Price of a nuc or full hive of bees

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Price of a nuc or full hive of bees

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markjadams

Joined: 06 May 2006
Posts: 109
Location: South West Wales

Posted: Mon May 05, 14 1:05 pm Post subject: Price of a nuc or full hive of bees
Does anyone know what the current going rate is for a nuc or full hive of bees. I have a few that I need to sell but have no idea what the current price should be. I am in Wales.

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Mon May 05, 14 2:27 pm Post subject:
I think Joanne sold some of hers for �120 a couple of years ago, but I'm not sure how many frames that was with. I wish you were closer - I'd like a nuc up here, and we are less than three miles away from my Ma's, so I can't split her hive!

gardening-girl

Joined: 25 Feb 2009
Posts: 6024
Location: Somerset.

Posted: Mon May 05, 14 3:16 pm Post subject:
I paid �100 for a small colony on 11 frames last July.

joanne

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7100
Location: Morecambe, Lancashire

Posted: Mon May 05, 14 4:16 pm Post subject:

Chez wrote:

I think Joanne sold some of hers for �120 a couple of years ago, but I'm not sure how many frames that was with.

I wish you were closer - I'd like a nuc up here, and we are less than three miles away from my Ma's, so I can't split her hive!

That was for a 5 frame nuc and I would say it's on the low side now.

markjadams

Joined: 06 May 2006
Posts: 109
Location: South West Wales

Posted: Mon May 05, 14 5:10 pm Post subject:
My Nucs are on 6 national frames, full hives are on national frames.

Mustang

Joined: 15 Jul 2005
Posts: 768
Location: Sunny Suffolk

Posted: Mon May 05, 14 9:07 pm Post subject:
I was chatting to two professional beekeepers who have nucs. They were charging �25 and �33 per frame (for a National frame).

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Tue May 06, 14 3:02 pm Post subject:

For a five frame nuc from a reputable source with a young tested queen the going rate here is between �150 & �200.
I've seen them cheaper, but beware that some will put an untested queen in the box with frames of brood from a variety of hives.
So it might look like a prosperous colony & prolific queen but could end up a breeder of bad tempered bees a poor layer or even a drone layer.
We bought a couple of colonies last year from a local beekeeper who was downsizing, one full to the brim with bees the other not much more than a nuc for �200.
Which IMHO was a bargain.
I split the large colony three ways so we ended the season with four colonies for �200.00.

Lorrainelovesplants

Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne

Posted: Tue May 06, 14 3:20 pm Post subject:
�250 from the bee centre at Polzeath, which is a bit steep.

markjadams

Joined: 06 May 2006
Posts: 109
Location: South West Wales

Posted: Wed May 07, 14 6:57 am Post subject:
I think I will settle on �150 for bees on 6 national frames and �190 if the reusable 6 frame poly nuc box is being kept. Does this sound reasonable?

joanne

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7100
Location: Morecambe, Lancashire

Posted: Wed May 07, 14 7:01 am Post subject:
Sounds very reasonable to me

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Wed May 07, 14 4:32 pm Post subject:

Lorrainelovesplants wrote:

�250 from the bee centre at Polzeath, which is a bit steep.

Are you sure? Friends of mine have just bought a nuc from there with a 2013 queen for �165.00.

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Wed May 07, 14 4:34 pm Post subject:
Scrap that they bought it from Porteath not Polzeath.

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