New beekeeper orders her hives! YAY!

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New beekeeper orders her hives! YAY!

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Mrs Baggins

Joined: 21 Sep 2008
Posts: 837
Location: West Kent

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 4:24 pm Post subject: New beekeeper orders her hives! YAY!

I have just placed an order for two flat packed Nationals from Stamfordhams!

(Thx Tav for the tip, as luck would have it my tutor was placing an order with them and a few of us got together and took advantage of the discount!)

Now begins the waiting game for them to arrive and the imminent abject neglect that everyone here will suffer from when they finally arrive and I disappear off to the workshop not to reemerge until they are all built up!

Now all I have to do is get some bees! I have decided on buying nucs, as with small children - I want to know what I am getting. Quite fancy Caucasia as they are so gentle but nobody seems to keep 'em! Any ideas???

Beckyess

Joined: 08 Jan 2006
Posts: 1076
Location: Worcestershire

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 4:33 pm Post subject:
I'm actually staying on the premises of Urr Valley Honey so I can ask what would be the best bee for you if you would like! They supply the Royal Household apparently! I'm going to learn as much from Francis as i can while I'm here! Becky

Mrs Baggins

Joined: 21 Sep 2008
Posts: 837
Location: West Kent

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 4:37 pm Post subject:
Wa hey Becky! That would be great if you wouldn't mind! I would rather buy from a 'reputable' farm as I really don't have anyone to come with me when buying and I am afraid of buying raggy old bees 'cos I don't know any better. Supplying the Royal Household sounds a bit of all right! LOL. Thanks!

Beckyess

Joined: 08 Jan 2006
Posts: 1076
Location: Worcestershire

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 4:43 pm Post subject:
I'll ask him later, I'm just about to start my dog walking requirements! Hopefully have some sort of reply this evening! He did say something interesting about varroa and that because people do not replace their varroa strips to kill off the mites on time the young that hatch have become resistant because they have been exposed to a low dosage so that's a little nugget to remember! Becky

Mary-Jane

Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 18397
Location: The Fishing Strumpet is from Ceredigion in West Wales

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 5:14 pm Post subject: Re: New beekeeper orders her hives! YAY!

Mrs Baggins wrote:

I have just placed an order for two flat packed Nationals from Stamfordhams!

I'm sooooo envious...

lottie

Joined: 11 Aug 2005
Posts: 5059
Location: ceredigion

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 5:43 pm Post subject:
Good luck with your bees ---New bee club members here are struggling to order nucs so they can have bees this season---anyone who sells them has more people wanting them than they can supply----hope it's better in your neck of the woods.

Mrs Baggins

Joined: 21 Sep 2008
Posts: 837
Location: West Kent

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 6:52 pm Post subject:
Becky - Ohhh thx again! Can't wait to hear what they say! Mary-Jane - Aww don't make me feel bad! Do you keep bees or would you like to?? Lottie - Nope... nucs are in short supply here too. They are going for about �135 each which I hear is a massive hike in price. gulp. I have one to call tonight... see what they say... fingers crossed.

Mary-Jane

Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 18397
Location: The Fishing Strumpet is from Ceredigion in West Wales

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 7:28 pm Post subject:

Mrs Baggins wrote:

Do you keep bees or would you like to??

I do intend to Mrs. B - but a series of events have to take place first:

1. Windows and walls needs finishing on house;
2. Then scaffolding can come down;
3. Then the French drainage ditch can be dug;
4. Then the ground around the house can be levelled;
5. Then the retaining wall can be built around the house;
6. Then the 'sunken bit' between the kitchen garden and the house can be paved to make a terraced garden;
7. Then I can get my bees to put in the terraced garden...

Tavascarow

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

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 7:38 pm Post subject:

I have only ever worked with local mongrel bees.
I was given a swarm by a friend who's bees where the most prolific I've ever owned, two national brood boxes & they would still need splitting but I have no idea as to their breeding & they succumbed to varroa once they became resistant to apistan.
The bees I'm working with now are small black natives, not prolific or big gatherers but hardy & seem to be more resistant to varroa.
Buying a pure strain is OK if you are going to requeen from the same source but once a colony supercedes a queen the new queen will cross with whatever drones she finds & some of those crosses can be mean.
For example Buckfast queens produce some of the best bees for handling & work but from what I've read buckfast crosses are contrary & prone to excess swarming.
I must try & rear some queens this year if nucs are �135 each, last time I bought a nuc it was �50.00 for a 5 frame or �30.00 for a three frame.

joanne

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

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 7:44 pm Post subject:
�135 is about the going rate for nucs from associations - Thornes have them at �185 and they are already sold out for the season - Good luck on finding a nuc for sale

Mrs Baggins

Joined: 21 Sep 2008
Posts: 837
Location: West Kent

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 8:27 pm Post subject:

Mary-Jane wrote:

Mrs Baggins wrote:

Do you keep bees or would you like to??

Mary-Jane... I have been there myself and my heart goes out to you...you poor bu**er!

Tav - Yup I plan to re-queen every second year until my kids are a bit bigger for exactly that reason. After that I won't mind going for mongrels.

You never know tho... mongrels can be as nice as any pure bees, I just want to stack the odds in my favour iykwim.

And yup. nucs are now dearer than the piggin' hives. It's a world gone mad.

Jacorless - Thx. I have found a guy who can do me 2 nucs of carneolans for May. I just need to try to find some bugger to come with me and that is proving to be harder than it was finding a nuc!

lottie

Joined: 11 Aug 2005
Posts: 5059
Location: ceredigion

Posted: Tue Mar 24, 09 1:19 pm Post subject:
For anyone looking for bees in Wales, near Aberystwyth I have just heard that the chap who has Bluegrass honey farms has 5 frame nucs for sale with 2008 queens---�120 for May collection including nuc travelling box. 01974261437 [email protected]

Mrs Baggins

Joined: 21 Sep 2008
Posts: 837
Location: West Kent

Posted: Tue Mar 24, 09 4:41 pm Post subject:
Lottie - oh if only I was nearer... don't think our postman would appreciate it if I ordered a couple.

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Tue Mar 24, 09 5:49 pm Post subject:
Mrs B - don't be too disappointed if you have to wait longer for your nucs - bees don't always do what they are supposed to - especially if the weather is bad.

Mrs Baggins

Joined: 21 Sep 2008
Posts: 837
Location: West Kent

Posted: Tue Mar 24, 09 7:59 pm Post subject:
Jamanda - What will be will be... but I confess to just wanting to get on with it. LOL.

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