hi colinlee,
I would guess that the weak nucs should survive until January under their own steam - and I would add Neopoll then, if you are concerned about starvation or simply wish to encourage early Spring build-up. (Like MuswellMetro, I suppose that the pollen content of Neopoll will stimulate early brood production).
My dilemma in my apiary has been whether to feed fondant now to an Apidea mininuc which took a regular weekly dollop of Neopoll while filling up nicely with brood in late Autumn, but I have not fed now for 2 weeks, expecting the demand on stores to be tailing off into the winter (first frosts here in central London this weekend).
I am torn between insuring that they avoid starvation - and overstimulating any laying tendency before late January. It also doesn't help that they built brood comb which fits nicely into the nuc's feeder tray and it was getting laid up in early January.
In this context, am I right to see Neopoll as a brood stimulant and fondant as a basic food ? And if so, should I continue to withhold any more food at this stage of their development ?
Any suggestions welcome..