Picking up first nuc tonight

[Ricky N]

Really looking forward to picking up my first nuc tonight.
I have my Cedar National hive set up ready and been reading a few ways to move nuc over to main hive.Any helpful advice would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance Ricky

 

[Swarm]

Move the hive and site the nuc where you want it to stay. Let them settle, perhaps for a day before sliding your hive back into place and transferring the frames.

 

[Amari]

If the National is to be topped up with frames of foundation the bees will need lots of syrup feed - bees won't draw foundation without a honey flow (now waning) or feed.
It might be good to dummy down i.e top up the frames from the nuc with just two frames of foundation and fill the empty space with dummy boards (make them yourself) or squares of insulation board. When the foundation is drawn add more.

 

[Beefriendly]

If you spot the queen on a frame as you transfer them from your nuc into the full hive great (I'm assuming she is marked). Not a problem.
But, if you don't spot her then check the rest of the bees left in the nuc very very carefully for her, just in case she is there. She probably won't be and as you won't be used to finding queens (yet) probably missed her on a transferred frame..... but then you don't want to take that chance.
Take your time over it.

But if you spotted her then no need to worry.

 

[Ricky N]

Thank you for the replies.
I will have the nuc in the hive position tonight .I was planning on moving the nuc into the hive tomorrow lunch time also I’ve made up the syrup ready to put in the top feeder.
Will it be ok to leave the frames of foundation in with the nucs ?

 

[Popparand]

Why not take a bb plus floor and crown board with you. Ask the seller to load the bb with queen, frames etc and you wont have to worry about transferring the colony when you get home. If you dont want to keep the nuc you can ask for a discount!

 

[Beefriendly]

I was planning on moving the nuc into the hive tomorrow lunch time ?

Steady on...give them a day or three (or even better a week) to get used to new position. You may find them a little tetchy if you try to move them too soon after being relocated and shaken about in transit. It's not a race.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Steady on...give them a day or three (or even better a week) to get used to new position. You may find them a little tetchy if you try to move them too soon after being relocated and shaken about in transit. It's not a race.

Each to his or her own. Half the beeks you ask advise wait, half advise do it now and there are no real hard and fast answers. When I started I brought the nuc (buckfast local produced by a beek in York) home in the evening, stood it on the hive floor in its planned position, following mid afternoon shifted the nuc to one side, set the brood box on its floor, swapped the frames into the brood box. A frame of foundation either side of the nuc frames with a dummy board. They drew out the foundation and as soon as I saw through a clear crownboard they had done so they got two more frames until the box was fully drawn. They did this using nectar without feeding.
The huggers wouldn't move up into super for ages when they were given one but that's another story.

 

[Beefriendly]

Each to his or her own. Half the beeks you ask advise wait, half advise do it now and there are no real hard and fast answers.
|Soem

You mentioned Buckfast...probably okay as calm bees. Local bees may not be so co-operative.
What would advise for a new beekeeper to do? Gamble they will be fine shifting into new hive, less than 24 hours after a move...or perhaps take a more cautious approach?
Remember this is someone with little experience of handling bees...at the moment.

 

[Millet]

Really looking forward to picking up my first nuc tonight.
I have my Cedar National hive set up ready and been reading a few ways to move nuc over to main hive.Any helpful advice would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance Ricky

It is as easy as ABC.. ..as long as it is not made of cardboard plonk your Nuc where you want the hive.. if cardboard cover the top with a good overhang incase is pees down..leave them for a couple of days..next move the Nuc to one side put your floor and brood box on the spot where the Nuc was.. loads of bees will be buzzing around the spot by now (don't worry) it is normal..

Next step is remove all the frames from your new brood box.
Next gently go through the frames from the Nuc outside first looking for the Queen and place them in the middle of the new brood box and so on and on till you find the Queen.. (remember to put all the frames together in the full hive the way they came out of the Nuc).. after that fill the space with drawn or undrawn foundation..and close them up..

Regarding feeding.. where my bees are located it would be silly to feed them as they have a good nectar flow on at the moment..
Good luck and be nice and relaxed it will be ok..

 

[Beefriendly]

in case is pees down...

Only way it it's going to pee down is misdirection after 8 pints of Newky Brown

 

[Millet]

Only way it it's going to pee down is misdirection after 8 pints of Newky Brown

Funny enough it peed down here yesterday for a few hours..

 

[Beefriendly]

Funny enough it peed down here yesterday for a few hours..

Newcastle United supporters on the lash ?

 

[Ricky N]

New nuc

Got the nuc into position at 11pm last night it’s in a correx nuc box.The Bees are checking out there new location they seem happy enough.I have decided to wait until Wednesday to move them into there new hive.
Once again thank you for the advice.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Got the nuc into position at 11pm last night it’s in a correx nuc box.The Bees are checking out there new location they seem happy enough.I have decided to wait until Wednesday to move them into there new hive.
Once again thank you for the advice.

If it's going to be in direct sun I'd suggest protecting from overheating. Correx won't provide much protection.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

You mentioned Buckfast...probably okay as calm bees. Local bees may not be so co-operative.
What would advise for a new beekeeper to do? Gamble they will be fine shifting into new hive, less than 24 hours after a move...or perhaps take a more cautious approach?
Remember this is someone with little experience of handling bees...at the moment.

when I started I had little experience of handling bees. I took the word of the vendor and it worked out fine.
Since then my handling has improved but those Buckles could respond pretty quickly to anything they didn't like