New beekeeper needs a hand
- Thread starter Ellibee
- Start date
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- Glanaman,Carmarthenshire,Wales
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- Too many - but not nearly enough
How many nucleii are you getting?
Your first priority would be to get them nice and strong for winter. Are you a member of an association? have you done a beginner's course?
First thing is to put your nucs in the position where you are going to hive them, open the entrance to let them fly then after a few days, if the weather is good inspect the colonies to see how strong they are - then you can start thinking about either hiving them or nursing them up to strength.
Your first priority would be to get them nice and strong for winter. Are you a member of an association? have you done a beginner's course?
First thing is to put your nucs in the position where you are going to hive them, open the entrance to let them fly then after a few days, if the weather is good inspect the colonies to see how strong they are - then you can start thinking about either hiving them or nursing them up to strength.
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This is going to be a close-run thing, building them up before winter.
Get a couple of supers for the nuk, one with comb in (just to see if they can build some stores for winter) and one without (to take some kind of feeder because you'll need it anyway).
Think insulation straight away, it may make the difference in giving you the extra couple of weeks you need to get the brood strength up, as the temperature is not what it might be, and you're quite high so colder than us softies in Lunnon. Getting a cheapo Argos sleeping bag and cutting it down might make a difference. Can you keep them somewhere they'll pick up waste heat from the house overnight, without gassing them?
Don't keep taking a peek, unless you find bees hanging on the front overnight (unlikely). That would mean the brood's big enough to stand a chance, transfer to a full-size brood box immediately, fill ends of the brood box with ceiling-foam insulation.
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- Joined
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- Location
- Glanaman,Carmarthenshire,Wales
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- Too many - but not nearly enough
And be careful who you take advice off - there are some total id!ots on here who have no experience and little knowledge who feel compelled to post drivel.
If the nucs are strong enough to build up then it is better to get them into a dummied down and insulated brood box and help them build up - you have a couple of months to get them up to fighting strangth
If the nucs are strong enough to build up then it is better to get them into a dummied down and insulated brood box and help them build up - you have a couple of months to get them up to fighting strangth
BeeJayBee
Queen Bee
Probably a good idea to join your local association as well as posting on here.
Don't forget to register your bees on Beebase. https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/index.cfm
Gilberdyke John
Queen Bee
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Membership of my local association gives automatic registration with YBKA and Beebase etc. and provides free practical and theory training plus insurance cover. It's not just a good idea its an excellent one.
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Have you or have you had an experienced beekeeper inspect the nuc/nucs before you parted with your cash? Who is the supplier? Options would be poly nucs/hives, maybe a twinstock, or uniting to make 1 strong colony, but knowing how many frames of brood and stores is needed before deciding on a plan of action.
Welcome to beekeeping.
Welcome to beekeeping.
