I've watched this video several times. This is probably one of my most favorite videos you've made and for my purposes probably one of the most informative. Thanks!

I love these!! My first year using the 3 frame and I have made a ton of queens with them, thank you David for all your gifts that you so willingly share!!

We are recent wanna bees and your channel has been so helpful and educational for us. We appreciate your time it takes to offer all your knowledge and in depth information. You explain everything step-by-step and that helps so much. Thank you David for Barnyard Bees!!

This worked very well for me. I built several and used them for the OTS split. Successful. Thanks.

Thank you David. This was very helpful to me as a soon to be 2nd year beekeeper.

Outstanding service from these guys at Barn Yard bees,i ordered a marked queen had it in three days,hive released her in three days. Thanks Guys!

You are doing a great work! I appreciate your detail and approaching from several different points of view. Please do not ever assume we know the things you are discussing or that we can fill in the details. Good job! Thanx, LP

Thank you fer the plans David..yer a good man..im deff. going to build a pile of those..👍👍

He just answered my question at the end of this video....I just ordered a couple of packages from Barnyard Bees and I'm going to install them in these 2 frame nucs with mated queens. I built a bunch of 5 frame hives and I'll transfer them into those, because I've watched every one of his videos and everything he has told us is true. I've verified what i learned on my own hives but I haven't tried this yet..... That's my goal this summer. Thanks David

Hay man I did these this year, I usuly buy at least four or five queens a year did not buy any and furnished my son with queens. Love these thanks.

Thanks for taking the time to make the videos. They’re great! When I got started in bees 10 years ago nobody wanted to help much and really the only way to learn was by doing and making mistakes. There of course were a lot of books and literature on keeping bees but nothing nearly as great as KZfaq to turn to. At least I wasn’t aware of it. The people that did know and seemed to be doing well never seemed to want to give anyone the secrets. Maybe for fear of competition? Idk. but it sure is a great time to be a Beekeeper and better time to start keeping bees. Thanks for what you do here! 👍🏻👍🏻

Thank you so much for the help and taking the time to post these encouraging videos.

David, you and the rest of the group at Barnyard Bees are the greatest. I've purchased several times from you all and always get the best quality goods and advice. Appreciate you all.

Hi David, I want o thank you and don the fat bee Man for all your videos. I had to get don in there too. I mad 3 of these mini nucs up, as 3 framers. I've done 3 splits in last 2 weeks, 2 as started with cells, and 1 as a walk Away split this past weekend. All looked good so far, and will do full hive inspections this weekend. Also, I did make the fatherland, barnyard top feeders. Looking great so far. I'm adding 2 feeders tomorrow . So all 3 will have this feeder installed. If all goes well, ill do all my hives with this style of feeder as well. I'm running 10 frame , medium boxes. Little more work than deeps, but great for the bees I think. Great job, and keep up the work you are doing.us newbees do appreciate your work !!!😊😁

I do really like your matting nucs! I have not built any yet but plan to. I think the main thing these help with is keeping things simple. Your matting nucs keep things simple by using the same frame as the rest of the operation. Those short frame boxes just seem like a lot of hassle having to put them in a full-size hive to get them drawn out, keeping track of where you put them and so on. Thanks for the video and keep up the good work!

I’m very happy to know your plans. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks so much for al the videos I'm about to do 6 mini splits up here in Algonquin park Canada. Weather is scorching hot so hoping for success !

Hey Dave, I really enjoy your videos and looking at you at first glance you look intimidating. But you are a good dude for sharing your education. Some good beekeepers are silent on some of there knowledge and it makes it difficult for folks like me to advance. I learn more from you than I do at these beekeeper meetings down town. Thanks a lot!

Thanks so much for all the information!!! So extremely helpful!!!

And by the way.....you putting out these videos is getting me in a lot of trouble with my Wife! I started beekeeping less than 60 days ago with 2 packages. Im now up to 10 hives from those 2 little 3# packages!! LOL Plus a 6# swarm that I caught on Memorial day from a friends honey tree.

Love it thanks for sharing, and the BarnYard Queen I got from you the 2nd of this month is laying good.

Subscribed, You are always very informative in your videos! As someone that is new to be keeping your videos have been very helpful! Keep them coming, Thanks!

Yep I built some 4 frame nucs after watching some previous videos.... I put two frames in it and two mostly empty ones... two weeks to go till I get a layer.

Love Your site David .I live in England Nr Exeter in the county of Devon I have learnt a lot from your site. So keep up the good work. All the best Dave Bunney.

