I know it is suggested to start out with at least 2 hives, but how many started out with more? or less? And how many. Asking because I am thinking of starting with 4.
pfin3
If space and resource is not an issue then start out with as many as you can.
It is simply that new keepers will make mistakes. And they need more hives to
correct their mistakes. My first 2 hives got killed by the ants. So I started over with 1
frame of bees and a new laying queen. Had I started out with 3 hives or know how to
make splits from the 2 then I don't have to buy more bees. So starting out with 4 hives
is a good way to go. I would recommend 10 hives if you can. Then you still need to buy
more or make your own equipments to accommodate them all. Or sell them on CL.
It is simply that new keepers will make mistakes. And they need more hives to
correct their mistakes. My first 2 hives got killed by the ants. So I started over with 1
frame of bees and a new laying queen. Had I started out with 3 hives or know how to
make splits from the 2 then I don't have to buy more bees. So starting out with 4 hives
is a good way to go. I would recommend 10 hives if you can. Then you still need to buy
more or make your own equipments to accommodate them all. Or sell them on CL.
I purchased two packages. And then two weeks after I installed those packages, I found that a swarm had moved into one of my traps. Fortunately, I had already built extra hive woodenware by that point.
If you start with 4 instead of 2 (like the books suggest), the only downside I can see is cost. You will have just wasted more money if you decide beekeeping isn't for you (or your neighbors complain, etc.). I started with 3 but one of my hives swarmed and I caught the swarm. So I finished the season with 4. Cost is the main factor. It doesn't take that much more time for inspections, feeding, etc.
I started out with one package/hive in April this year, even though I was told to start with two. Mostly due to cost. I may have gotten lucky, but aside from a bad mite infestation, which I was able to deal with, they have done really well. Of course they haven't made it through winter yet. But are still alive as of this morning.
Started with three packages, caught a feral swarm with a swam trap near an old feral hive in an oak tree. Of the packages one queen was a drone layer, the other two died within two months. The feral swarm I split in three months giving me two, they both overwintered and have not slowed down yet. So my point is to buy local and if possible buy feral survivor stock. Keep in mind that my packages came from fifty miles of me, so I did buy local, but it was the feral survivor stock that caused me to succeed.
I started with 1 and realized within weeks that it was an issue for me. Over that winter (2012/2013) I ordered back up. I got 4 packages that spring. Turns out my struggling hive survived. Now I have 5. I am also feeling a little overwhelmed. If I could do it all over again I personally would have started with 3. Side note... I am a pretty anxious person by nature. Perhaps why I felt overwhelmed. Also, all four of my packages superceded. My advice... if you are an anxious type (like myself) start with 3. If you are a pretty chill person, and can roll with the punches, then throw as much at the wall as the budget and space allows and see what sticks. Beginner advice here so don't take it as gospel, but maybe consider it.
Todd
Todd
Started with 4 this spring, 3 packages and a nuc. So far so good. I have bought 4 more packages for spring. I plan on splitting the 4 I have now in the spring if they make it and am looking for a total of 12 by this time next year along with some nucs to try and over winter. No two hives seem to be the same. They all have a different "personality".
Started with 1 because of timing and money. They survived the winter and I made a split in early spring. Some way or other they have turned into 18 colonies after 4 1/2 years, in spite of my fumbling.
Starting with 4 wouldn't be a bad idea, just more of an ante than I could have put up. If you have the time and money, I say give it a go. The worst that can happen is they all die!
Starting with 4 wouldn't be a bad idea, just more of an ante than I could have put up. If you have the time and money, I say give it a go. The worst that can happen is they all die!
I would start with 6 colonies, as I consider that a bare minimum to raise my own queens, and try to work up to 25 to 50 colonies over 3 to 5 years if you want to really know the game.
12 swarms and cutouts my first year, 9 stayed in the boxes. 7 killed that winter by a spray rig that sprayed the hives directly. "Oh, so sorry!" :ws: Luckily, 18 swarms were trapped the next Spring.
My own learning curve was greatly accelerated by some older beekeepers, a copy of The Hive and the Honeybee, 5th edition, and going immediately into the 2 most difficult aspects of beekeeping - queen rearing and honey-in-the-comb production.
One friend, a sideline-business beekeeper, got into the game 3 years before me by purchasing 100 colonies (no previous experience). He said, "I really needed 3 years with 30 colonies before going commercial - just to really know what I was doing. Mistakes are expensive at 100 colonies."
12 swarms and cutouts my first year, 9 stayed in the boxes. 7 killed that winter by a spray rig that sprayed the hives directly. "Oh, so sorry!" :ws: Luckily, 18 swarms were trapped the next Spring.
My own learning curve was greatly accelerated by some older beekeepers, a copy of The Hive and the Honeybee, 5th edition, and going immediately into the 2 most difficult aspects of beekeeping - queen rearing and honey-in-the-comb production.
