Overwintered Nucs

[specialkayme]

There we go. Only 31 minutes. I'm glad you could take non-directional, non-insulting criticism.

Make your posts proud Bjorn.

[BjornBee]

Thank you.

Keep trying.....

[specialkayme]

Believe it or not Bjorn, every post isn't a personal attack against you.

[Vance G]

If you could crossbreed Finski and Acebird----

[T Beek]

Every fall I reduce the size of my colonies by removing boxes and empty frames and condensing them to as few as two mediums and as many as four mediums.  Had one survive one of our winters in just one medium 8 frame super a couple years ago. 

It had two frames of honey in bottom brood box and one full box of honey above it.  Does that count as a NUC? 

What size or how many frames example a NUC colony?   Because based on some things I've read, I've been making NUC's all along (and didn't know it), just by reducing them every Fall.

I use the same method of reducing with my LONG Hive, just removing empty frames and condensing w/ followers.

thomas

[Pond Creek Farm]

Tbeek:  I have never culled out the empty frames.  I just accepted that with my deeps, I needed two of them, and I left both on irrespective of how full each might be.  Is the removal of the empty frames intended to keep the bees in communication with stores, heat preservation or a combination of these and other concerns?  It seems to make sense though now that I think about it in that the bees are not going to be filing those empty frames during the winter, so why keep them? This has, I take it, been a successful strategy for you?

[T Beek]

Well I don't know if its been successful or not since losses over last 7 years are between 30-50%.

I 'think' by reducing space in Fall while colony is still noticeably strong, bees will have less area to heat, especially considering so many will die off during winter.

thomas

[backyard warrior]

I agree t beek but gots to be sure they wont swarm before cold sets in i had a few hives want to cast in late fall by doing that to early before cold set in Chris

[Grandpa Jim]

My interpretation of Mike Palmer's reasons for wintering nucs is to use them as "brood factories" to build up his production hives, so they produce the honey crop, not the nucs.  The nucs supply a boost of brood and can also supply queens as needed in those production hives.  The purpose is not to build nucs into a production hives but to use them to supply queens and brood for the production hives. 

If you haven't seen it, this video of Mike Palmer explains. http://vimeo.com/23178333

He doesn't mention that peeing thing, but I may give that a try if nothing else it will mark my territory.

[BjornBee]

I think your link is wrong. 

[Tommyt]

Lets see if this works

Mike Palmer 4/2011 The Sustainable Apiary Part 1 of 2

Tommyt

[Grandpa Jim]

Thanks Tommyt!

[SEEYA]

Is BjornBee bottling that stuff?
Volume discount?

[Tommyt]

Is BjornBee bottling that stuff?
Volume discount?

Not sure, he surely pours it on freely,in some of his posts
Now lets not take this *out of the urinal  Bj
 


Tommyt

*
"the wrong way"

[BjornBee]

Good One!

 

[BjornBee]

Believe it or not Bjorn, every post isn't a personal attack against you.

You have about as much of a chance convincing me of that, as you do trying to convince others that my posts are far less than what they make them out to be. 

Line forms to the left......... 

 

[sterling]

Believe it or not Bjorn, every post isn't a personal attack against you.

You have about as much of a chance convincing me of that, as you do trying to convince others that my posts are far less than what they make them out to be. 

Line forms to the left......... 

 

Don't let um get you railed up Bjorn. Cause I missed your post while you were off for a while.

[specialkayme]

You have about as much of a chance convincing me of that, as you do trying to convince others that my posts are far less than what they make them out to be. 

I'm not trying to make your posts appear to be anything less than what they are.

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't make it personal, and doesn't mean that I'm insulting you or belittling you.

I don't care if you believe that or not. I'm for the betterment of beekeeping, and the free exchange of ideas. That means you need opposing view points. You need differing views.

If you don't like my views, I'm sorry, but it doesn't mean I'm going to stop. And I don't expect you to either. You expressed your opinion, and I expressed mine. If you can't see that, I'm afraid I have little else to say to you.

But in the end, I wish you the best.

[Michael Bush]

>My interpretation of Mike Palmer's reasons for wintering nucs

He actually accomplishes several things:

1) make up winter losses.
2) have queens to requeen hives that are failing
3) have nucs to sell
4) have nucs to use for queen rearing so he has mating nucs (these are half frame nucs that he overwinters)

Having spoken extensively with Michael Palmer and Kirk Webster on the matter of overwintering nucs, I don't think either of them are using them as "brood factories" to boost production hives.  They are taking the unproductive hives and making them into nucs and they are doing the foolproof requeening effect of combining a nuc when a hive needs requeening.  But if there is a boost besides the queen it is a side effect, not the main effect.

[rdy-b]

  I think the term brood factory is used in one of MP videos-But i think he is talking about
 brood factory for the MATING NUCS not production hives--and as stated the combinations for
 use are many--RDY-B