Our practice goes like this:

In spring we take care of the better colonies, helping them to grow bigger
(patties + light syrup). We do not care much of the small or slow on
building up (apart from not let them starve). We promote drones on selected
big colonies (1 drone hive for 50 queens to be mated).

When the big colonies are full (10 frames exploding) and drones are mature,
we make three frames nucs + feeder. One with honey+pollen, one with capped
old brood (purple eyes) and one with open brood. We insert ripped cells. We
might shake the bees of one frame to boost them a bit if the ring of capped
brood is not big enough.

After the queen had matted (we check at day 21), we add the queen less ones
with the queen right on its side. Depending on the ammount of bees we might
do this on the 5 frames nuc box or in a brood chamber. We feed the nucs with
2 litres of thick syrup + liquid protein.

After 11 days we boost those nucs with a couple of capped brood frames taken
from the big colonies.
All this in a brood chamber. We feed again in the frame feeder and might
move a frame with foundation inside the cluster.

I believe in this way we minimize the risk of the failing queens in the nucs
and maximize the queen`s oviposition of the big colonies. It need more hand
labour but that is not much of a problem over here.



-- 
Juanse Barros J.
APIZUR S.A.
Carrera 695
Gorbea - CHILE
+56-45-271693
08-3613310
http://apiaraucania.blogspot.com/
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