time andlooking for a bit of advice around feeding before and during winter.
Got a nice even tempered little colony in a Maisies polynuc. Three combs of brood two of them, nice solid slabs of mostly capped. This years queen. Just finished apiguard and have slapped in 4 pints of thymolated syrup. Bees are bring in yellow pollen (ivy?) by the barrow load and seem very happy with their lot.
I intend making a cosy from celotex for them. (should this go under the OMF?)
How much should I feed now and how much in the winter. Happy with hefting wooden nationals but haven't really got a feel for what a well fed polynuc feels like.

Any advice gratefully received

 

[Finman]

.
When you have 8 hives, take to the nuc 2-3 capped brood frames from other hives. Two brood frames are too few for wintering.

 

[Karsal]

Hi

I am going to try overwintering a nuc for the first time andlooking for a bit of advice around feeding before and during winter.
Got a nice even tempered little colony in a Maisies polynuc. Three combs of brood two of them, nice solid slabs of mostly capped. This years queen. Just finished apiguard and have slapped in 4 pints of thymolated syrup. Bees are bring in yellow pollen (ivy?) by the barrow load and seem very happy with their lot.
I intend making a cosy from celotex for them. (should this go under the OMF?)
How much should I feed now and how much in the winter. Happy with hefting wooden nationals but haven't really got a feel for what a well fed polynuc feels like.

Any advice gratefully received

For what it's worth. I have only Paynes poly nucs and hives. Last winter I successfully overwintered the one poly nuc on just two frames of brood. Fed with syrup put an eke on with kingspan on top of crown board and a hole cut out for a margarine tub of fondant over the hole in the crown board.
Not a problem, they came through the winter fine.
It's worth a try. Winters are not as harsh as they used to be but I suggest that you just keep an eye on the fondant and top up if required.

 

[Finman]

For what it's worth. I have only Paynes poly nucs and hives. Last winter I successfully overwintered the one poly nuc on just two frames of brood. Fed with syrup put an eke on with kingspan on top of crown board and a hole cut out for a margarine tub of fondant over the hole in the crown board.
Not a problem, they came through the winter fine.
I.

How much the colony made honey this summer?

To get it alive over Winter means nothing. 2 frame nuc after Winter has only the value of Queen. It takes too much time and colony is normal size in Late summer.

I have wintered 1 frame colonies over Winter in -20 temp outdoors with terrarium heater.
But it is not able to rear brood. And 4 frame nuc is too too small. Its purpose is only to be a spare Queen.



.
.

 

[Hivemaker.]

But it is not able to rear brood.

Nosemic queen, buy a new one.

 

[Finman]

Nosemic queen, buy a new one.

????.

I do not need advices. It was somebody else. Different climate, you know.

 

[REDWOOD]

Never done one in a Maisies polynuc but they come with a top feeder so I would just put some fondant in it and keep an eye on it every couple of weeks

 

[Hivemaker.]

How much the colony made honey this summer?

To get it alive over Winter means nothing. 2 frame nuc after Winter has only the value of Queen. It takes too much time and colony is normal size in Late summer.

I have wintered 1 frame colonies over Winter in -20 temp outdoors with terrarium heater.
But it is not able to rear brood. And 4 frame nuc is too too small. Its purpose is only to be a spare Queen.

It was somebody else..

It was definitely you, see above in red.

 

[Finman]

It was definitely you, see above in red.

Ok, Hivemaker. But I used the Queen as spare Queen, and it was not nosemic .


When you have one frame colony after Winter, and a new Queen, how many weeks it takes that that you can extract one super capped honey from hive ( 15 kg)

In what month?
.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Ok, Hivemaker. But I used the Queen as spare Queen, and it was not nosemic .
.

How would you know if the queen was any good before you used it.

 

[REDWOOD]

To be honest I don't think we get a winter in the South of the UK just a cooler summer

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Never done one in a Maisies polynuc but they come with a top feeder so I would just put some fondant in it and keep an eye on it every couple of weeks

Got a few going through the winter in them this year - the beauty of the maisie's feeders is you can slide out the partition separating the feeding channel from the rest of the syrup reservoir thus you've only got the middle raised piece left so the lump of fondant is a lot more accessible to the bees.

 

[Finman]

How would you know if the queen was any good before you used it.

Good question. Let me think.

I change all my queen's every year. After next summer I know how much it brought honey.

That is my system. I have 20% spare hives to compensate hive and queen losses. Not-any-good queens I squeeze and throw into willows.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

five minutes on google later......................................

 

[Curley]

Thank you all for the replies - much food for thought.

 

[Hivemaker.]

I change all my queen's every year.

...with queens from small nucs that have no brood, like in previous post.

 

[Zante]

To be honest I don't think we get a winter in the South of the UK just a cooler summer

Well... Considering what gets called a summer in the UK...

 

[Finman]

...with queens from small nucs that have no brood, like in previous post.

Blaa blaa blaa

But remember that those ideas are from your head, not from mine.

With my style I get from hives average yields 60-80 kg.

 

[Hivemaker.]

With my style I get from hives average yields 60-80 kg.

When hives should bring 40-60 kg, they consumed 30 kg existing yield stores.

I read this...it seems you spend too much time messing with tiny nucs and terrapin heaters, you need to learn that you need strong colonies, good pastures, and good weather to get a big yield.

 

[Finman]

, you need to learn that you need strong colonies, good pastures, and good weather to get a big yield.

That is new to me. But you forgot the most important: The skills.
.