# CAN I KEEP A COLONY IN A 5 frame NUC?



## gunnar wordon (Jun 13, 2012)

I want to get a starter beehive, can I use a 5 frame NUC for a small colony?


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## Queen Bee (Apr 7, 2004)

Sure, You can keep a colony in a 5 frame nuc.. You will just need to add supers just as you would to a 8, 9 or 10 frame hive... You will need to make sure they are not crowded or you will have swarm after swarm, that they have enough food to get them thru the winter. My first mentor had all 5 frame nuc boxes, some were 6/7 supers high.. He sold 5 frame nucs. He wasn't really interested in selling honey-- but he had enough for his family and a few friends..


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## gunnar wordon (Jun 13, 2012)

thank you, I will get a NUC and try it. THanks so much!


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## tom j (Apr 3, 2009)

it might be kind of late ,, but that depends on were your at ,, were do you live ???????


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## gunnar wordon (Jun 13, 2012)

Ny.................................


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## johng (Feb 14, 2009)

I don't think it is quite so simple. Sure you can keep them in a nuc if you keep adding supers on top. 4-5 boxes high should do it if you extract some and put them back during the main flow. Some bee keepers keep a few nucs so they can use the resources for other hives and to keep a spare queen around for emergencies. They keep them small by constantly removing frames of bees so they don't have a chance to get real big. 

But, if you mean just keeping them in a small nuc box so you can have some bees around your garden or yard?? You will get lots of swarms during the summer which may not be what you had in mind. Do a little more reading before you jump in.


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