# Q: How to "start" the mating nuc frames?



## WilliamsHoneyBees (Feb 17, 2010)

You can cut drawn brood comb up and put in the frames, do what you are talking about with putting them in a full size frame in a hive, or you can build a special grow out box and put on a strong hive during spring build up. If you are planning on using a lot of these I would recommend building some grow out boxes that these frames fit in. Then stack them up and shake some bees in the stack with a queen and let them continue to draw comb just on mini frames for you until you have the amount that you need. Maybe multiple stacks depending on how much comb you are planning on using. Hopefully others will comment, I have never used the mini nucs, but am starting with 1/2 frame mating nucs this year using mann lake style grow out boxes. 2 of the mann lake grow out boxes are the same size as a 10 frame hive body. Place on top for honey or in the middle for brood depending on what needed.


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## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

Stock the mini nucs with a pop can of bees, place a cell inside, make sure the feeder is full. Keep them indoors in a cool dark place for 3 days to let the cell hatch. Once hatched bring the nucs to the mating yard one evening, and open the entrance. By the time the queen is mated and laying the frames will be built out. If the frames are not built, it is because the nuc is usually queenless.

Jean-Marc


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## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

Almost forgot, make sure to give them foundation.

Jean-Marc


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Cut up brood comb to fit the mini-frames. Are your mini-frames deeps or something else? Take apart a strong colony, putting an empty box that matches depth on the bottom board. Add your mini's to the box end to end until the box is full. Place the queen in box, then an excluder, then the rest of the hive with bees and brood. In three weeks you should have those mini's full of brood.

That's what I do, using stacked nucleus colonies. My mini's are made from deeps. The queen and 8 mini's go in bottom nuc box, the two nuc boxes with the brood and bees go above excluder. Took my nucs three weeks to fill the combs with brood. At that point I had cells ready and I used the mini combs of brood and bees to stock the mini's. Use two combs with brood and bees for each mating nuc, and one frame with foundation. Place cell between the brood combs. Feed.

Just placing your mini frames into a strong production colony doesn't work well...even if you have comb in the frames. The queen will ignore most of the mini combs and the will put pollen and nectar in them instead.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Mike: what happens if you mix in foundation down there alongside your brood comb?


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Might work, but I've never done it that way. With brood comb inserts in the mini's, she jumps right on them.


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## concrete-bees (Jun 20, 2009)

we did several hundrend mann lake breeder nucs -- the fastest way to get comb in there is to simple put comb in there !!!!! but here is the trick 

we use ritecell in our outfit .... if you take a 3/4 deep frame that is drawn .... you can use full deeps but you will have waste ... anyhow --- take the drawn frame at 60 degrees or higher and run it though a table saw going the long direction -- then cut them on a chop saw to the correct lenghth (( USE SAFELTY GLASSES ))when cutting --- plastic is hot and sharp ... i would give you the measurements but im away from the shop ...... 

KEY NOTE --- you MUST keep the cells pointing UP when placing the comb into the frame..... then use a 1/16 wide rubberband and put it around the sides to make tention on the comb ... once inside with bees they will conect the wood to the wax and they will remove the rubberband within a day or so of opening the hive for mating flights --- if you have any questions on my method contact me 


since we are on the mini nucs i should also tell you a good trick to keeping them ALIVE ....... once the queen is mated and has started laying .... dont remove her just yet .... let her lay eggs until the capped brood is a week into capping ... reason is these are your nurse bees and you need them to live as the oridginal stock bees are getting old at this point ... 

Best of luck to ya


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## concrete-bees (Jun 20, 2009)

jim lyon said:


> Mike: what happens if you mix in foundation down there alongside your brood comb?


Jim --- we do this and its a great way to keep the bees busy -- and gets new comb into the system -- we put drawn .... undrawn .... drawn ... feeder 
that way there is little burr comb


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## Broke-T (Jul 9, 2008)

This is the reason I don't use mini nucs.

I use 3 frame mediums and set up with a frame of honey, a frame of brood, and a frame of foundation and all adhearing bees. I can get this from any hive so nothing special needed.

Johnny


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## DonShackelford (Jan 17, 2012)

concrete-bees said:


> -- we put drawn .... undrawn .... drawn ... feeder
> that way there is little burr comb


You insert the queen cell between a frame of brood and a frame of foundation?

Thanks for the info,
Don


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