Nuc with brood on four frames

[Beezer]

New Queen has tightly packed brood onto four frames in her nuc and has one of stores plus frame feeder too.

I have one spare pollen and two honey stores frames, not all cells filled.

Q.
Should I put her in a hive with frame feeder and dummy plus frames as above and her own five frames.

She would have total eight frames then.

I'm worried if I don't give a little more room she may swarm and she's way too good to lose.

Advice please.

 

[mazzamazda]

Sounds like a perfect "going into winter arrangement" I very much doubt they would swarm and got some stores. Be careful you don't leave too much spare room for the bees to heat.

My uncle who has been beekeeping for 45+ years says if you go into winter with 6 frames of bees you roughly come out with 3 in the spring???

Mark

 

[mazzamazda]

I'd also swap the frame feeder for a honey stores frame when feeding is finished though!

 

[kazmcc]

When you count the frames of brood, do you count each side of each frame or does one entire frame count as one frame of bees.......if you get what I mean?

 

[itma]

...
Q.
Should I put her in a hive with frame feeder and dummy plus frames as above and her own five frames.

She would have total eight frames then.

I'm worried if I don't give a little more room she may swarm and she's way too good to lose.

Advice please.

Rather than just a dummy board, you could make a (tight-fitting) divider board to give them a 'right-size' space (and keep them out of any void). I have read on here that Kingspan/Celotex insulation board works well as its very easily worked yet not chewed by the bees. No harm in taping round the edges with aluminium greenhouse tape though.
Probably best to do the exact cutting and fitting to your BB before introducing bees into it!
And at the same time, you could cut some insulation to fit nicely under their roof. Better insulation, less stores/feeding needed. Insulate but ventilate. You have an open mesh floor presumably?

 

[oliver90owner]

Poly or wood nuc/hive? Might make a small diference in the choices.

I would be inclined to put them in a full hive with an insulated divider and feed, given the bare options as at present.

We have no idea how the weather is going to hold. Could be the end of the month before things slow down. Met office don't seem to have a clue.

RAB

 

[Finman]

.
If the nuc has 4 brood frames, 4 frames for winter is a right space.
Pollen frame is valuable for emerging bees. So 5 is maximum.

8 frames has 100% more space. NO ONE ENLARGE THE HIVE FOR WINTER, NOT EVEN UNCLE.

Start to feed that they have time to cap the food. Small nuc is sensitive to cold.

.

 

[Beezer]

Thank you everyone for your replies.

Kazmcc - one frame = both sides

RAB, it is a polystyrene nuc.

Finman, thank you, we'll go with you and your UNCLE!!

Much appreciated