Has anyone, and I know it has been done, used a hive for two nucs or more? And if so, did you drill a hole for them to work out of or what?
Nucs Using a hive
Has anyone, and I know it has been done, used a hive for two nucs or more? And if so, did you drill a hole for them to work out of or what?
Could you just put a follower board in the middle and hole entrance's on the ends with the front long entrace closed. Then in the years to come when your using the box as a super and not a nuc they will have a top entrace with those holes. Just the way I see it could happen.
I was going to drill holes, but wondered if someone had another way. I could you a bottom board, but that might be to close even if they had openings on each far side. I don't know, never did this before.Originally Posted by Derek1
You could paint the box 2 different colors.
hmmmm might work... with bees, one never knows
Make a bottom board with an entrance on each side.
Hive body nucs
It really helps to have a separate canvas cover/flap for each unit so that while one is open the others are unexposed. Otherwise you seem to lose more queens than normal when looking at them.
For Isaac I routed out a 3/8 inch slot down the center of a hive body. Put a masonite slide board into the middle. I routed entrances on opposite ends, made fixed bottom boards (since the entraces are cut from the hive walls) and a flap of plastic feed bag stapled to the center of the divider. Lift the flap, work the nuc. He makes his own now. I also divided a 10 frame body into four (one entrance per side) and that worked ok for hatching queen cells. I didn't like that arrangement though - too hard to feed.
http://www.voiceofthehive.com - Tales of Beekeeping and Honeybees
The secret is getting them bee tight so the queen doesn't wander over to the other side. if you succeed at that it works fine:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesqueenre...htm#matingnucs
Last edited by Michael Bush; 08-17-2008 at 05:03 PM. Reason: spelling
Michael Bush bushfarms.com/bees.htm "Everything works if you let it."
My book: ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
With not having time I used 4 hives with 2 frames.. and a board with a frame top on the top to hold in place next tho the frame to enclose them.
Nice work... thanks for sharing those.
yes... it is a very common last life for some of my old deep boxes. I usually set mine up with a bottom board afixed to the shell and bottom entrances coming out the two ends of the box. a routed groove in the side with a plywood division works best and like someone mention a cloth (the literature use to specify oil cloth, but common untreated canvas works just fine) will limit the queen from one side wandering over the top to the other side. as a temporary box I have also use foil face foam board which works quite well as long as the foil itself remains intact. one small flaw in the foil and the bees will quite quickly chew thru the foam board.... ie any exposed foam has to be covered with foil also.
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