Uniting 2 paynes poly nucs - easiest way

[beesleybees]

Hi guys,

I want to unite 2 paynes poly nucs, problem is I haven't got any spare brood foundation.

Is there any way I can unite them and put all the brood frames together in 1 single brood box rather than seperating them via the newspaper method without causing a massive brawl?

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

There is a radical way (radical for the boxes not the bees) which is you can cut one box at the level of the bottom of the frames then put a hole in the roof and screw it to the bottom. You get a box you can use to double brood a nuc ( and it's easily reversed). Then just use paper and finally pop the whole mess in a BB

 

[madasafish]

Hi guys,

I want to unite 2 paynes poly nucs, problem is I haven't got any spare brood foundation.

Is there any way I can unite them and put all the brood frames together in 1 single brood box rather than seperating them via the newspaper method without causing a massive brawl?

Remove the queen you don't want. Leave for a day for nuc to recognise it is queenless.

Move other nuc into half a brood box...and dummy down to size.Brood combs next to dummy board.


Move both together under the "three feet a day rule". Ensure they both face the same direction.

When adjacent, smoke the queenright hive very very heavily. Smoke the queenless nuc very heavily and place its frames on the other side of the dummy board so the configuration is now:

Q+ Brood combs next to dummy
dummy board
Q- Brood combs next to dummy


Spray both with a natural air freshener such as Airwick Colours of Nature 100% naturally powered (I use Blue Ocean Coral but scent is irrelevant).

(Tip from ITLD)

A three second burst over and into each will do.

This removes all scent of queen phemerones. Remove dummy board and push combs together. (The brood nest is thus doubled in size).

Replace roof.

Leave.

 

[ratcatcher]

make one queenless first, then this is how I do it

http://youtu.be/O4sS_Gc529E


these bees went onto this

http://youtu.be/7fj_0pU8Wh4

 

[Tim1606]

You could always do what we do if you have some of the poly ekes, and that is to put three of them together and transfer the frames from one nuc to the ekes and then use newspaper to unite.

 

[Excession]

Transfer each nuc into hives as normal, just have them both dummied down.
Then unite as normal (getting rid of a queen etc) with newspaper.
Couple of days later when the newspapers gone, consolidate frames into one box.
Keep it simple.