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Nucs

5K views 16 replies 10 participants last post by  JimmyA 
#1 ·
What would you think about me putting my nucs in my pole barn for the winter? There would be less wind and no snow in the barn. They would have access to the outside if needed. They have only 3 frames filled up with brood and stores. I am feeding syrup and will do fondant over the winter.

Thanks for opinions.

JimmyA
 
#4 ·
You should look up some Kirk Webster internet anecdotes, he overwinters 4-frame nucs and is successful in central Vermont winters. I believe he had plans for insulated hive caps.

Both places I have kept bees are characterized by bitter cold (30 below 0) and heavy snow, I have not had a problem keeping large hives. Last year I overwintered nucs on top of the hives with middling success (that I believe had more to do with the amount of brood and feed then the cold). This year I have about a dozen that I will be overwintering over large hives and double deep early nucs.
 
#6 ·
Not sure what to do. If I combined them, I'd have to get rid of one of the queens. I have a Minnesota Hygenic and a Russian queen. Both nucs have larvae and are doing fine. I don't see any varroa mites, which is surprising as compared to when I had Italians 5 years ago. If there are any varroa, they are very small. I don't see any on the bees as compared to years ago. I have traps for hive beetles, they catch some. Next week I am scheduled to take out my beetle traps. I am using the Beetle Barn with a small coumphas strip. Just took out my Beetle Blaster traps which had some hive beetles.
 
#10 ·
Out of the wind and access to outside are good things.

I've successfully overwintered 4 frame nucs in an exposed field with substantial wind.
And know of at least one Ontario beekeeper who routinely winter two frame nucs a lot further north than either of us are.

I'd lay the feed to them and winter them ishelterd -- not in a 10 frame box, but in one sized just right to hold the number of frames you are wintering (whether by making a new box entirely, or by just putting a follower board in your existing hive body).

A common practice up north in Canada is the use of indoor overwintering sheds by operations big enough to justify the investment.
 
#11 ·
Sounds like a good idea to me. I have a 3-frame nuc, but have 2 more frames of drawn comb I plan to add once the 2nd round of brood is done hatching out.

I am debating placing the nuc in a field of goldenrod next week, not my property ;-), right smack dab in the epicenter to build up, my hives are roughly a half mile from the large field, so the nuc would not build up much without syrup if I don't move. The larger hives actively make the haul.
 
#13 ·
That's good thinking to remember the mice. I have honey robber screens I think I'll leave on. With the small entrance on top of the guard, I don't think I'll have to worry about mice, at least I hope not! I was just thinking, would racoons get into a hive in the barn?

P.S. Thank you to all who have replyed.
 
#14 ·
Search BS for indoor wintering. You need darkness. Real darkness! The bees go to windows like moths, terrible about finding the way back to the hive.
It is a simple idea , a complex reality.
Use the barn as a wind break and a sunny place to go look at the bees. Not inside, get them ready for outside instead.
 
#16 ·
Cpl of things, the candians do this, lock them up until spring.... problems... First off they have to be totaly dark or they will fly. and of course flyers are lost. second, they need to be kept about 40 deg F... any more and they will want to fly and deficate, any less and they use more food.
If you let them stay much abouve 40, dysentary will set in.
not as simple as it seems sun on a pole barn will warm it up in there.
 
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