# Nucs going in foundationless hives



## sfisher (Sep 22, 2009)

On Sunday I will be picking up two, seven frame medium nucs. They are on standerd foundation, and I will be placing them in eight frame foundationless mediums. What would be the best way to start these hive out? Should I put any of the drawn out frames up in the second medium? Also what feed ratio do I start out with, to get frames drawn out?


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

It's a matter of how thin you spread them. Don't spread them too thin and you can space them out with foundationless.


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## sfisher (Sep 22, 2009)

I only have 7 frames to start out with. Would 3 in the top box and 4 in the bottom be to thin? Can I but empty frames between full frames in the bottom box, our should I leave the brood nest in 1 clump in the middle? 

When I put 8 frames in my super I have a 1 inch gap at one end. Should I leave the gap at one end, or split it between both ends, to a 1/2 inch on each side.


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

i'd start with the nuc frames all together (in the same order they are in in the nuc box) and surround with foundationless. this will give them a chance to build up population, which they need to build out the comb. if there is a frame with no brood, you can put a foundationless frame between it and the broodnest...but don't separate the brood (at least until you have a booming population of bees).

deknow


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

It's not a math formula. How much brood they can cover is the issue. They have to cover and heat the brood. If you spread them very thin when they already don't have many bees, that's major stress. It's an art, not a science. I would err on the side of too conservative rather than spread them too thin. Most nucs can handle one empty frame in the middle of the brood (unless they are really too weak to start with). More will likely be too much, but if it's overflowing with bees, you will not be able to spread them too thin. Do it carefully and watch the results. My rule of thumb is if they can't fill that gap with festooning bees in a couple of minutes then they aren't strong enough for that gap in the brood nest.


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