Any beekeepers here

[tguy]

Before you get too excited and spend a lot of money, get stung a multiple times and make sure you are not allergic. And age changes things, too.

 

[m1garand762]

I have kept bees for years. Never heard of license required. Start small and grow from there just get 1 hive and see if you like it

 

[fried1765]

I have kept bees for years. Never heard of license required. Start small and grow from there just get 1 hive and see if you like it

One colony would be OK, but if 2 are affordable, that would be a better idea.
With two, you will be able to make comparisons.

 

[Beeenvenue]

“Nucs” are a shorthand version of saying “nucleus colony”. When you buy bees you have two choices:
- A package that contains a separate queen. You carefully unpack the queen and add her and the bees (yes, from a large package) into YOUR hive already set up and ready. They start with nothing. Except themselves. From day one they have to forage, build comb, etc.

- a nuc which contains 3 or 4 frames of bees with larva and bees and a queen. Typically one or two more frames of honey or nectar. You take the 5-6 nuc frames and put them into your hive and fill your hive with more frames to complete it. This way you have a growing colony with food stores and larvae so they don’t miss a beat and can concentrate on growing no rather than building from scratch.

The poster above is flat wrong about prices for nucs 2-3x. Most nucs sell for $200-275 depending on location and genetics. Most packages sell for $150-200. Not a big difference and you have a huge head start if you go with a nuc.

Starting with either requires some research as even the time of day you introduce your new colony is important (evening is far better). Add in disease control, mite control, supplemental feeding, water sources (bees learn and return and you don’t want that source to be your neighbor’s pool or bird feeder), pollen supplements, honey harvesting, frame and hive management - it can get overwhelming.

What makes it worse is if you ask the same question to 2 beekeepers you will get at least 5 different answers!

But you can do what I did - feed a little, be sure they have water, and don’t worry about the rest. If you lose 1 or 2 hives and can’t afford $400 to replace maybe it’s the wrong hobby. But if you can then just leave them alone, and learn over time. Get honey if and when you can. But don’t stress over it.

 

[fried1765]

哲ucs are a shorthand version of saying 渡ucleus colony? When you buy bees you have two choices:
- A package that contains a separate queen. You carefully unpack the queen and add her and the bees (yes, from a large package) into YOUR hive already set up and ready. They start with nothing. Except themselves. From day one they have to forage, build comb, etc.

- a nuc which contains 3 or 4 frames of bees with larva and bees and a queen. Typically one or two more frames of honey or nectar. You take the 5-6 nuc frames and put them into your hive and fill your hive with more frames to complete it. This way you have a growing colony with food stores and larvae so they don稚 miss a beat and can concentrate on growing no rather than building from scratch.

The poster above is flat wrong about prices for nucs 2-3x. Most nucs sell for $200-275 depending on location and genetics. Most packages sell for $150-200. Not a big difference and you have a huge head start if you go with a nuc.

Starting with either requires some research as even the time of day you introduce your new colony is important (evening is far better). Add in disease control, mite control, supplemental feeding, water sources (bees learn and return and you don稚 want that source to be your neighbor痴 pool or bird feeder), pollen supplements, honey harvesting, frame and hive management - it can get overwhelming.

What makes it worse is if you ask the same question to 2 beekeepers you will get at least 5 different answers!

But you can do what I did - feed a little, be sure they have water, and don稚 worry about the rest. If you lose 1 or 2 hives and can稚 afford $400 to replace maybe it痴 the wrong hobby. But if you can then just leave them alone, and learn over time. Get honey if and when you can. But don稚 stress over it.

"The poster above is flat wrong about prices for nucs 2-3x. most nucs sell for $200-275".
Oh really ???

Not true where I buy nucs!
From the Bfarm.com the price for an April-May 2021, Italian five frame nuc, is $170.
At "$210 - $275", somebody is ripping you off in Ennis,TX.

 

[Beeenvenue]

Point is the poster above quoted nucs as 3-4x packages. Even just outside Dallas (probably why my prices are high) we are like 1.2-1.4x. I would never mess with package bees if I can get nucs for just a tiny bit more.

Most are 200 or 225. 275 are for high end genetics like BeeWeaver with patented queens needing no varroa treatment.

 

[TimberHole]

Point is the poster above quoted nucs as 3-4x packages. Even just outside Dallas (probably why my prices are high) we are like 1.2-1.4x. I would never mess with package bees if I can get nucs for just a tiny bit more.

Most are 200 or 225. 275 are for high end genetics like BeeWeaver with patented queens needing no varroa treatment.

I didn’t know there was such a thing as a patented Queen. Have you tried them? Can you still split a hive? Is it a crime if they swarm??? :laughing: ok, just kidding on that part but still curious.

 

[kneedeep]

Should bee a local group you could join and learn. Bee keepers tend to good about sharing info. Had bees for decades and helped with our style farming. Much harder to keep now with mite treatments, colony collapse and more neighbors spraying pesticides. Get a stand or two and enjoy learning. It痴 fun, it痴 work that has to be done on their schedule. Eating your own honey is reward enough. If you can make enough to pay expenses you are doing better than most.
Have ordered bees from Sears back in the day to try different strains. The two ladies who ran the local post office would very excitedly call me to come get them.

I took a Beekeeping class prior to getting first hive. I reached out to a local commercial Beekeeper to get my first hive and learn as much as possible. After 3 years, I have lost hives, made numerous splits, went from 1 hive to 10 hives and best of all, made a new friend that has helped me unselfishly and I respect. That is the best part!

 

[TxMN]

Knee deep is right, join the local county bee club they may have a mentor program. If not, there are always good folks that will let you mentor or at least expose you to bees. Back in the 70’s, my family operated a commercial migratory bee operation with about 3500 hives. They wintered about half in east Texas and built back from the wintered hives with splits and new queens. We raised most of our queens, but Weaver in Navasota Tx has great bees and queens. I had my agriculture evaluation in Texas for several years with 12 hives of bees. If you choose to put together some hives, with either nucs or pkg bees, have at least three colonies. It gives you something to compare to one another, they will not all respond the same. I plan to put together a few top bar hives next year now that I have acerage and the time to work them. It is addictive, educational, and exciting to work and study bees. Get a good bee suit that will provide the best protection and become a member of a bee forum, lot of info on the forums, but nothing replaces hands on.

 

[Smokeydog]

Good to connect in the bee community. Extension office had mite resistant queens to try. My friend got one, free, and put it in one of four hives he had on our farm. It really took off. Almost 300# honey from that one hive. Filled a super in days! So many bees. Took lots of work keeping up with that one hive. Made as much honey as the other three combined. Swarmed and lost most of that vigor the next year. Honeybees are important and there is help available.