stehaggan Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 I have bitten the bullet and just ordered 2 national hives with all the bits! Now I have 4 weeks to get my apiary built and ready and also sort out my nucs - ive done a bit of research and should have nucs available to me in 4 weeks I am excited Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Don't like to dampen your excitement, but..... Do 'all the bits' include a couple of dividers? I would recommend having some means of restricting the width of the entrance, too. I simply use a length of wood, of cross section 21mm x 21mm approx ( cut from 20mm would likely be fine), a little shorter than the entrance width to do this. In 4 weeks time, the wasps may be having a 'field day' with any colony which is unable to repel them. Seems particularly important this year, that the buyer is very aware of the (mal)practices of some nuc suppliers. Several subscribers (to the main beekeeping forum in the UK) have related their findings, or issued warnings on the quality of nucs deceived from some named (or easily recognised) suppliers. Buying a poor nuc later in the season will make preparations for the winter just that much more difficult, especially for an inexperienced new starter, and could easily lead to the loss of the colony over the winter period. Good luck with your bees; hope you have at least already attended a beekeeping course. RAB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 4 weeks.............end of July. Seems late. Please please please take somebody experienced with you to look at the nucs before you take them home. That means suiting up and looking at each frame and finding the marked queen. Make sure you have decent colonies with brood layed by the supplied queen that you can build up to overwinter safely. RAB is right....you will have to keep them cosy with dividers and keep the entrance small. As far as your apiary goes just a suggestion......... If you are putting the hives on stands it might be useful to have two stands each capable of taking three hives. Then you put one hive in the middle of each and you are placed just right for the inevitable AS next or the following year. Best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stehaggan Posted June 21, 2011 Author Share Posted June 21, 2011 Thanks for the info peeps i will certainly take it on board and act on it especially the nucs and dividers. I know the later i leave it the worse the scenario could be but I really wanted them this year and unfortunately i HAVE to wait 28 days for permission from the allotment I had trouble actually finding a beekeeping course but I did and attended it, in addition i have been attending a bee club each week which is very hands on and I feel is a very strong support network. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Wishing you good luck on your new venture!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kermit Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Don't be fobbed off with the supplier saying you'll lose flying bees - more important to check you are getting what you are paying for. Ask if he has just introduced the queen, or is it from the same colony as the bees. How many frames are you getting of brood and stores. Look at the BBKA site and download a copy of their advice on nucs. If you are not 100% happy then either walk away and ask for your money back OR negotiate some sort of discount. After that please tell everyone here whether you had good service or not and where you bought them from. That way people get to know who gives good/bad service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
