4/4 - 5/5 .... in spring that is not a nuc, that is a hive. Move them into 10 frame boxes soon as reasonable. Those are the main hives for the season.
It is the oldest queens hives and resources that come apart in the spring towards making up mating nucs, sales nucs, resource hives, and the cell builder.
Mating nuc is 1 frame drawn with resources + 1 frame drawn empty + 2 to 3 cups of bees. In other words, mating nuc is 2 frames. You can makeup 2 frame nuc boxes or you can put these into a 5 frame box if you want but only 2 frames are actually needed and active. Do not use 5 frames of resources, only 1 plus empty combs. Once mated and growing outward over the two frames, they are are to be moved into single 10 frame hive body. That is the startup of your new colonies for the coming winter, they become your next year hives. Not all cells nor mating will be successful, so look to combine the resources and bees from the failed ones with the successes as are moved into the 10 framers. Because not all cells make it to queens, raise 30 to 40% more queens than you need for maintaining the rotation in your operation. When have extras and you apiary is stable, sell them.
Put a few of the best old queens into designated resource hives to support the main production hives for the summer. The are the old ones that are due to be cycled out but are still rockin' - it having built big colonies at start of spring. One per bee yard. Give her 1 frame of brood, 1 frame of resources and 3 frames of bees, the rest empty drawn comb. The rest of her hive bees and resources goto making up the nucs. These resource hives can be in 10 frame equipment or 4/4 - 5/5 if preferred. Draw from them all summer. Use them for brood, drawing out new comb, booster frames of honey/pollen for the new hives being nursed. You might even chose the best one of those old queens to be your breeder that you will graft from. Just leave her in the resource hive and go graft from her when needed. These hives will probably supercede themselves over the summer. Just let that happen. If they do not then kill those old queens at end of the season and take those resource hives apart using them to boost and level the rest of the hives in the fall to make ready for winter.
Decide on if the frames are going to be deeps or mediums. Pick ONE size. The entire operation is built out around that one standard. Brood boxes, supers, nucs, pallets, extracting line, frame storage racks, foundation, etc etc. Once you pick, stick with it. Sell or give away any equipment you have in the other frame sizes. (Imho). You need to be able to put a frame anywhere you need to, any box, any rack, any where, at any time.
Operations:
10 frame production hives
2 frame mating nuts
10 frame resource hives, or 4/4 - 5/5 if you wish.
Sales:
4 frame boxes, deposit/exchange
PENCIL OUT THE NUMBERS; based on target of 20 production hives, 4 beeyards,
End of spring 2019 Each beeyard has
. 5 production hives
. 1 resource hive. Oldest best queens. One of them is selected as the breeder to graft from.
. 3 mating nucs. Makeup more more if you are increasing apiary size or raising extras to sell.
. + one of the yards also has the cell builder in it. When all the mating nucs have a cell, leave two cells in the builder and let it become queenrite.
. + the excess strength (extra hives and swarm control) has been stripped out and sold off as nucs with good 1.5-2 yr old queens to stay at the target apiary size
End of summer 2019 each beeyard has
. 4 to 5 production hives. Next spring 1/2 of them (the 1.5 year old queens) will be production and 1/2 (the 2+ year old queens) will be taken apart for mating nucs, resource hives, and sales.
. 0 resource hive. As been taken apart and distributed to the other hives in the yard and the new hives.
. 2 to 3 new hives, over the summer the mating nucs have been emptied and moved into standard hive bodies. Next spring these become production hives making up for the old 1/2 that you will be taking apart.
Total going into winter. 24-32 colonies
Winter 2019/2020
20-30 % losses
Spring 2020
17 - 25 colonies left after losses. Start the 2020 season, do it all over again.
** Scale these numbers (multiply) up or down if your target is more or less than the 20 target given.
Note 1: there is actually no re-queening at all in this annual plan. The nucs start as mating boxes and build out to become new hives by the fall which become production hives the following season. The old queens are cycled out in the spring to makeup resource hives and nuc sales. Re-queening is an exception, not part of the normal ops once the apiary is established.
Note 2: this a SELF SUSTAINING plan. If you are a buyer type who prefers to cash outlay for packages/nucs or queens rather than building your own, then your plan will look different from this framework. See previous post on timing of planned requeening with bought queens.
There really nothing more to it than this post along with the information in prior posts above. I will have nothing further to add to the guiding framework presented. What follows is taking that all in while sitting at the kitchen table with a coffee/donut and some paper to write down the details documenting your 2019/2020 plan and schedule.
Ultimately specific methods, preferences, and levels of success will vary by beekeeper. Do what works for you and have fun with it.
****--> Most importantly; have a plan, adequately resource the plan, apply a schedule to the plan, Follow the plan.
Planning delivers efficiency and consistency
Planning minimizes the impact of bad luck.
Planning maximizes the potential of good luck.
Hope that helps! Take what you will from it.