What are you going to be selling queens for this year?

[tberni]

Hello Everyone

Just a quick question, what price would you members say is a fair price for newly mated queens? Thinking of selling some queens this year to local association members. Don't want to sell for too low a price because of the equipment Ive had to buy, but also want members to feel they are getting value for money.

I was thinking about £11.00. Comments please.

Thanks
Tim

 

[crazy_bull]

Hello Everyone

Just a quick question, what price would you members say is a fair price for newly mated queens? Thinking of selling some queens this year to local association members. Don't want to sell for too low a price because of the equipment Ive had to buy, but also want members to feel they are getting value for money.

I was thinking about £11.00. Comments please.

Thanks
Tim

I'd say that was quite cheap for mated queens as long as they have been checked that they lay and have mated correctly i would suggest a price of £15 each was probably more appropriate, there are many suppliers selling at £20+ so think both parties would be happy at £15,

However i might be interested in a few at £11


C B

 

[mbc]

£40

 

[BKF Admin]

However i might be interested in a few at £11
C B

I think that could be the reason for the original post.........

 

[gandalfwhitewizard]

How about same as last year! Put that in Gordon Browns pipe! 0% Inflation!

 

[Tom Bick]

Hello Everyone

Just a quick question, what price would you members say is a fair price for newly mated queens? Thinking of selling some queens this year to local association members. Don't want to sell for too low a price because of the equipment Ive had to buy, but also want members to feel they are getting value for money.

I was thinking about £11.00. Comments please.

Thanks
Tim

Just in case people are thinking perhaps take this with a pinch of salt.

 

[tberni]

Didn't quite understand the last comment, but thanks for your input. Will offer them to members of the local association when ready, then if any left I will offer them via the forum.

Will offer Nucs next year. Can't do it this year as I'm keen to increase.

Thanks again
Tim

 

[ENZO]

Hello Tim, just out of interest, what method of queen rearing would you use with so many Hives to choose from?

All The Best, Enzo

 

[Mike a]

£10 - £15 seems reasonable if they are mongrols from a good parent stock.

 

[tberni]

Hello Enzo

I obtain the eggs by using the Jenter system. I intend to rear the queens this year by experimenting with the John Harding system - details can be found via the Bibba website. Never used it before, but it seems like a common sense approach to me. I now have the 2 strong nucs with enough sealed brood for the middle nuc box and the system is all set up and ready to go.

Thanks
Tim

 

[tberni]

And yes, they would be Mongrols. Although all my queens from the mating apiary are Buckfast queens, I could not guarantee that the drones are also of that stock. Unless you use artificial insemination or you are miles and miles away from any other stock of bees I don't see how you can guarantee that they are not mongrols - not 100% in any case.

 

[Mike a]

Buckfast mongrols - £15 minimum

I'd even gladly pay £20 without thinking twice for one.

 

[Haughton Honey]

Buckfast mongrols - £15 minimum

I'd even gladly pay £20 without thinking twice for one.

Erm....what's a Buckfast mongrel when it's at home Mike??

 

[Tom Bick]

Didn't quite understand the last comment, but thanks for your input. Will offer them to members of the local association when ready, then if any left I will offer them via the forum.

Will offer Nucs next year. Can't do it this year as I'm keen to increase.

Thanks again
Tim

Ok Tim no offence intended just that it looked a bit like another wined up from spammers

 

[tberni]

No problem. As I said, I couldn't guarantee them not being mongrol because of the drones so I thought £11 might be OK - especially to new members. On the other hand its important for all parts of the UK to encourage new breeders large and small, so I didn't want to make them ridiculously cheap as it puts others off from wanting to do it semi-seriously.

Anyway, thanks again for your comments.
Tim

 

[John Harding]

Hello Enzo

I obtain the eggs by using the Jenter system. I intend to rear the queens this year by experimenting with the John Harding system - details can be found via the Bibba website. Never used it before, but it seems like a common sense approach to me. I now have the 2 strong nucs with enough sealed brood for the middle nuc box and the system is all set up and ready to go.

Thanks
Tim

Hello Tim

Thank you for using my system.....am I to assume you have just 2 nucs?....if so please look at the photo again on BIBBA website....each side has the equivelent of 2 double brood ie 4 nucs each side causing congestion.....I do hope this helps.... do please contact me if you have any queries...

Your queens should be sold for a minimum of £25.00 each, when people realise what effort you have to go too, it is still cheap...

John Harding

 

[jezd]

Your queens should be sold for a minimum of £25.00 each, when people realise what effort you have to go too, it is still cheap...

John Harding

like many things people are desperate to reduce the value of others efforts, I agree that £25-£40 is a fair price for good queens and lots of hard work.

 

[BobsBees]

tberni, Hi Tim,
So how did it go last year, can you inform us all of your results?
Did you follow the Harding method to the letter?
ie, three nucs linked together with a pipe.

I indeed tried the system out but did not have very much success.
It was a funny sort of season for queen rearing, started off very late, after the long winter. What I found was there appeared to be not enough heat being generated by the girls. I was only able to get the queens in the outer hives to produce 1 or 1.5 frames of brood per hive. So I had to rely on other stocks of bees to produce eggs for grafting.
In the end I changed back to two Nationals to breed from and that worked like in 2009 did.
In the end I did manage to breed in the region of 22 Nucs with mated queens.
This year the orders are already in place for a similar number, so I have got to make it work again this year. But I think the weather will probably be a bit better than last year, but who knows.
Bob.

 

[Poly Hive]

Well Tim I suggest a very serious re-think.

If your proposed method is so great why is not every one using it, and they are not.

Try a queenless broodless strong box of bees and offer your grafts to them.

Oh yes.. Jenter... great in theory, not so great in practice. If you go Jenter then be prepared to learn to graft... LOL

BIBBA is brill on theory..........

PH

 

[Silly Bee]

£10 - £15 seems reasonable if they are mongrols from a good parent stock.

Mongrels are often hardier than pedigrees