i bought ten queens from OHB in California, most of them have been good, check em out on my channel https://www.youtube.com/c/BackyardBeesNC
Your experience may vary.... I ordered 6 packages of Saskatraz, in 2018, Hived them on comb, built them to 2 deeps and 4 medium supers full.I will be getting back into things here in Pennsylvania this season and am wondering what kind of bees to order. I have heard good things about Saskatraz bees. My primary goal is to get honey. I have a beekeeper friend who lost 90% of his hives this year so I am not optimistic about chances of overwintering, though Saskatraz is supposedly better. I just hope to make a lot of honey, and if I have to buy packages next year then so be it.
Anyway, what is your experience with Saskatraz?
+1 Goes real well with my motto of "never take beekeeping advice from someone who buys bees every year".You probably should not take any advice from your friend unless s/he tells you not to do what they are doing. J
So you put them on drawn comb? I will be putting whatever packages I get in new hives. I plan to feed them sugar and hopefully get them to draw out the frames and then when the flow kicks on I'll put medium supers on. Thankfully, I do have medium super frames that are drawn out.Your experience may vary.... I ordered 6 packages of Saskatraz, in 2018, Hived them on comb, built them to 2 deeps and 4 medium supers full.
Had a great Honey crop, 24 medium supers. All we dead by new year, Mited out. If you spend the dime on the bees, I would do the 2 Cents for treatment, or just extract it all, and get more next year. Packages IMO are not TF candidates. As well if your friend has mite issues they are in your area and the bees will find a way to bring them back. I liked the bees, the survivability not so much.
GG
If all you need is honey - just buy honey then....... I just hope to make a lot of honey, and if I have to buy packages next year then so be it..........?
where in PA are you located? i am likely to be selling a few nucs this year. i flood my mating yard with saskatraz drones.So you put them on drawn comb? I will be putting whatever packages I get in new hives. I plan to feed them sugar and hopefully get them to draw out the frames and then when the flow kicks on I'll put medium supers on. Thankfully, I do have medium super frames that are drawn out.
There was a discussion on Saskatraz bees a few years ago, you might want to look it up here. There were mixed reviews at the time. My own experience with them (I bought queens from OHB) were they swarmed quickly. I’d have to look at my notes to see, but if you search it on here you will find lots of info. DebI will be getting back into things here in Pennsylvania this season and am wondering what kind of bees to order. I have heard good things about Saskatraz bees. My primary goal is to get honey. I have a beekeeper friend who lost 90% of his hives this year so I am not optimistic about chances of overwintering, though Saskatraz is supposedly better. I just hope to make a lot of honey, and if I have to buy packages next year then so be it.
Anyway, what is your experience with Saskatraz?
My first disclaimer is that I don't have any personal experience with Saskatraz packages. But a ton of them along with mated queens are sold here directly off shipments from Olivarez so I've had some observations of them. My overall impression has been that they normally are able to produce a good honey crop. And that makes perfect sense as what you are seeing is a queen line out of Canada that has picked up hybrid vigor in a cross. Being packages and shipped queens, you can bank on a % having some problems but overall I do feel they could give you a honey crop even on foundation if that is all you had.So you put them on drawn comb? I will be putting whatever packages I get in new hives. I plan to feed them sugar and hopefully get them to draw out the frames and then when the flow kicks on I'll put medium supers on. Thankfully, I do have medium super frames that are drawn out.
They are more expensive definitely, so wondering if I should pick a cheaper package?My first disclaimer is that I don't have any personal experience with Saskatraz packages. But a ton of them along with mated queens are sold here directly off shipments from Olivarez so I've had some observations of them. My overall impression has been that they normally are able to produce a good honey crop. And that makes perfect sense as what you are seeing is a queen line out of Canada that has picked up hybrid vigor in a cross. Being packages and shipped queens, you can bank on a % having some problems but overall I do feel they could give you a honey crop even on foundation if that is all you had.
Whether you see mite resistance from them is a much bigger beast as there are plenty of variables just within the initial open mating that can put them all over the board when we start looking at levels of susceptibility. From the crossings I've messed with using both open mated daughters as breeders and other breeders that are suppose to be somewhat pure stock I think they are about average in comparison with known quantities like vsh. How you use them and what you get for outcomes just depends.
If you are choosing packages and simply looking for a honey crop realizing that you may replace a great many, why don't you pick the cheapest option in packages. In theory you should get similar crops particularly off italian/carni cross packages out of california. Or get the saskatraz packages and let them do their thing and see if you happen to get some good survivors out of the mix. If a person had enough of those saskatrz packages it is likely that you will see some mite resistance. How big of a sample size will you need, not sure.
Saskatraz bees are touted for their mite resistance, right?Your experience may vary.... I ordered 6 packages of Saskatraz, in 2018, Hived them on comb, built them to 2 deeps and 4 medium supers full.
Had a great Honey crop, 24 medium supers. All we dead by new year, Mited out. If you spend the dime on the bees, I would do the 2 Cents for treatment, or just extract it all, and get more next year. Packages IMO are not TF candidates. As well if your friend has mite issues they are in your area and the bees will find a way to bring them back. I liked the bees, the survivability not so much.
GG
that was the exact reason I tried them. Could have been a local problem, but mine appeared needing treatment to make the first winter.Saskatraz bees are touted for their mite resistance, right?