Think it is great telling everyone everything . I just started with my wife a few months ago. We got four and so far made two splits. We have been buying our hives but i think i will try making some minis like you . Thank you for all the information you give you are a credit the the hobby and business of bee keeping. My wife may not like you much, she is sick of me quoting you all the time in the bee yard while we are checking them. Im trying to get her to watch your vids so we will be both up to speed on what we are doing . Having a great time with the bees. Never though i would be so protective about a bunch of bugs. One question : have ants going up the legs of my stands how do you keep them out? Put sticky stuff on the legs and a bunch of bees got stuck so i removed it. Put diatamatious earth around the poles to see if that works.

I have to agree with you on the small boxes. When you have them it's a lot of work merging the bees into winter where I am (it gets cold). I'd rather use the full frames and then add them together. I'm looking to build the two framers for selling queens up home. If I run out I swapping them out to four frame nucs and overwinter them that way. In the spring when the drone are flying I'll split the boxes down to one frames and start over again. Our issue is beekeepers not controlling the mites, and they are causing havoc for a lot of the rest of us. Please keep the mights under control for everyone else.

Allso I bought a bunch from you and they have been great 😃👍

David another good video with good points. I know that you are making Don the Fat beeman clinch, especially in his last webinar when people bragged about your bees and nucs. I loved the heck out of that!🤣

Hi Dave, hello from Dublin Ireland. Your method i think is by far the best. In Europe we use a Apidea's which uses small frames. I started off with 2 national hives this is only my second yrs, but my natural intuition kicked in very quick. i did have one hive swarm and an imperial swarm as well. my Neighbour wasn't too impressed, ahh well. I split my hive and which have about 20 queen cells and i used the best 4. so i put 2 in my nuc boxes, and left one each in my old hives. The 2 nus's i moved to my parents, bought queens are doing really well, their was a hive in my fathers neighbours homes, which i kindly used to my advantage. The bee's in my old hive were doing ok in one, and really poor in the other. I seem to have bad luck in my area with queens going on the mating flight. What i wanted to ask you is: When you started off Did you have queens from the same apiary, or did you get bee's from different bee keepers. I want to stop having weak queens and poor quality hives. Your method of small nuc boxes with full frames makes more sense to do. I can see why you are so successful in beekeeping. Irish weather was very warm this year, and the flow of nectar wasn't good over june, so i gave my bee's in 1 of my new and old hives some sugar syrup, which worked out very well. Their is not much difference in the bee's we use. I think you really have to watch them like a hawk other wise they will die. Anyways have a nice day chat to you again. Edd.

I need to get building! Thanks!

I built four of these from your plans. one has a frame with 4 capped cells and a modified frame with 5 capped cells in hair roller cages on it. 2 have frames with 4-5 capped cells on a frame. My fourth one was my first attempt at using them. It produced 4 cells. first queen out killed the other 3 then never made it back from her mating flight. i ended up with a laying worker. i took all of the bees out away from the nuc, shook them all off onto the ground and removed the laying worker frame of eggs. Gave them a new empty frame and introduced a new mated queen the same day and she is in there laying up a storm right now.

Your videos have really helped me learn alot. I'm about to start a Apiary. I was wondering what size frame box should I start out with? I'm live here in Texas so I have hot and cold seasons.

thanks so much for the info im realy wanting to get some

Thanks very insisting I must try. ❤ Am in the Seychelles

This is so awesome.

I've been running NUCs this year. And it is easy. This is my 10th yr. Not sure why it took me so long. NUCs pull wax faster it seems to me

Great video

Can you overwinter in these boxes? Excellent video

What do you put on dirt to keep it grass and weed less thanks for all your info Dave

i made 2 of these i found a capped queen cell while moving my nuc into a 10 frame so it went into the mini mating nuc i didnt even have time to paint it lol the weather has been horrible ever since so i havent been able to look in there yet to see if i got a mated queen

I run all medium boxes in my bee yard. Do you think making these three frames wide would work ?

I have to tell you something. I worked with JM Huber (Nutrition Division) for 3 years about 2 Years ago ended. Each time you say Advan Tech I know the Forest division they have back East. We do not have that board here. It is quite a Corporation. Maybe this is why your channel led me to see your setup.

Awesome video! Do you think these would be able to over winter in Iowa? Also, could you build these up another box if you wanted to add to a ten frame or do you think the amount of bees in a box could make it in a ten frame hive?

Thanks Barnyard Bees for the video and plans. What kind of finish (paint) do you use on the box exterior?

How many days does it take a virgin queen to be mated and laying? I’ve used these 2 frame nucs this last spring and loved them! I used them a little differently once the queen was mated I moved the frames to a 5 frame. Love the videos I’ve watched everyone you have posted. Thanks

David, Thanks a lot on your information I am sitting here putting together a cut list do make three of them today. I'm looking at the feeder dimensions, and I think there are a couple of typos. wouldn't the bottom be 5"x20 and if you wanted the box to be 4 1/4" high (3 1/2" high sides and ends + 3/4" thickness of bottom) the ends would be 3 1/2 "x 3 1/2". In a previous video, you said that the boxes are 5" high and if that's the case the ends would need to be 4 1/4" x 3 1/2" and the sides would be 4 1/4" by 20". Let me know if I'm off. Thanks again!

