# How do YOU harvest brood for mating nucs?



## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

I don't have much experience only have about 10 splits under my belt so I don't know if this will be of any use to you, but the last split I did was one of brood a frame of capped honey, and a frame of open nectar/pollen + a shake and I stuck it in the location of the large mean hive that I busted up to catch all of the forragers. The rest of the 8 frame box was foundation. And it was packed when all the forragers returned. 3 days later I didn't see any cells so I went to my donor hive to retrieve a frame of eggs and saw they were dead set on swarm preps so I moved a frame of eggs with the queen attached, and a week later the nuc exploded. They drew the rest of the foundation in less than a week and every cell was packed with eggs/larva. I added a second 8 frame box and checked the feed 3 days later and it's halfway drawn out with eggs. At this rate, I may actually make a little surplus at the tail end of our flow if the forragers dont dwindle off too bad, which is totally shocking to me. obviously if you are making a bunch of nucs from one hive, they can't all go where the parent hive was, but from now on, when I pull a nuc to stop an impeding swarm I will put it at the parent hive location, for a quick build up.


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## beedeetee (Nov 27, 2004)

I usually take two frames of capped brood and bees (maybe one more shake of bees) from each hive. I normally make them up 2 weeks before the flow starts and the hope is that it relieves the swarm pressure and they can recover pretty fast. 

I have taken a hive and completely broken it down but I've found I like this way better although I have to be careful of a lot of queens when I take frames from every hive.


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## McBee7 (Dec 25, 2013)

Question ? Is this to generate splits for sale/ increase (many nucs needed at once) OR is this to generate a nuc to mate queens, that will be used all summer in serial fashion? If you need a quick way to get "brood food shake and a cell" on a weekly basis you could use a M. Palmer type double nuc which claims to generate a drawn frame of foundation with brood in a weeks time.
I am building one up now with the intention of just that, to hopefully generate a nuc a week...I'm not sure if said frame can be generated from each half every week (2) or if you can expect this every other week from each half (1 per week) I guess I'll find out when I've got them into 2 stories (4over4) ...Just my 2cents.

==McBee7==


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## kilocharlie (Dec 27, 2010)

When I'm working with my friend's large-scale operation, we shake bees through an excluder into the shaker box, which has 1 frame of open brood in it. We do this during mid-day if we want nurse bees, and again later (near sundown) if we want more forager bees.

I usually harvest the brood frames from the cell builder colony and other donor colonies. After making them want to swarm, I distribute them into nucs and let them have their satisfaction.


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

Mcbee - I'm usually after at least a dozen or so frames of mostly capped brood - sometimes 70 or so. And yes nucs can produce a frame of brood a week for a while - once I have mating nucs established they are one source of brood, but getting brood to establish them to begin with is one of the things I'm talking about.


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

If I had enough hives for resources, here is how I might do it.
Take an empty box with me and remove frames of mostly older open larva and put in the box. Set that box on top of a strong single box or two box hive, over an excluder. Let's say I'm a weekend warrior bee keeper, so I'd do this on Saturday. The next Saturday, I'd take another empty box through the apiary removing frames of younger open larva and a few frames with good pollen in them, and put them on top of a stronger single story or two story hive, over an excluder. The next day, on Sunday, the box on top that has younger larva and pollen frames is now full of nurse bees. I can use these to shake into nucs, and the other week old box is now full of sealed larva, soon to be emerging in a few days, to be used making nucs. This way would use two hives, one for making sealed brood for making up nucs with, and one for giving me nurse bees for shaking into the nucs. Oh, I forgot about the stores frames, so I guess I would take two boxes on the second Saturday, and making them five frames younger larva and five frames of stores in each. This way, on the next day Sunday, I'd have three boxes, one of sealed brood to use, and two with frames to shake nurse bees from and frames of stores for making up the nucs. I think doing something along theses lines would make it easier on the day of making up nucs, the resources are at hand and easy to use.


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

Got any "deficit colonies"? Of course this is a Michael Palmer reference, which is an excellent way to eliminate the worst performers and propagate the best.


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## Broke-T (Jul 9, 2008)

We make up 144 mating nucs for 3 weeks straight in March. They are 3 frame mediums. 1 frame capped brood, 1 frame honey and 1 frame foundation. The source colonies are 3 medium box hives with a feeder. We feed for a cpl weeks prior to making up nucs to make sure their plenty strong. 3 days befor queens are scheduled to emerge we go to donor hives with queen excluders and an extra empty box. Set the empty box next to 1st hive. Go thu hive finding honey and brood frames. Shake all bees back in original hive without even looking for queen and place in empty box. Once you have pulled out sufficient honey and brood into empty box there should be 2 boxes on stand full of frames and bees. Place queen excluder on top and set box of honey and brood on top. 

Next day bring your nuc boxes and fill with frames in box above excluder. Remove excluer and set un a box of drawn comb and you can do this again in 2 weeks.

Johnny


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

That is pretty much what I've done except it was April and I wasn't feeding.

Do you make any honey from those hives?


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## Broke-T (Jul 9, 2008)

Yes, If you have drawn comb to replace what you pull out they keep brooding up till the honey flow.

Johnny


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## MTN-Bees (Jan 27, 2014)

I'm running 24 brood factories this year and I'm going to start overwintering my mating Nucs this year so they don't use so many resources for the startup. If I'm short brood frames I will likely pull two frames from the production hives 2 weeks before the main flow.


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## lharder (Mar 21, 2015)

I've been wondering what others do as well. I've been shaking bees off brood into original hive, then placing over a brood nest over an excluder. I placed them over a honey super once and noticed the eggs got cleaned out.


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

MTN-Bees said:


> I'm running 24 brood factories this year and I'm going to start overwintering my mating Nucs this year so they don't use so many resources for the startup. If I'm short brood frames I will likely pull two frames from the production hives 2 weeks before the main flow.


Overwintering mating nucs sure sounds good. Or nucs period. I've started moving toward using all full size nucs this year which will make them all a size which I have good experience getting through winter.


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## MTN-Bees (Jan 27, 2014)

I have 3 way mating Nucs that can be converted into to 4 over 4 configuration for overwintering. I'm considering using the Michael Palmer style mating Nuc next year.


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## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

This is my first attempt at mating Nucs so experience is zero.

I have 4 four way 2 frame deep boxes: four deeps making 16 mating slots. 
I also have 6 styrofoam double mating Nucs with 3 mini frames in each mating area.

How would I go about overwintering these tiny groups of bees?




MTN-Bees said:


> I'm running 24 brood factories this year and I'm going to start overwintering my mating Nucs this year so they don't use so many resources for the startup. If I'm short brood frames I will likely pull two frames from the production hives 2 weeks before the main flow.


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## MTN-Bees (Jan 27, 2014)

WBVC- I would consider pulling two dividers, leaving the center divider, then add 2 four frame supers to the top for overwintering. You can also use the four frame supers as mating Nucs during the summer.


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