Q on how to get my TBH populated from Nuc

[Utah]

This may have been recently asked but I need some new advice anyway.

I have two - 5 frame nuc boxes stacked vertically and they are almost full with no more boxes to put them into except my top bar hive I built after Bush's design (thanks for the info M.). I want to populate this top bar hive and have not had success with new packages or swarms.

Anyway, I cut a slot in the bottom of the bottom nuc that is about 3/4 inches wide and about 10 inches long. I also cut out a similar slot in one of the top bars and set the nuc on top of that aligning the two open slots. It is an odd looking combination, but that is what I did thinking I could coax the bees down into the large top bar hive.

So far, only a few bees are ever seen going down into the tbh. I closed one of the nuc entrances and I am considering closing the other and forcing them to go out down through the tbh.

Is this ok? any ideas whether the bees will get too hot or just leave or never build down in the tbh?

Any and all comments are appreciated - expecially photos that could help.
 

[tshnc01]

Hi Utah,

I asked a similar question a couple of months ago (I wanted to make splits from my Lang hives into TBHs).  The advice I got was to cut out the brood from the Lang frames and rubber band them onto my top bars.  Aside from being a bit messy, it worked out very well.  The bees will bond the cut out frame to the top bar with a few days and chew away the rubber bands over time.

...Tim

[Michael Bush]

Make some frames.  Do a cutout.