Thanks !!

How or what kind of feeder do you use in these? I’ve got to have some way to keep some queens they get expensive quick! Thanks for all you do!

Thank you for the informative video, is there any advantage to making 3 frame nucs,

brilliant!

I wish I had this resource when I started beekeeping. Trying to put those half sized mini frames in regular equipment leads to bunch of cross comb and headache when trying to check frames that are supporting the half sized frames

I’ve been wanting to try these thank you. Also if I were to order a queen from barnyard bees and it arrives dead would I be sent another queen? I am looking to purchase a queen or two and was curious

What is in the top feeder box? Thank you! Your videos are so good and an encouragement to me.

Would you check on these more than larger hives? What's the ideal time period as far as how often to check these? Thanks for your videos.

They work i keep mine out of the hot sun so I do 1 shake of nurse bee and 1 frame with bees and a foundation strip, wat I notice if they in the sun and the heat is too much they will abscond

Thanks for the video! You are saying that you prefer your two-frame nucs over the mini queen mating nucs because the latter ones are more difficult to work with. I see no difference between your nucs and these boxes. I suppose, since the boxes have smaller frames, you just move these frames in pairs, or however many small ones are equivalent to a single Langstroth frame. Are there essential differences that I miss? Would you, please, explain?

Very nice.

Can you do a video on your feeders. I’m very interested in building some and making my own queens. Do you sell the 2 frame nucs and feeders?

I'm considering purchasing your top feeders. I put in 3 nucs on 4/13/2018. I recently added the second brood box on all three, also a super on one which was doing great. My question is, should I continue to feed sugar water here in coastal Carolina after adding the super? Warm regards, Ronnie

Hi I saw on one of your earlier vidoes that you were going to try tar paper under your hives to see if it helps keep down mites and other bugs. I have not seen the tar paper in any later videos, and was wondering if you had problems with it, or just not showing that part of the apiary?

Like your videos. Can I put a frame with a plastic foundation or does it has to have a starter strip on the frame? Can I also put a HyfeGate in the hive to prevent robbing from other bees? I also have HopGuard 2 can I put that in the hive as well? Thanks you again for the info on making queens. I have to make a queen for one of my hives. I am a beginner bee keeper as of this spring.

My question is could you take four of these with a queen extruder and put on Soopers on top to build faster honey for Harvest in the fall or will they create fighting amongst themselves even though the Queens are separated

I'm running all medium boxes and my buddy built me medium sized versions of these, 4 of them. I have had one abscond but beyond that I've had queens all season long whenever I needed them. I also like the idea of pulling frames on a schedule and building larger nucs or hives from a factory of minis. I haven't seen an increase in bees yet after the queen mates but maybe one day!

Do You Have a Problem With the Wind toppling these Over?

Thanks for the videos David- they are a real help and I've learned a lot of practical tips. I did make up one of these mating nucs in early May. It worked as you described and it is packed with bees now and ready to go to a five frame. I do have a question though. I should have set the mini nuc in a spot where I wanted to keep it but I failed to do that. Do you have any tip on how to successfully move the new 5 frame (or any hive I suppose) from one location to another without losing a bunch of bees. Unfortunately, I need to keep the apiary within the same half acre location so I cant move it far enough to just let them fully re-orient.

I'm a small 100lb new beekeeper, this is my 6th year with TopBar. I I want to use my Langstroths but I'm fearful of the weight. I have only mediums and smalls, No deeps. I absolutely LOVE this video.. I'm sure its my FAV! Any input on me using medium Nucs? I am thinking trying 3-frame Med Nucs for the split project I am preparing for this year.

They are better than the little mini's but I have not really taken to mine, they're too small for me to get my hand in and work if I need to catch a queen in the box. I just use four frames all around. David, could you show us your feeders on those two frames?

Should we take the nucs split far away from mother hive or we can put the split near the mother hive

What is the top feeder box? Is there a link you can share that describes it better? I love your videos thanks for sharing 😆

Hi David, new bk here. I am using mediums and wondered if I used medium frames, if I should go with 3 frames and could they over winter on mediums?

You mentioned you overwintered 6 out of 7 mini's. How did you prep them for winter? With only two frames how did you have enough bees to keep brood warm and still have fee supplies? I am getting 3 packages this spring (2019) and will try this to get my hive numbers back. I am in Colorado and winters can be cold and windy.

