Just to be clear, when you're asking for advice on frequency of feeding
mating nucs, are you referring to 5 frame nucs or mini nucs?

Production nucs often get fed heavily. If they're willing to take it, I
give it to them. I want them to build up quickly. When I feed my mating
nucs, I don't give them much feed. I don't want them taking alot of it in a
short period of time. They'll plug the nest and abscond at times. I just
want to give them a little supplemental feed to keep them happy and
maintained. Having them grow too quickly can cause problems. My 5 frame
mating nucs often get about a pint of syrup every 5-7 days. Sometimes more,
sometimes less. My mini nucs often just get dry divert sugar in a mini
frame feeder (maybe a cup or so at a time, refilled every cell planting),
provided there is some nectar stored in the nuc.

Maybe I'm in the minority, and feed too little in this area though. To me,
I don't rear queens in a dearth. You're asking for problems in my opinion.
Feeding of my mating nucs isn't to fatten them up, but to supplement some
incoming food because the colony is small and the foraging force is weak.

If you're providing feed for 50 mating nucs, assuming they are all 3-5
frame size, you shouldn't need to mix up 50 gallon batches. A pint per
mating nuc would make 6.25 gallons needed. If you wanted to give them a
quart each with a small feed opening to make it last (which isn't my
preference), you're talking 12.5 gallons. At that level, I'm a fan of 5
gallon buckets with a paint mixer paddle on a hand drill. To make 2:1
syrup, I fill a bucket a little more than halfway full with warm tap water,
top with sugar and mix (it ends up being a little less than 2:1, but close
enough for me). To make 1:1 syrup, I fill a bucket a little under 3/4 full
with warm tap water, top with sugar and mix. Mix till it starts looking
clearish, then let sit for a half an hour. Any sugar that sits on the
bottom can be used for the next batch. At that level, carry a 5 gal bucket
around with a pitcher and refill. Although I like the concept of the
'gasoline' can.

When you get to needing to feed 20-25 gallons at a time, things may change.
I still feed 35 gallons this way, but I'm cheap.



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