Jim Satterfield wrote:
 
>I'm going to try some 4.5 inch plastic flower pots as mini nucs.
>I'll be using three small top bars....
 
Hummm....GMTA <g>
Thats what I use for mating nucs (kinda...)!
 
I go to a local nursery and get (free) some of the "five
gallon" pressed-board buckets they have.  The last time
I went, the guy said, "sure, help yourself, they're over
there" (& pointed to an entire pile of them).  I looked
through them and quickly picked out the 25 best I could
find.  Got 'em home and hosed out the bit of potting soil
that was still in a couple of them and 'presto', had my
nuc bodies!
 
The top is composed of three (usually) 'top bars' with a
little piece of starter foundation in them. And the rest
of the top (two pieces) is made of scrap plywood cut to
fit the opening of the pressed-board bucket.  I cut the
ply wood top so as to accomodate a single top bar or as
many as five top bars.  If you've never handled Top Bar
Hive "Frames" before, you've got to be careful with them;
you can't 'man-handle' them as you would a complete wooden
frame.
 
With very little time spent "fabricating" anything and
virtually no out of pocket expense, I have a great little
(almost free) nuc box.  The fibre pressed-board bucket
will hold up over time too.  I've been using them as nucs
for three years now and expect to get another two or three
years of use out of them.  Then of course, I may have to
replace them (& they're still free for the asking).
 
BusyKnight
Dallas, TX
 
PS -- The buckets have rather large drain holes in the bottom
of them and the bees use those for the entry...works great.
BusyKnight
Dallas, TX
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Texas - the land of bobwar
and jag wires.