Dave, I live in Southwest Pa. Is it to late to start these mating nuc? I'm afraid they will not be strong enough for our winters. Any comments? Thank you so much, I enjoy your videos so much and I'm a new beekeeper with 2 hives

Gotta say. you are giving me ideas. I bought two 10 frame production hives to just do propagation for the wild. My wife all of sudden decides she want's honey which trashed my plans. I set up the two hives for honey we got 260 lbs. just before the supers came off in august I cracked open the hives and robbed two frames of capped brood from each for fall splits and bought two queen cells which successfully mated. I insulated a winter shed with power for winter and now have 2- 10 frames and 2 - 6 frames wintering. I'm from Canada and we have a seriously short season and my wife has decided she wants to sell honey next year. So i'm sitting here thinking. Ok best case If everything survives winter I got the original 2 - 10 frames with 3 year old queens that may need replacing. I should be able to pull 1 full 10 frame split from each before flow. That makes for 4 production hives. I should be able to bump the nucs into 10 frames which makes 6. I've been wracking my brain how the hell to do better by the flow and I think the 2 frame nuc might be the answer. If i put like 10 or 15 together and ready for early spring and pull a few frames of brood when possible one in each with queen cells ,I can't see why by flow I cant have 10 storming mating nucs with all the queens i need. If i pull good frames of brood from each and combine into a 10 frame with one queen it's entirely possible to have another 1 or 2 production hives for flow. 10 queens making population for hives instead of one. Towards mid summer i pull the entire mating nuc population and stick them in six frames. line up 3 side by side with honey supers on top if they are strong enough and if they arn't then they build for the 5 months of winter coming up. Go from two hives year one to possibly 40 by year 3 if everything worked out right. Up here in Canada where I live I've seen 4 swarms in 50 years. The rugged condition means feral bees don't survive often and our short season also means a short swarm season so beekeepers can easily prevent swarms and they are quite efficient at it. It's either buy them or build them. I'm thinking those two frame nucs might just be what the doctor ordered to build bees. I don't want to hurt the wife's honey production but with only two hives and two nucs even doing cell building and queen rearing could screw that up. I'm thinking even if I have to buy a few queens in early spring to start I'll be rocking after that.

Hey I have made 3 of these last week and looked today and 2 have been robbed out. Any suggestions on what to do to avoid this in the future?

Curious about ventilation, is bottom solid?

David, would you have the plans to build the box for the five frame top hive feeder? I bought 5 packages from you all, and they are doing well. I received 1 dead queen out of the five and ya'll took care of me very well. I appreciate ya'll a lot. R. Bell

What materials do you use for the mini-nukes?

Hey David I put 1f brood, 1fhoney, 2f pollen and empty comb in 5f builder, shook nurse bees in and borrowed a queen from parent hive. She laid up empty comb in two days. After removing a frame of queens cells from the parent hive I put queen back. Now I have double my efforts in two days. Grafting solved. What do you think? Bees know best.

I'm looking at the plans but i dont see the short pieces on the front near the top. Is it possible you could do a build video? I want to follow this plan exactly.

Dude i do love thèse but how do you feel about the quality of queens razed

David, I love your videos and look forward to them each week. The Plans above don't seem to be complete. Can you post the complete dimensions? "2 frame nun measurements. Bottom board is 5"x 21" Sides 10 1/4 x 19 3/4" Front 3 1/2" x 8 3/4" Back 3 1/2" x 9 1/2......."

From the time you put a cell in the 2 frame box. How long do you wait to pull her for sale?

How quickly does the queen fill out a frame with brood?

David for the frame rest do you do a rabbit cut or just add a small cut on the end as a handle/cover? (or do frames rest directly on front and back piece?)

Is that a feeder on top?

How do you do mite control in these hives? Anything different?

i really love your videos! watching 10 a day! i have a question, having those small queen mate hives, could be a risk that for a small apiary, there are not enough drones for mate the queen? thank you

Thanks for great videos, I'm not familiar with Advantech but is it something like OSB(Oriented strand board)?

hi, I am looking for the plans for that 2 frame nuc. I d like to give it a try but I dont see them in the description on the video.

Hey David, I’m confused on the top feeder measurements..one, are those the measurements for the 5 frame nuc? If they are, I notice the bottom is one inch shorter from the bottom board of the 5 frame nuc. But I notice in your video that the feeder is longer than the 2 frame nuc. Thanks, Jim

Can you move a hive of bees to a box without a queen? Will they raise a new queen or will they leave?

what type of bees does the queen return with after she mates

What is the anatomy of that 2 frame top feeder?

Think this would work with medium frames?

do you have mason jar feeders on the top of the mini nucs in this video?

Hi, when you move one frame do you move them to a new nuc with bees what's on the frame or you just move the brood with no bees? Thanks

Thanks for the tip. How many nucs can you make from a single sheet of that?

What month,or temp can a walk away split be done ?

Are those feeders on the top