is it too early to buy a nuc?

[meetballuk]

hello All,
ive been offerd a nuc for a very good price as he is a friend of a freind, as he needs to down size as they are backgarden bees.

i was hoping to swarm catch but theres no garantee i will get one and if i say no i will be kicking myself later for not taking up such a gr8 offer

im not quite ready but could bee for the price but he needs too be rid in the next two weeks or so. (does this mean they are exspanding rapidly?)

is it too early to be selling a nuecleas ? i though it was more may time or is that just splits and shooks?

Should i be causous?

many thanks in advance

s

 

[drstitson]

overwintered nucs are fine now - many will be in need of prompt rehoming.

 

[Bates]

As above if it is overwintered it should be fine, it will need to be rehomed into a full sized brood box ready fo OSR.

 

[winmag270]

couple of quick questions.....

do you have any equipment of your own already?

is the nuc in a hive format you are comfortable with? ie is it a national / commercial / 14 x 12 and do you have a hive of that size available to transfer them into?

I would suspect that an overwintered nuc with the current weather we are experiencing, will need to be transferred to a full size hive (dummied down, not full compliment of frames) fairly soon....

if you dont have a hive available they may become congested and go into swarm mode if left for too long in the nuc

also, do you have experience of handling bees, or do you have a mentor to assist you in your first few inspections, have you been on a beginners course with your local BKA?

if you can answer yes to some / all of the above, I cant see a problem with buying them.

(however do you have the option of inspecting them yourself first / having them inspected by a competent beek, before you buy? I would recommend that as a necessity, to ensure they are good quality and disease free)

 

[madasafish]

Meetballuk

I see you are in the North West. The weather is likely to get colder early April so if you do take them, you will probably need to feed them.. which means sugar and a feeder.

If you are not used to feeding.. you should get help..

 

[meetballuk]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Syrup..._Pet_Supplies_Bee_Keeping&hash=item4ab5845e65
got two feeders like this

got a hive just no floor or stand but there tonights job

not got any dummy boards but if weather contiues wont they be ok in a normal brood

think i could make a dummy quickly as im waist deep on plywood!

ive been on a beginners course but not paid my member ship fee yet, but the apairy manager lives like 10 mins down the road , also some ppl on hear close and theres a bk close too

 

[meetballuk]

also questions i should be asking other than:

queen age (she is clipped )

type of frame and hive

desease and varroa (know has treated all over winter)

 

[John_W]

don't ask.. see!

The big thing is, are they healthy!
Is the queen laying well?
If your apiary manager is not far away, then ask if he is happy to look through the bees with you, if you are not sure. An experienced keeper should see you safe.

But do look. Nothing wrong with buying now. But as with anytime of the year, its buyer-beware as they say.

If you buy in a diseased or mite heavy nuc, remember it could have implications for your other colonies. So just because its cheap, make sure its healthy and the queen is laying well. As for age, well you can only take his word for it and evening 1yr old queens can die suddenly/unexpectedly etc.

As long as the frames will fit, you can generally sort that out, via exchanging etc, through the year. But its nice if they are the same as you generally use.

Nights are still cold, so don't leave them with too much space if you can help it.

 

[drstitson]

"not got any dummy boards but if weather contiues wont they be ok in a normal brood"

NO - let them build up to full hive. they're a relatively small colony. don't need shocking with a sudden doubling of area to keep warm.

add 1 or 2 frames of foundation at a time.

for a dummy just need rough bit of ply screwed to a spare top bar.

kingspan in the gap (and over solid/closed crownboard) will also help.

 

[meetballuk]

my crown boards both have glass pannels are they ok?
the bees are too fare too ask apairy manager to go with.
they are my first bees !
i will be sure too ask all your guys q's many thanks again!

 

[drstitson]

glass CBs are fine - just make sure feed holes are covered and as i said would advise some insulation as nights are still cold: 0.5C at 4am in Lincs this morning.

 

[madasafish]

m
i will be sure too ask all your guys q's many thanks again!

Try the Search function first as there are more answers to more questions than you or I could think off here,,,