# How many hives did you start out with?



## pfin3 (Sep 26, 2014)

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.


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

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.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

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.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Started with 2 packages in 1974. [email protected] Both starved in the winter. Operator error.


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## JustinH (Nov 11, 2013)

pfin3 said:


> 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.


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.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

Started out with two and a nuc.


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## Mary Beth Reid (May 2, 2014)

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.


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## ChuckReburn (Dec 17, 2013)

Three. More than 2 gives you the ability to realize "1 of these is not like the others." And chances are none will be the same.


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## gfbees13 (Sep 25, 2014)

I started out with two. However, 4 is not bad to start with. A word of caution: Managing 4 hives this year is a LOT different than managing 4 hives in your second season.


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## Dan P (Oct 29, 2014)

I started with a swarm in a tree, transferred to a cardboard box. grew to 13 hives by falls end. Now only 5.


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## stan.vick (Dec 19, 2010)

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.


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## trottet1 (Jul 18, 2013)

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


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## LoneWolf (Feb 25, 2014)

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".


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## Michael B (Feb 6, 2010)

six....loved every minute of it. Lost half the first winter and learned from my mistakes.....


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## e-spice (Sep 21, 2013)

Dan P said:


> I started with a swarm in a tree, transferred to a cardboard box. grew to 13 hives by falls end. Now only 5.


Wow that must have been a seriously gigantic swarm or some seriously aggressive splitting. Either way, ****!


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## gunter62 (Feb 13, 2011)

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!


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## KGB (Jun 25, 2014)

Two.
Four would be doable.


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## scituatema (Aug 30, 2014)

After a long break, again started with two packages last year and now I have 22 colonies made out of this two packages. I always raise my queens.


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## kilocharlie (Dec 27, 2010)

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."


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## crofter (May 5, 2011)

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!


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## drlonzo (Apr 15, 2014)

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.


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## enjambres (Jun 30, 2013)

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.


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## Tim KS (May 9, 2014)

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.


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## Hogback Honey (Oct 29, 2013)

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.


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## crofter (May 5, 2011)

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!


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

2 is really a minimum. 4 is fine. Starting with 40 is overwhelming...


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## Ross (Apr 30, 2003)

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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## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

Started with 15...must be nuts!


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## busybeeapiaries (Apr 9, 2014)

Busy Bee Apiaries started with one hive back in 1986, From there we grew. This is not the easiest way granted but, there is less at stake. The biggest thing is that there are more things that kill your bees now days that were not around back then. Varroa and several mites we have now were not a problem then. Now we have Hive Beetle (SHB), Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), and other such make it hard for one to start. My advice would be to stay the course, you will at some point get discouraged, Just remember anything worth doing does not come easy and hard experience is the best teacher, though not the nicest.
We now have over 700 and that is when it gets real interesting.


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## RudyT (Jan 25, 2012)

I started with 3 from two sources (which adds another comparison point). And try to help your mentor -- you'll learn a lot and see a lot.


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## dsegrest (May 15, 2014)

I started 2013 with two medium nucs. I lost 1 in the fall and 1 in the winter, due at least partly to poor management practices. 

I ordered a full double-deep hive and a deep nuc for spring 2014. Caught a swarm in Feb. before the ordered bees arrived. Split the nuc, made honey from the double deep. now have 4 double deeps.


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## busybeeapiaries (Apr 9, 2014)

It really comes down to how much time you are looking to spend on your hives. For instance we have over 700 hives for us (2) this comes down to a full time job +. We average 10-12 hours 6 days a week during spring and summer. As a hobbiest I would say 2-4 is the best start, just remember though if you manage right and no outside things affect you, come fall you will have doubled your hives. Just a tip, replace your queen before or during last honey flow. Even if she is young. (Unless you wind up with a super queen)
Start your hive as early as you can in the spring too.


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## dleemc1 (Dec 31, 2012)

around 55 years ago I bought a hive from an older woman, they were in a nail keg, she had a swarm and no where to put them so she dumped the nails out and put them in the nail keg I gave her 5.00 dollars for them. I got a reagular hive from some where don`t remember where but I drummed them out of the nail keg, and put them in the reagular hive. came in from school one day and my bees were gone, daddy said the bee inspecter had been there and they had foualbrood and they burnet them. don`t remember my 2nd hive but have always kept some. think I have around 60 right now. I would start with atleast two if possible


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## Tommy Hodge (Jun 4, 2013)

Started with 2 packages in spring of 2013. Both made it through first winter. Expanded to 6 hives last spring summer via splits off the 2 hives. Goal is to get to 8 to 10 this spring/summer...starting with 4 is not a bad idea...! I think you will find that each hive will exhibit different characteristics of which you will learn specific beekeeping concepts/skills/manipulations etc...welcome to the world of beekeeping...!


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## Mommyofthree (Aug 23, 2014)

2014 I started with one hive that is still doing well. I would have preferred to have had 2 but I am pleased with the hive I have.

Next year I have plans for 3-4 hives.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Started with one in 1976, it died. Bought two hives in 1979 and have had bees ever since.


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## 78-79fordman (Mar 23, 2014)

Started with 18 grow to 35 first year .


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## wcubed (Aug 24, 2008)

Which time?
Walt


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## Eduardo Gomes (Nov 10, 2014)

I started with 50 hives. I have about 400 hives at this time. Could have doubled, but in 2011 and 2012 sold many hives and nucs to balance the accounts between expenditures and earnings. On the other hand, allowed me to manage a more gradual and adequate logistical requirements. This year (2015) I have a goal of reaching the 550-600 hives.


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

wcubed said:


> Which time?
> Walt


Walt. When? And how many?


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## NeilV (Nov 18, 2006)

Started with 2, and only had room for 2 at that time. If money, space, and time are not an issue, 4 would be better.

If you decide not to keep bees anymore and have live bees in the hives, you can very likely get all your money back by making nucs and selling the rest or even just sell the hives. Around here, people are getting $225 for a single deep hive with top, bottom and 10 drawn frames.


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## pfin3 (Sep 26, 2014)

Hey everybody, thanks. Its pretty cool hearing about everyone's beginnings.


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## bison (Apr 27, 2011)

I started with three packages four years ago. One package absconded immediately and so I had to replace it. One went queenless and ended up as a laying worker hive that I shook out into the remaining two. Both of them died over the first winter due to some combination of ants and mites. 

Started again the next spring and things went better. I now have 12 hives in 4 locations and have helped a couple friends get going with their own. Hope to get to about 15 this spring.

It's fun having hives in different locations to compare the honeys.


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