My thread. New bee keeper needing info. will update with pics of my project.

[rolande]

Ive decided to go down the route of building a national hive myself and buying some local bees and take it from there. I was actully thinking of investing £6000 into buying 25 nucs(or hives if i remember correctly) from the UK but will leave this for a few years

NO Names please, but, I remember a conversation which I had with the trader who I believe that you're alluding to here....

me: "these nucs, what's the best time to pick them up (from his point of view), morning or evening?"

him: "anytime during the day will do, they don't have any flying bees in them...."

Seriously.

 

[Heather]

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/21179/Medium-Dermaluxe-Washing-Up-Gloves

These gloves are the business- rarely a sting gets through and they are thin enough to be kind to bees
Sorry late with thread reply- been busy!

 

[SixFooter]

I saw a presentation by Clive de Bruyn on commercial beekeeping and he said something like start with a few colonies and keep accounts. If you make a profit, get another site and more colonies. Keep accounts again and if you make a profit, scale up from there.

I have ( kind of ) followed this advice and did not come close to making a profit. And 2012 was a disaster.

However, I am certain that 2013 will be a wonderful beekeeping year and will start me on the road to a happy and fulfilling new carear.

 

[Heather]

him: "anytime during the day will do, they don't have any flying bees in them...."



That sounds rubbish and I would steer clear from someone with that thinking!!

 

[mbc]

NO Names please, but, I remember a conversation which I had with the trader who I believe that you're alluding to here....

me: "these nucs, what's the best time to pick them up (from his point of view), morning or evening?"

him: "anytime during the day will do, they don't have any flying bees in them...."

Seriously.

Which could mean the nucs are made up overstrength and left at the depot within flying distance of their parent colonies so the older flying bees can make their way back leaving highly viable nucs comprised mostly of young bees and brood, if so they would be a bargain at half the price given they werent headed by mass produced unsuitable foreign queens still in their cages.

 

[rolande]

Which could mean the nucs are made up overstrength and left at the depot within flying distance of their parent colonies so the older flying bees can make their way back leaving highly viable nucs comprised mostly of young bees and brood, if so they would be a bargain at half the price given they werent headed by mass produced unsuitable foreign queens still in their cages.

Could be, but as at the time of the conversation he'd been holding a deposit for almost seven months and the nucs in question were already two months over due I doubt that there was any bargain being offered. Anyway, old history now (bit like that deposit).

 

[madasafish]

Before you buy 25 hives, you need to know if you can stand 100 stings all at once.

Cos it will happen one day with all those hives: one hive will be horrible and attack you.

If you collapse and then die from bee venom - expensive suicide..

Try visiting another beekeeper in the real world and get a few stings first before spending any money. (I average 50-60 stings a year with bare hands)

 

[Little John]

If I did my math correctly, you expect to get 40 kg of honey per hive in your first year. Is this realistic? I learned it being on average 20 kg per hive (per year), and alot less in the first. Did I learn it wrong?

Yes - yourself (together with a few others) - have read this incorrectly. What the guy wrote (ahead of the advert he was referring to) was:

Seen this on a UK website selling bees and would you say this is a bit of advertising bulls**t. I have alot of money coming my way soon and wouldnt want it to be lying around in cash so was thinking of investing in something this this below.
['below' being the advert re: 'how to make a ton of honey']

What I don't quite understand is that irishguy (who seems to have retired from this thread - hardly surprising with all this in-fighting going on ...) has quite rightly suspected the advert of being so much bullshit, and then goes on to say that he's considering investing in something like this.

I can only imagine that the expression 'something like this' has a wider meaning - perhaps some kind of unspecified relatively small-scale rural enterprise to invest his dosh in ? Who knows ?

LJ

 

[PBee]

I can only imagine that the expression 'something like this' has a wider meaning - perhaps some kind of unspecified relatively small-scale rural enterprise to invest his dosh in ? Who knows ?
LJ

Cannibis grow houses are all the rage and offer a good return ....... I'm told ...

On the original question re: hive type etc. the carpenters motto applies .... 'measure twice cut once'. If the idea is to future proof for commercial/semi-commercial honey production then the most cost effective will probably be Langstroth/Dadant in Poly.

 

[For want of a better word]

£6000 would buy you a nice boat and a line of pots...
go crabbing
,...... will "sherly" give you a better return on your cash than beekeepering to be sure, to be sure!​

 

[dpearce4]

Could be, but as at the time of the conversation he'd been holding a deposit for almost seven months and the nucs in question were already two months over due I doubt that there was any bargain being offered. Anyway, old history now (bit like that deposit).

