# Nucs vs packages



## Ski (Jan 18, 2007)

Chip,
Typically a package is a box of bees with a queen that is installed on new undrawn foundation. 
A nuc is again typically 5 drawn frames 2-3 of brood and 2 of honey and pollen with a laying queen.

The package has a lot of work to do to catch up to the nuc by just drawing out frames for the queen to lay.


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

rharlow said:


> . . . Seems that all you are gaining is a week or two of brood. . .


 But oh what a difference those combs and brood can make.


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## rwurster (Oct 30, 2010)

I bought 10 packages and they built up fine, right into a dearth. I would now only buy nucs if I were to again purchase bees. They have more than a 2 week head start. The nuc has the advantage of already having comb, brood, and some stores at their disposal where a package starts with nothing.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

A nuc should be a working hive and can be local. To me the chances are greater for first year survival than packages. Nucs are a great way to start for newbies.


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

not all nucs are created equal.

the nucs that mike palmer sells (and others like him) are overwintered colonies of bees...including a young overwintered queen.

some nucs are made up from frames of bees and a new (sometimes purchased, sometimes the same stock as package queens) queens.

depending on what you are getting, the comb that comes with a nuc could be a blessing, or it could be a curse (many nucs come from large commercial operations where offlabel treatments are commonplace). comb is good. comb that someone else is trying to get rid of isn't necessarily good.

in theory, I'd recommend nucs over packages. In practice, there are not enough of what i consider good nucs to go around....unless you can get a great nuc with great comb, I'd start with a package.

deknow


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## NDnewbeek (Jul 4, 2008)

Every year, I buy a couple of packages to replace winter losses, in part because I usually have to populate a couple of TBH's but also because I just like getting the call from the Post Office and getting that 'box of bees'. If I end up with any extras - they go into one of my 'regular' hives. These 'extra' packages usually get installed on drawn foundation.

The rest of my losses I replace by buying frames of bees and brood from a friend who is a commercial beekeeper - making 3-4 frame nucs out of them and queening them with queens that I order from other sources.

So the only difference in these two approaches is the presence of the brood in the nucs (neither are 'overwintered', neither are purchased as established hives, both have drawn comb, etc.)

By Fall, the nucs almost always make surplus honey. The packages almost never do. That seems to be the advantage of the 2-3 week head start on brood. I can only guess that there is some sort of organizing, sorting out of duties, etc. that takes place with the packages installed on the drawn foundation (because the bees and queen aren't related? Because the bees shook into the package could all be of one caste? Who knows?) before or while the queen starts laying. Apparently, this 'organization' isn't necessary in the nucs perhaps because the frames are pulled from the hives with the 'appropriate' bees on them doing the 'appropriate' jobs.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Nucs and packages are not created equal. Nucs contain brood in all stages...plenty of nurse bees and emerging brood that will become nurse bees to care for the brood in an expanding broodnest. A huge advantage and benefit over packages. Do packages have that benefit? Do they have an increasing source of nurse bees to care for the increasing amount of young brood?

Nope, they don't. They have aging bees, many of whom are too old to be efficient nurses. Think about it. How old are the bees in your package? The youngest emerged just before the package was caged. You install several days later. The queen takes a couple days to get out of the cage and a couple more to start laying. Now how old are the youngest bees in the colony? A week to a week and a half? More? And what is the most effective age range for nursing? From Morse, _The illustrated Encyclopedia of Beekeeping_ most nurses are between 4 and 12 days old.

And the broodnest expands and there are an increasing number of larvae to be fed and the nurse bees are getting older. The first new bees to emerge are 21 days after the queen begins to lay. At that point, how old are the youngest bees in the colony? Closing in on a month. There is an inherent problem with packages, namely a lack of nurse bees of the proper age just when an increasing number of nurses is needed. So, an imbalance is set up within the colony and when a colony has such issues who do the bees blame? The queen of course, and supercedure is begun. Adding a frame of emerging brood when you check the colony to see if the queen is laying yet...at about the 1 week stage...will correct the problem. Not all supercedure in package bees is the queen's fault.

This imbalance isn't seen in nucleus colonies.


