Nucs versus Packages?

[ImaNewBeeToThis]

Fair enough

[bluegrass]

Sounds like a great idea, so why don't more people do this?

If not done properly the bees will fight and kill each other and you will end up with one very weak hive. Plus the cost as mentioned above. The fact that there is likely no benefit to doing so. Risk of swarming on you... etc.

Hive population is a delicate balance... All the bees have a job and need to be able to do that job. A nuc has all the nurse bees it needs to cover the amount of brood present. A package is specifically shaken to be mostly nurse bees because at a specific age they can draw comb and other bees cannot. You dump all those extra bees in with a nuc and they will likely think they are over populated and make swarm prep.

I never tried it so these are just my assumptions.

[Cleo C. Hogan Jr]

ImaNewBeeToThis..... If you are going to buy a nuc and a package, you could likely find an overwinted established hive for that amount.

As someone new, I would go with two hives, likely one nuc and one package, learn all you can from the two, grow into beekeeping with your two, very different hives.

cchoganjr

[Acebird]

There are two advantages of a nuc that I see as important for newbees. 1. It gives you essentially an active hive so there is less of a change of making a boo boo on day one. 2. It is more likely to be local than a package which I value highly.

[bluegrass]

It is more likely to be local than a package which I value highly.

Here we are back to knowing your source... I know plenty of folks who bring nucs north and sell them... They don't advertise that they are local nucs, but they also don't plainly state that they are not.

We have a guy locally who sells "local nucs" but he buys the queens heading up those nucs from CA. That isn't going to be a local nuc for long.

[BeeCurious]

I'm overwintering six carnie "nucs" in double five frame medium boxes. The queens came from California, they are on small cell foundation, and they're chemical / treatment free, I'm not sure that they would be considered "local". ...

[ImaNewBeeToThis]

Well I have walter Kelly next door to me so I'm going with their nucs.

[Cleo C. Hogan Jr]

ImaNewBeeToThis.... I just noticed you are from Lexington. Your are only a little over 2 hours from me. (Exit 48 I-65 Mammoth Cave), If you would like, call me in early April and you are welcome to come down to my facility, and I will answer any questions you have, and show you my facility and how I do it.

Anyone else is also welcome.

cchoganjr

[doc25]

Just curios but why can't I buy a nuc and a package and remove the queen from the package and combine the two into 2 8 frames bodies?

If you have some drawn comb you can actually split a package into 2 colonies right off with an extra queen. It seems a waste of resources to put a nuc and a package into 2 8 frame bodies. Part of the joy is watching them grow into sucessful hives.

[bluegrass]

Well I have walter Kelly next door to me so I'm going with their nucs.

That must be a big door

There are reputable people closer to Lexington than Clarkson. I would recommend Lewis Sutton in Lancaster KY. He is also a member on here, or you can google him at Sutton Honey Farms.