Buying Bees

misfitmorgan

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Does anyone have any advice on what would be a good or average price on either package bees or local nucs? i would rather go local but i have no idea what a good price would be. We have 8 full hives of woodenware with at least one deep and one super per at the moment....and no bees lol. I'm not sure why the hubby has 8 i didnt ask for all the details but i dont think they were ever all full. i have also not seen them more then once for about 3 minutes over a year ago so i know they all have at least 1 deep and 1 super, inner lids, outer lids, foundations....but thats all i know for sure. So anyone i am only wanting to get one or two nucs or package bees i just have no idea on good prices i have seen from $115-$226 for the "small" nuc/package. Any advice would be great.
 

Maggiesdad

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If your wooden ware has drawn comb, then packages would be the way to go, imo.
Prices vary by region, type of bee, and source of stock. Your $ ranges sound ok. Just like any other livestock, not all bees are the same.
Beekeeping is local local local - find a local beekeeping club or association and find out what works in your area. It's getting late in the season to find bees.
 

Maggiesdad

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If I was you I'd go with two packages for starters, and set out some of the other boxes as swarm traps... free bees are wonderful! Definitely start reading up on beekeeping... being successful at this endeavor requires a commitment to know and practice the husbandry.
 

misfitmorgan

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I found one person locally i would really like to get nucs from, they get their bee stock from canada and the bees live here 100% so i know they would be cold hardy. i guess the problem with the other bees hubby had was they were from flordia and georgia and they died the first winter. i dont know if the frames are drawn or not as i didnt look to closely at them...that is on the to do list, i do know they are not full of frames so what is in them is anyones guess. They also have not had bees in them for at least 2yrs...is that a problem?
 

Maggiesdad

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Two years is not a problem... the bees will clean it up. Yes on the local bees that's what you want. If you have to go with the southern bees, then use them to get started then requeen with the local stock later in the season.
 

misfitmorgan

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i'm really hoping to catch some "wild" bees lol. There is someone who has a bunch of bees boxes they bring in every year for the fields. The farmers pay to have the bees set up on their property....so i'm hoping some swarm and wanna come make a home in one of our boxes lol. Only down side is i know they winter them in florida. So far for local nucs the people who get them from Canada havnt answered my emails yet so i will have to give them a call i think and see if they are going to have anything available. From what i have read proper nuc/package installation here is like may so i think i still have some time.
 

Happy Chooks

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I've used both Nuc's and packages and prefer the packages. A 3lb package with a mated queen cost me $80. Nuc's were about $150.

It will be late in the season when you get them. The nights have to be warm enough so they don't freeze to death. My first hive was installed in May, when most of the bloom was over. But you feed them and get them going strong for winter.
 

misfitmorgan

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i have not saw any packages for under $115 and the ones i have found were pickup only....in like minnisota lol...basically way to far to drive to pick them up. i have not seen any prices on local nucs so i have no clue what they will want for them.

For us in michigan may is the exact right time of year we are in full swing are everything blooming. Most of our fruit trees bloom in mid-late april. Cherry and peach will bloom into may easily and only the earliest apples will start to bloom the beginning of may and continue on thru the month. We dont even put our gardens in until june 1st here, Hay fields will be in bloom from june-september atleast.

Our 10acre hay field is getting top dressed with clover this year, we have 4 apple trees in the yard, 5 wild crab apples trees growing in our fence line, and apple trees all down the sides of the road growing. Plus a small patch of blackberry or raspberry not sure which. i hope those plus all the vegetable plants will be enough food for them. We are planting more fruit trees but they wont be making many blossoms for a few years. Should i plan on planting some kind of flower mix or something as well?

Next year there should be about 1/2 acres of everbearing strawberries for them as well.

i have no idea how much pollen or nectar they need.
 

Ponker

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I ordered local bees. It was $125 for a nuc and $175 for a full hive. I went ahead and ordered the hives instead of the nucs since I am just getting started.
 

misfitmorgan

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i wish someone local would respond to my emails :( so i could find a price i would assume it is close to what everyone else sees for price but i wont know until they get back to me. i only contacted the local places that winter their bees here.
 
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