Author Topic: What's A Nuc?  (Read 14563 times)

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Offline tecumseh

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Re: What's A Nuc?
« Reply #40 on: December 11, 2014, 07:00:02 am »
in ten years of actively selling nucs I have had one person complain in a public forum about 'my crappy nucs'.  in truth the fellow walked away from here with one of the best nucs I have ever produced and then proceeded to ignore every suggestion and every warning I gave him when I set that nuc in his automobile.  again it was one of those things which did encourage me to transfer frames and mark the queen here at the point of sell.

Offline riverbee

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Re: What's A Nuc?
« Reply #41 on: December 11, 2014, 11:50:36 am »
"I don't see much wrong with either of those frames (except for the lousy wax foundation).
1st frame - If those cells that appear open are full of eggs and larvae
2nd frame - The cups on the bottom would not be an issue unless they were loaded, what with the queen on the frame and all.
I would probably scrape some of that drone comb off and let them rebuild it (oops, that's right, can't do that because it's wax foundation). ;D ;D ;D
I guess what I'm saying is I would not have a problem with either of those frames."


"Regardless of the wax colour. It's ONLY 5 frames.
My oldest frames are 5 years old, and some of them look like those two posted by river. Almost "


5 frames you paid for marbees. if one purchased 5 nucs with 5 crappy frames in them, you paid for them. just sayin. ;D
perry, this is one of the reasons i started using peirco.

these frames were between 15 and 20 years old, and probably closer to the 20 yr mark. 
i cycled them out. some frames can be used for swarm boxes so one is not worrying about pest problems.  its amazing how much junk is contained in the wax when melted down in a solar melter. 

i realize that we are all 'stingy' with frames (drawn comb)  these are prized, and we don't like to get rid of them. bees expend a lot of energy to draw new comb, and this takes away from a honey crop, or for those who sell nucs, a shortage of frames?

in today's world of pests, diseases, antibiotics, mite treatments, or other various treatments, and pesticides, we all ought to be or are practicing some type of IPM.  cycling old frames out for me, is part of that. 

beginning beeks don't know what to look for when it comes to frames and nucs.  they don't know the difference between a 5 yr old frame and a 20 year old frame, or a frame that has been repaired that ought to have been retired. a good thread to re-read is to go back to Zweefers thread on WHOOO HOOO!............this thread is a good example of what not to buy in a nuc, and Zweefer's frustrating experience and unfortunately, his first experience as a beginning beekeeper. this should not be the case. 

Zweefer's thread is here (thanks perry for adding):

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Offline Perry

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Re: What's A Nuc?
« Reply #42 on: December 11, 2014, 12:28:43 pm »
"It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor."      
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Offline brooksbeefarm

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Re: What's A Nuc?
« Reply #43 on: December 11, 2014, 12:43:39 pm »
I wouldn't sell nucs with plastic foundation in them, i had some that i scraped the old comb off of and didn't like the looks of the black wax still on them that would still harbor disease, insecticides, ect. So i took a plumbers torch to it to sterilize it and it started to take a different shape and not go back into the hive right, ;D so i replaced it with what they like, make, and use the way they are programmed to do.  :P :P :laugh: Jack

Offline riverbee

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Re: What's A Nuc?
« Reply #44 on: December 11, 2014, 06:28:57 pm »
i know you wouldn't jack, i know you don't care for the plastic frames, i do love beeswax frames, the wax coated frames have done well for me....or i should say, the bees didn't seem to mind.  can't say i have ever purchased any nucs with wax coated, drawn plastic frames.  if i did, i wouldn't mind now, as long as it wasn't an all in one plastic frame, i do not like those.  ;D

i also forgot to mention another member's experience with purchasing her first nuc/hive, 'patio hive' (had never heard this term), with what she called as 'franken frames' (frames used for queen rearing).......two threads i went back to, to find photographs of what she received and has been cycling out or cycled entirely out? from jen:

Still making newbie mistakes I think.

Hive inspection #2 Surprising Lack Of Stored Nectar

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Offline LazyBkpr

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Re: What's A Nuc?
« Reply #45 on: December 13, 2014, 12:55:03 am »
I dont have the pictures of them, but have noticed the frames nearest the entrances are usually quite a bit darker.. from traffic I always assumed...

