Pre loading mini nucs with brood

[jeff33]

The weather is so poor this year that I have not started queen rearing yet. I am due to get a breeder queen at the end of the month to graft mid July and to give my apideas a head start I have modified a super to take 3 rows of 15 apidea frames. This is going to be put over a brood box for the bees to draw and the queen to lay in. Frames will then be transferred into apideas around 10 days after with the bees that are on or as soon as Qcs are ready to be transferred.
Is anyone doing this?

 

[rolande]

The weather is so poor this year that I have not started queen rearing yet. I am due to get a breeder queen at the end of the month to graft mid July and to give my apideas a head start I have modified a super to take 3 rows of 15 apidea frames. This is going to be put over a brood box for the bees to draw and the queen to lay in. Frames will then be transferred into apideas around 10 days after with the bees that are on or as soon as Qcs are ready to be transferred.
Is anyone doing this?

I did similar with some homemade mini nucs for a few years but used a 5 frame nuc extension rather than a brood chamber. I don't use those particular nucs anymore but the principle worked fine

 

[Mint Bee]

I have a 16 frame double mating nuc off of ebay that I'm planning to do something similar with once I receive a breeder queen later in the month

 

[Michael Palmer]

Setting up my mating nucs with brood is the only way I do it. I unite the nucs 4:1 after the last queen catch. They're moved to the wintering yards. When we reestablish the mating nucs the following May, we have brood to use. Each nuc receives one frame of feed, one frame of open brood, one frame of sealedmbrood, and an empty comb. The cells go in then same day.

 

[jeff33]

I usually start the mini nucs with just a cup of young bees, strip of foundation on the frames and fondant. By the time the queen has mated they've drawn a frame but takes them longer to get established.

 

[SWEET]

I usually start the mini nucs with just a cup of young bees, strip of foundation on the frames and fondant. By the time the queen has mated they've drawn a frame but takes them longer to get established.

What sort of time-frames are you seeing? - from set-up to fully mated/laying and capped it's 3 weeks here, week 4 to check pattern/issues etc (4th week needs deeper management as they become populated).

 

[jeff33]

What sort of time-frames are you seeing? - from set-up to fully mated/laying and capped it's 3 weeks here, week 4 to check pattern/issues etc (4th week needs deeper management as they become populated).

It mostly depends on the weather and how many bees are in to start off with. I set them up the day queens are meant to emerge and have seen some mated and laying 2 weeks after being set up. I wait for the brood to be capped before removing the queens. I have kept some in the apideas for 2 months but had to remove the feeder and add 2 frames.