View Full Version : Next Year's Hive's 2006 ( Poll)
was just wanting to see how many plans would be different because of high Bee Prices? You can choose more that one but please explain.
[ December 21, 2005, 07:22 AM: Message edited by: TwT ]
I'm going to get a couple queens for splits, and a few nuc's and going to let 2 removal hives I removed last year raise there own queens (splits).
[ December 21, 2005, 07:25 AM: Message edited by: TwT ]
Dan Williamson
12-21-2005, 06:46 AM
I'll buy queens for early spring splits and then raise the rest of my own queens for summer splits and fall requeening.
tecumseh
12-21-2005, 07:00 AM
my current plans are to buy a few queens and a few queen cells and continue to raise out a few home grown queens myself.
Me too. 10 queens booked and I'll do some splits without them too.
swarm_trapper
12-21-2005, 08:07 AM
yea we are pretty much like Dtwilliamson. we are going to buy 40 queens for the early splits and then raise the rest and hopfully sell a few this year. Nick
Jonathan Hofer
12-21-2005, 08:46 AM
Planning on getting some Russian queens for the genetics, the rest of the queens I need, I plan to raise myself.
BTW with the queen price around $25 since the last few years, this is a very attractive option, but I don't seem to have much luck raising my own.
chillardbee
12-21-2005, 10:31 AM
i'll be making nucs and splits this years and rearing my own queens for them. I use to let the nucs raise there own queens and have had awsome results from it. the key is not to disturb them and some might disagree with me on that by saying you should go through the nuc after X number of days and cull the older cells but after comparing the results of nucs that were examined to those that were just left alone, I'll never touch my nuc until the day i figure she's mated. some of my best queens have come about this way.
another thing i noticed was hybrid vigour in our hives since we had a real heinz 57 mix in all of our bees. we make all our nucs from the out yards and bring them home. the queen that would hatch were anything from black to gold to anything inbetween and the drones like wise. granted there isn't uniformity but i wasn't complaining about my 200 lb/hive average the following year either.
We have 100 Buckfast, 100 NWC and 25 Minnesota Hygenic queens ordered for April. We will also raise 50 of our own line of queens form northern wintered stock next spring.
We split everything into nucs in the spring, keep 150 or so to add onto what survives the NY winter and sell the rest.
It would seem beneficial for folks wanting to expand to do so now as opposed to later. It is my opinion with the AHB in Florida, the ongoing beetle problems in mating nucs and the increased supercedure that will come from treatments the queens will be more expensive to buy and harder to get (for spring at least) in 2007 than they will in 2006. Just my opinion.
Chillard, we are having the similar results with our own stock by the introduction of a variety of good stocks over the past 10 yrs. I'll take hardiness and production over color every year!
I hope to capture more swarms this year. If some of my 6 hives make it through the winter I will try making some splits.
bleakley
12-21-2005, 03:21 PM
I intend to begin rearing my own queens . . . no plans at present to sell any to others . . . if rearing efforts don't provide adequate numbers, I will purchase queens on an "as needed" basis. Motivation for raising my own queens is partly due to cost but mostly because of low acceptance rate (approx. 50%).
bourdeaubee
12-23-2005, 07:53 PM
my long term goal is to cross breed as many bee breeds as I can to find what works best in my area.Any suggestions?
bourdeaubee
12-23-2005, 07:54 PM
my long term goal is to cross breed as many bee breeds as I can to find what works best in my area.Any suggestions?
bourdeaubee
12-23-2005, 07:56 PM
my long term goal is to cross breed as many bee breeds as I can to find what works best in my area.Any suggestions?
Michael Bush
12-24-2005, 07:40 AM
Why not start with something that does well in a Northern climate (which probably leaves out the Italians) and maybe some varroa and/or tracheal mite resistance, like buckfasts or russians. Then just let them mate with the feral bees to get some acclimatised stock.
Any supplier recommendations for Buckfast queens?
The only authorized suppliers for Buckfast bees (USA)are Weavers in Texas. They are in Africanized bee territory. We have 100 queens ordered from them this year, the same as last year. Probably the best bees I've used (and I've used just about all of them). A little tempermental (from way before any AHB)but exceptional bee for northern beekeepers.
[ December 25, 2005, 06:02 PM: Message edited by: Joel ]