   At a meeting where we were talking with several new and soon to be new beekeepers the club president pulled a older frame out of a box to explain something, and one of the ladies there was HORRIFIED that he was even touching such a filthy thing...   He looked her right in the eye and told her that if such was her attitude that she probably shouldnt become a beekeeper, because often the bees had frames that dark within a year...
   I try to rotate my frames out between three to five years.. but a local "natural" beekeeper swears he has used the same frames for nearly 20 years.  I have often wondered if the absconding and dying off issues he has are related..
  Irregardless..    I often end up using the older frames pulled in the spring to start splits or give them to cut outs etc..  I usually dont give them more than two or three of those frames each, so the rest are newly drawn.. But there are still going to be a couple older frames in the mix when I make up a nuc.  Those older frames are GOOD frames that do not have damage from mice, wax moth. or a beekeeper cutting out queen cells... 

   I was told that OLD comb has cells that are too small, and that the bees will eventually quit using them..  Over the years the cocoons build up and render the cells un usable..  is there any truth to that?


   Basically, I want to have nice looking comb in nucs for new beekeepers. I want them to have the time to learn how to BE a good beekeeper before they need to worry about culling any comb.
    If an experienced keep is going to get a nuc from me I would have no qualms about giving him a nuc that had a couple of the rotated out frames from that spring.  We all know how valuable it is to have ANY comb to start a package or cut out etc on..  We also know how to rotate out that comb once they hit their stride and begin growing.  If the nuc is established and USING the comb, I do not feel it is terribly contaminated or too old for use..  I would use it and rotate it out the following spring..   Comb that has damage or holes, comb that is mishapen, mis drawn or mostly drone comb is less acceptable to me than dark comb.  Of course.. if your from the south.. You may not know the difference between DRONE comb and DAWN comb.. since you pronounce BOTH the same way!!   ;D
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Offline brooksbeefarm

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Re: What's A Nuc?
« Reply #46 on: December 13, 2014, 09:01:03 am »
Here's one for you'all, If a 5 deep frame nuc sells for $150.00 what would you sell a double med. frame nuc (5 frames each) for? many people in our club are going to med. hives, older keeps, women, people with bad backs, ect. Many have ordered nucs that have come in deeps (most are) and want to know how to get them into med. nucs ;D. When i go to help them they have that Perry Avatar look. :laugh: :laugh: Jack

Offline Ray4852

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Re: What's A Nuc?
« Reply #47 on: December 13, 2014, 10:38:47 am »
I haven seen any medium nus for sale. If you want mediums. You have to find a beekeeper that likes to keep bees in medium boxes. I think 95 dollars would be a good price for a 5 frame medium. We haven’t come to the breaking point yet on 10 frames deeps. 200 hundred dollars should do it. My breaking point is 130 for a box of bugs.   

Offline brooksbeefarm

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Re: What's A Nuc?
« Reply #48 on: December 13, 2014, 11:02:34 am »
Compared to a 5 frame deep nuc you would be selling 10 med. frames in a double med. nuc, which i think (not sure) would have more bees and brood than a 5 frame deep?? Jack

Offline Ray4852

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Re: What's A Nuc?
« Reply #49 on: December 13, 2014, 11:09:53 am »
150 should do it.

Offline iddee

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Re: What's A Nuc?
« Reply #50 on: December 13, 2014, 01:32:12 pm »
Comb wise, a 5 frame deep has 6 2/3 medium frames. When I sell a med. nuc, I give 7 frames in exchange for 7 new frames and foundation..
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Offline LazyBkpr

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Re: What's A Nuc?
« Reply #51 on: December 15, 2014, 08:59:08 am »

   Jack..  I stack two medium nucs and put the deep frames in those with mediums in a box above them and mediums beside them..  yes, it creates a MESS, but gets the bees building the medium frames.. When the mediums are going well I put the queen above a queen excluder, and 21 days after that pull the deep frames out..   Best way i have found..  If hey have a deep box then just have them use it, leaving it on the bottom, so next spring it can be pulled out and a new medium placed on top.

   I will sell 5 frame mediums and use the second box to get that nuc restarted and rebuilt again.. if I sold the double I'd have to ask 150 as Ray said..  If they brought my nuc back with new frames I would give them 45 dollars of their money back.
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Offline brooksbeefarm

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Re: What's A Nuc?
« Reply #52 on: December 15, 2014, 09:55:26 am »
So Scott, the 5 frame med. nuc ends up selling for $105.00 if they bring the empty nuc back? That sounds fair. Iddee, could i ask (being nosy) how much you charge for 7 med. frame nucs? Jack