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  • trying to raise a couple of nuc hives

  • Beginners forum, ask beekeeping related questions and get help from other experienced beekeepers. Please use the Search Feature please to avoid duplicated threads
Beginners forum, ask beekeeping related questions and get help from other experienced beekeepers. Please use the Search Feature please to avoid duplicated threads
 #10913  by TOONYJOY
 17 May 2021, 15:13
Hello again folks
Thank you to all who answered my previous call for advice found a suitable paint for my hive.
I received my bees 3 weeks ago and they are thriving, they arrived in a Nuc Box with feeder. I spoke to the supplier of my bees and asked how i might increase the numbers of my hives saying that the miller method appeared very straight forward ( I want to do this in case I loose some bees due to my inexperience this winter) , the supplier suggested an easier way to increase the number of hives would be to keep the bees in the nuc box and add one or 2 nuc extensions and allow the colony to expand then split the colony into three and provide them with 2 new queens thus creating 3 from 1 .
This sounded fairly straightforward so i pre ordered a couple of queens for the beginning of june, have purchased two maisemore brood extension boxes added one and have been feeding them through the cold period and the bees appear to be adding comb in the new brood box extension and storing some honey in it but no brood combs .
does anyone have any strategies to encourage them to spread into the new area ? I thought of taking a couple of frames one with the queen on and moving it into the new section to encourage her to lay there ,but wasn't sure if this was a good idea.
Any ideas most welcome or should i completely re think my strategy
kind regards
Tony Joyce
 #10914  by Caroline
 17 May 2021, 16:08
Hi Tony, welcome to the world of beekeeping.
I am assuming from your posting that this is your first season, and first nucleus of bees.

The weather so far this season has not been good and many of us are struggling with colonies that are not building up as well as we would hope at this time of year (this is the first time I have fed bees during May!). The bees will only expand when the weather and foraging dictate. The brood nest will increase into the extension box once the weather improves (I am currently sitting in the middle of a thunder & hail storm), and the bees can forage (bearing in mind we are fast approaching the 'June gap').
You say you have ordered 2 queens for June, which is only 3 weeks away (depending on your delivery date). I think it is probable that you won't have a large enough colony to split into strong nucs by the time your queens arrive, certainly not into 3.
Sorry, the above probably sounds negative, but I think if you make the splits as you intend, you may well find yourself uniting them in order to get them through the winter. I feel it better to take one strong colony into winter that has a good chance of surviving, than two or more weak colonies that have less chance making of it through.
If it was me, I would cancel my queens and concentrate on building-up the current bees to a full colony ready for winter. If it thrives to the extent that is raises a queen cells, then that's the time to make the split.
Do you belong to a local association? Often fellow members can help with increasing colonies, especially if there's a lot of swarms.
Others may give different advice. Ask three beekeepers a question and you'll get four different answers.........
Caroline
 #10916  by Bobbysbees
 17 May 2021, 18:30
As Caroline says you could be better holding off on your splits.
But if you want them to fill both brood boxes a little quicker you could move 2 frames of brood into the top box and then push the brood in the bottom box into the middle put two frames of foundation into the bottom box one on either side of the brood nest. Just make sure the brood is all together in the center and they should draw the frames out as the weather warms up.
And yes if you ask ask 2 beekeepers what colour the sky is they probably wouldn't agree lol.
 #10918  by Bobbysbees
 17 May 2021, 18:38
Patrick wrote:
17 May 2021, 18:33
Bobbysbees wrote: And yes if you ask ask 2 beekeepers what colour the sky is they probably wouldn't agree lol.
Grey. Just Grey...
No No No!! it's more a sort of purple ish hue like a bad bruise j/k lol
 #10920  by AdamD
 17 May 2021, 20:15
It's possible to get a full-sized colony into three in one year and they all survive the following winter but as Caroline says, everything is late and colonies are smaller this year as a result. For me as well as her and others it seems. So you may be being a bit ambitious although if you are determined to have a go.... With luck in 3 weeks the colony you have will have grown to a fair degree with good forage. If the weather turns bad, then you could feed gently. However they will also need pollen which I hope comes in well-enough.
 #10924  by TOONYJOY
 18 May 2021, 00:28
Thank you Caroline, Bobbys bees, Adam D et al
I will keep a close eye on my colony and see how they go, they have increased probably double fold since i got them. I will try Bobbysbees suggestion about moving a couple of brood frames and see how that goes . I don't want to force the issue but wanted to give myself a better chance of having bees next year rather than having to start over. From all I have read, suggested losses can be as high as 25% over the winter . I have a contingency plan if the colony does not expand rapidly enough. Were i only to have enough to make two colonies my neighbour has an already established hive which he wants to split to create another and so I would let him have the second queen rather than mess my supplier about.
I will speak to my local association as well just to ensure I am doing the right thing when /if it is time to split them .
Thank you all for the advice since becoming involved in Beekeeping I have found that all the folk I have spoken to have been kind and helpful, must be something to do with the people the bees attract.
Thank you all again
Kind Regards
Tony J
 #10925  by AdamD
 18 May 2021, 13:14
A split into two could be a good option.
You will find the odd queen fails, however if colonies have been treated for varroa and are fed and are in a weather-proof hive (ideally insulated) the chance of winter survival is pretty good.
 #10929  by Patrick
 18 May 2021, 18:56
If it puts your mind at ease a bit, 25% losses over winter is very high. Ten percent is probably a more representative probability figure and you usually have a fair idea which it might be in the Autumn.

However stats are just stats - if you lose your one and only it hardly matters what the average is.. :)
 #10942  by Bobbysbees
 19 May 2021, 17:07
Hi Tony
Hope everything works out for this year . Trust me if it does come swarming season next year you will need to be on your toes. I started with 2 colonies and by the next year I had 4 colonies and was having to do spilt and knock down swarm cells and pulling frames of brood out just too try and control the numbers in my hives.
I havnt had to chase a swarm yet but the way this year is going i think its only a matter of time.