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Thoughts about nucs in Aug-Sept versus March-April

2K views 6 replies 7 participants last post by  Allen 
#1 ·
Any thoughts about Nucs and Queens starting a hive or resurrecting one in late Fall versus Spring ?
 
#4 ·
You will have a head start if you start in the Fall.
Like Grant mentioned, Spring there will be more demand and you might not even be able to find a nuc to buy.
And if you wait for package bees, you will miss the beginning of the flow unless it starts late in your area.
 
#6 ·
Overwintering nucs is a great idea because you'll have a queen available all winter long in case you need one. Last fall I placed a divider board in an 8 frame hive body and made up two four frame nucs on either side. I then placed it over a strong hive with a double screen bottom board in between to keep them warm.

I used these two nucs as hive boosters by removing brood frames to keep them from growing too fast and placing them in weaker hives to get them through winter. It worked out great.

It's not such a big deal in my climate but up in Oregon it would be a good idea to use the double screen bottom board for extra warmth through the winter.
 
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