2 frame nuc

[HayHay]

I have been wanting to try out some of Barnyard bees 2 frame nucs for making queens. I built 2 of my own, slightly modified from his version. Does anyone else have experience with them?   

[Dirt Rooster]

I have experience with most configurations.  The smaller the space and colony size the more you have to be on your game.  They abscond a lot more often from mini mating nucs and two framers if you can't manage them correctly.  Your timing and management style has to be pretty precise.  Mating in five frames is a lot easier and timing isn't nearly as critical.

[Rojodiablo]

I agree with Randy; if the queen is a strong layer, she will outpace the two frames in a week flat. A full deep frame is like 4500 cells each side; so 9000 cells AT BEST. She can lay 1500-3000 eggs a day, especially in spring. She will fill two frames in less than a week, and the hive is going to look for a bigger house so fast, it's not even funny. I did only one good removal this spring so far, and one small cutout. Damn if that little cutout didn't outpace the 5 frame nuc in 2 weeks. The queen was on fire, I put in two built frames, got 1-1/2 built comb frame when I cut them out, that was it. Well, I fed them lightly, and they responded by trying to build the one empty new frame after a week of hatching the one full frame she had. And in that week, she laid up two frames pretty heavily, then slowed a touch because there wasn't enough workers to service the brood. A full week later, they were stacking some pollen and nectar, and the week after that the volume went up on workers, she laid up another frame and started to backfill the cells which had hatched. I moved them this weekend to a ten frame, and they are covering all the frames and it's a steady roll of larvae.

[linuxman51]

I've had some success with them, but the hive beetles also love to over-run smaller/weaker hives, so keep that in mind as well