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Top bar nuc

5K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  VeggieGardener 
#1 ·
Any one use nucs of top bars to increase their numbers?

http://youtu.be/Au_WkKQZIO8

These guys sell them for colony establishment.

Was thinking it would be a nice way to expand. Not real sure yet how to get a top bar nuc through the winter here. I have read Bush's stuff on langs.

Thoughts?


Hank
 
#4 ·
I had 1 for 2 make it thrulast winter in my 4-frame TBH nucs here in coastal TX...with 0 feeding/intervention from me. Obviously, larger hives have better survival, but just like Lang nucs, TBH nucs can be overwintered successfully if you're willing to manage/baby them.
 
#6 ·
There is a post on here somewhere, ( can't find it at this time) about how someone made a frame on their follower board and poured in their fondant so it hangs vertically.....seemed to work pretty well if I remember, but like I said I can't seem to find that thread, maybe you will have better luck finding it.
 
#10 ·
I was thinking along similar lines. There were once frame feeders for syrup that were made with pressed board sides (perhaps there still are), then their insides were coated in paraffin wax, so the paraffin sealed the inside, then they would be liquid tight and could be used to feed syrup inside the hive. The paraffin also providing better footing for the bees.

It seems that similar feeders could be devised, so to make feeding inside Top Bar Hives easily possible. They could be made whatever size (width) would fit in the hive, conceivably holding quite a large volume of syrup, or very little. And access could be limited to one side only, so they would also function as a follower board. I was also thinking that a small aquarium heater could be inserted in the syrup, and set so that the syrup would remain warm enough that the bees could take it whenever the temperatures weren't severe enough to overcome that minimal warming effort.

Feeding dry sugar, AKA Mountain Camp method would pose its own challenges, but I'm sure some way could be devised to make it possible.

Another thought I had, was that those Top Bar Nucs could be built of thick, aluminum backed, foamboard, and built up early, so they were strong and fully stocked with honey, prior to Winter. The foamboard could help even a small cluster to more easily maintain survival temperatures, and utilize less stores though the Winter.
 
#16 ·
Why the "MDA Splitter's sugar bricks" as opposed to a candy board? What is in them that make them yellow(google appearance)?
I didn't have the time to make them so I went with the sugar bricks, I think a candy board would also work. I liked the size of the bricks and could break them in half if necessary and it was easy to position them so that they were in contact with the cluster. They store easily and I could also add them quickly to the hive if feeding during winter was necessary. They were a bit off-white but not quite yellow, maybe from the heating, but you would have to ask Mel about that, I was under the impression there was just sugar and water in the bricks.
 
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