Hi rolande, i can guess who your talking about and i dont believe its the same guy.

I have sent you a pm with a link to the company i think the OP is talking about.

doug

 

[Ausbee]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ausbee
If I did my math correctly, you expect to get 40 kg of honey per hive in your first year. Is this realistic? I learned it being on average 20 kg per hive (per year), and alot less in the first. Did I learn it wrong?
Yes - yourself (together with a few others) - have read this incorrectly. What the guy wrote (ahead of the advert he was referring to) was:
Quote:
Seen this on a UK website selling bees and would you say this is a bit of advertising bulls**t. I have alot of money coming my way soon and wouldnt want it to be lying around in cash so was thinking of investing in something this this below.
['below' being the advert re: 'how to make a ton of honey']
What I don't quite understand is that irishguy (who seems to have retired from this thread - hardly surprising with all this in-fighting going on ...) has quite rightly suspected the advert of being so much ********, and then goes on to say that he's considering investing in something like this.

I can only imagine that the expression 'something like this' has a wider meaning - perhaps some kind of unspecified relatively small-scale rural enterprise to invest his dosh in ? Who knows ?

LJ

So if I understood you correctly, he was refering to another website, which suggest that you would get 40 kg of honey per hive (per year)? If that is true and the site was wrong like I think you suggest, my sources would be right.

I just wish irishguy good luck in his beekeeping adventure (and I know how hard it is not to go crazy when starting with beekeeping )

 

[Little John]

So if I understood you correctly, he was refering to another website, which suggest that you would get 40 kg of honey per hive (per year)? If that is true and the site was wrong like I think you suggest, my sources would be right.

Oh sure - you got the numbers right - it was just your wording that I focused on " ... you expect to get 40 kg of honey per hive in your first year. Is this realistic? ", when the guy had pretty-much dismissed this sales-pitch (if I understood him correctly).

There are quite a few of these 'get-rich-quick-with-bees' websites around - all you have to do is buy the book which contains the magic secret, and you're home and dry.

I once bought an intensive pig-rearing unit (bloody awful setup) which had gone bankrupt due to the poor sod being sold a 'get-rich-quick' package from an unscrupulous feed concentrate salesman. Turned it into a nice smallholding with stables.

Rabbit-farming is the same story - many call it 'the 18-month industry' - which is about the length of time the livestock and feed suppliers take to relieve the unwary townies of their redundancy money.

Must say that the idea of spending 6K on a boat and a load of pots and some long-lines sounds quite a good one. I'm sure there's a much better chance of making a living doing that.

And of course, whilst you're out on the boat, the girls will still be working away in your absence - so why not do both ?

LJ

 

[Ausbee]

for the clarification

 

[Tdf]

@ irishguy
go to your local association first they will get you 2-3 colonies to start with for a lot cheaper than 175 for a package. you should start with a national and change to langstroths/dadants after. once you know what your at go as big as you like but its not guaranteed money like that advert suggested so dont spend it all

 

[irishguy]

Quite alot of replies so instead of just replying to them all, i think ill just make it clear that ill just stick to a few hives for now before investing any money into 25 of the hives. I wouldnt have paid the 6k anyway as i would like to think id be able to get 25 hives for alot cheaper than that seeing as ill be paying cash.

 

[irishguy]

@ irishguy
go to your local association first they will get you 2-3 colonies to start with for a lot cheaper than 175 for a package. you should start with a national and change to langstroths/dadants after. once you know what your at go as big as you like but its not guaranteed money like that advert suggested so dont spend it all

Is anyone in the association aloud to sell packages of bees to non members. I wont be joining any associations as ill be teaching myself along the way. What would be a good rate for 2 or 3 packages of bees.

 

[rolande]

Hi rolande, i can guess who your talking about and i dont believe its the same guy.

I have sent you a pm with a link to the company i think the OP is talking about.

doug

I've replied to dpearce4 by pm. Not been able to get his link to work as yet so not totally sure whether he might actually be surprised by who I was referring to. As I say, it's old history (for myself) now.

 

[rolande]

I wont be joining any associations as ill be teaching myself along the way.

The two are not mutally exclusive. I'm sure that you could join a local association and make 'beekeeping friends' while simultaneously teaching yourself how to keep bees properly. Mind, it's like most endeavors; good contacts make life easier.

 

[Easy Beesy]

Is anyone in the association aloud to sell packages of bees to non members. I wont be joining any associations as ill be teaching myself along the way. What would be a good rate for 2 or 3 packages of bees.

For the sake of £20 or so, join an association and make connections. You ARE going to need them.