One friend, a sideline-business beekeeper, got into the game 3 years before me by purchasing 100 colonies (no previous experience). He said, "I really needed 3 years with 30 colonies before going commercial - just to really know what I was doing. Mistakes are expensive at 100 colonies."
Two ten frame deeps and a five frame nuc. That was plenty for a first year. When I get up to 8 it starts to get old so I give some away. About 4 hives is where I want to stay.
The first year without drawn frames for honey supers makes swarming more likely and harder for a new beekeeper to stay ahead of. Feeling overwhelmed is no fun!
The first year without drawn frames for honey supers makes swarming more likely and harder for a new beekeeper to stay ahead of. Feeling overwhelmed is no fun!
I started with 3 myself, wish i'd started with more. So then the next year I started 10 more new hives, did splits and today i'm at 43 hives.
Simply put, If you have the time to manage the hives correctly, The more hives you have, the faster you will learn how to manage those hives correctly and learn how to fix all the problems they have. It's like a crash course in beekeeping. Make sure you have a good mentor if you plan to do this, or at least someone that has a background with bees willing to talk to you.
Simply put, If you have the time to manage the hives correctly, The more hives you have, the faster you will learn how to manage those hives correctly and learn how to fix all the problems they have. It's like a crash course in beekeeping. Make sure you have a good mentor if you plan to do this, or at least someone that has a background with bees willing to talk to you.
Three swarms moved into cavities in my barn in the late spring of 2013. Each was hived and I still have those colonies. I made one split this summer, so I now have total of four.
I found that four was noticeably more work than three - it seemed like more than the actual percent of increase. Three was a really nice number for someone like me who was just starting out with no knowledge or bee skills. It was enough so that simple observation of the differences among the colonies alerted me to issues I needed to learn more about. I did not have the need to split or share resources among the hives to keep my little apiary goiong last year (the most common reason for the suggestion have more than one to start out.)
This year I re-apportioned the honey from the strongest to weakest going into winter and so I did not have to feed even my 2014 split to get them all up to full winter weight.
But still, doing any common task for all four colonies, even just checking and changing mite boards is no longer a simple just run out and do it it quickly type of operation. It takes more planning and arranging to have the time to pay enough attention to each one to do things right.
If I had the choice I think I would just as soon stay at three colonies, but as I want to try to keep each colony going I think eventually I'll wind up with a one and a spare for each orginal line, or a total of six.
Not looking forward to that however.
Enj.
I found that four was noticeably more work than three - it seemed like more than the actual percent of increase. Three was a really nice number for someone like me who was just starting out with no knowledge or bee skills. It was enough so that simple observation of the differences among the colonies alerted me to issues I needed to learn more about. I did not have the need to split or share resources among the hives to keep my little apiary goiong last year (the most common reason for the suggestion have more than one to start out.)
This year I re-apportioned the honey from the strongest to weakest going into winter and so I did not have to feed even my 2014 split to get them all up to full winter weight.
But still, doing any common task for all four colonies, even just checking and changing mite boards is no longer a simple just run out and do it it quickly type of operation. It takes more planning and arranging to have the time to pay enough attention to each one to do things right.
If I had the choice I think I would just as soon stay at three colonies, but as I want to try to keep each colony going I think eventually I'll wind up with a one and a spare for each orginal line, or a total of six.
Not looking forward to that however.
Enj.
I started last spring with 3.....two nucs & a supposed one deep working hive. I bought a queen & made a nuc this summer just to see if I could pull it off. It's still surviving, but legally winter is just starting here on Dec. 23rd. 
Like beepro says, if space and resources allow. I Started out with 2, then figured that wasn't enough, I'd already purchased extra deeps, lids and bottoms, so I went ahead and bought a nuc. All three are doing fine, and am looking forward to splitting, at least one of them this spring.
I know the feeling of wanting to have a full set of spares, though I have not had any winter losses. That however leads to having twice as many hives to keep from swarming the next summer and more work wrapping for winter. I have played with different methods so really have not settled on anything standardized and efficient. It is getting easier but I am glad I did not start with too many hives.
Some people perform best under pressure but I like time to meditate about my moves and not be in the panic mode.
I got advice on a source of bees from a retiring bee inspector in the area and knew pretty much what was required to keep bees going here in northern Ontario. It takes time to learn to read what the bees are up to and to learn what the timing events are in your local area. When you have the feeling you can handle more it is not hard to open the throttle!
Some people perform best under pressure but I like time to meditate about my moves and not be in the panic mode.
I got advice on a source of bees from a retiring bee inspector in the area and knew pretty much what was required to keep bees going here in northern Ontario. It takes time to learn to read what the bees are up to and to learn what the timing events are in your local area. When you have the feeling you can handle more it is not hard to open the throttle!
I started with 3 and it worked out well. With 2, you never really know if you have one average and one slow, or one average and one great. With 3, usually 2 out of 3 will be similar. It also gives you enough resources like brood to help out a weak hive if necessary. My 3 were one with a laying queen, one with a virgin queen, and one with a queen cell, all started from a friends hives.
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