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

agreed 100% michael. we have discussed this in the past...a similar "imbalance" occurs with a new swarm as well (although one would assume that in the case of an actual swarm, the colony would be somehow "prepared" for this...perhaps by superceding the queen ASAP).

with all that said, if i were to buy bees from a commercial operation that i suspect uses off label treatments (note what was found to be used in Florida when they looked into an apparant deliberate poisoning...this is baseline beekeeping for many), I would rather get a package than a nuc.

deknow


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## mmiller (Jun 17, 2010)

Great explanations! I've started many packages and done fairly well with them but they generally don't make honey first year. Last year a friend started with 2 nucs and he started them almost 3 weeks after my 4 packages. His hives were full of bees before mine were even though he didn't have them as long. I am searching for local nucs this year because of what I saw last year. 

The hard part is finding local nucs in this area.

Mike


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## rharlow (Mar 20, 2011)

so, regardless of the queen, being over-wintered or not, it is the emerging brood into nurse bees that is the key. Thank you. Didn't know that, and it makes sense.


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## CoyoteMoss (Oct 3, 2011)

rharlow, don't know if you're a bee keeper or just starting. I will share this. I do not have bees and will be starting this spring. I'm 62 year old and had two back surgeries, so I'm starting with medium boxes. I'm sure my back will thank me later. Also, built myself a top bar hive and plan to build a second. Reading all this about how packages are not good, I had to chose packages or go buy all new deep hives. The only nucs I could find local were for deeps. 
Another point and this is a wanna-be beginner talking. The nuc supplier told me I have to bring my box and move the frames out of his nuc and give him 5 of my frames. Early morning or late in the day. Just thinking a lot of bees will fly during the transfer, not find the new home and I'll have to drive off without them. But what does it matter, I don't have deep boxes - maybe a beginner mistake?


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

mmiller said:


> The hard part is finding local nucs in this area.
> 
> Mike


Mike, I've been touting making and wintering our own nucleus colonies, for years. There certainly isn't the availability of local nucs needed to supply the bees we need in our apiaries. And so, the use of packages continues to be the most abundant source for bees. The most abundant, but not necessarily the best. 

That said, it's really up to you all to raise your own. Stop relying on someone else to raise you bees. Plenty have voiced their experiences, on these pages, to convince you. I have videos online to help with theory and setup. I don't know what else I can say or do. It's not difficult. It's lots of fun. The results are exceptional. You just have to do it...starting this year?


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## Spark (Feb 24, 2011)

I am planning on trying MP's way of making raisng my own bees this year. I am going to try his newer 2 story double nuc method. If it doesn't work out for me this year then I'll do again next year until I get it right.

The idea of getting free bees is too tempting to pass up on


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Michael Palmer said:


> I have videos online to help with theory and setup. I don't know what else I can say or do.


Point me to these videos please.


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## T0ADMAN (Aug 5, 2011)

I am sure that nucs are better and easier and build up faster ...

But, there is still something magical for a brand new beek to receive a package in the mail, install it in a completely new hive with no comb and watch it slowly take shape into a full colony. Something about that first inspection when they have just the beginnings of new white comb and a few larvae. Something about watching the whole process from the very beginning. Only thing better (I can imagine) would be catching a real swarm.

Perhaps I'm an idiot, but I'm glad I started with packages just for the experience of watching a hive grow from absolutely nothing into a booming hive. Sure a nuc would have been easier, but that is too much like just taking over for someone else. Of course, this is coming from someone who had all 3 packages my first year survive, one have a medium of surplus honey, and as of now (knock on wood) all are still alive. I may feel differently if my packages had failed.


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## mmiller (Jun 17, 2010)

Michael Palmer said:


> Mike, I've been touting making and wintering our own nucleus colonies, for years. There certainly isn't the availability of local nucs needed to supply the bees we need in our apiaries. And so, the use of packages continues to be the most abundant source for bees. The most abundant, but not necessarily the best.
> 
> That said, it's really up to you all to raise your own. Stop relying on someone else to raise you bees. Plenty have voiced their experiences, on these pages, to convince you. I have videos online to help with theory and setup. I don't know what else I can say or do. It's not difficult. It's lots of fun. The results are exceptional. You just have to do it...starting this year?


Michael,
I should have stated that I am overwintering 2 nucs this year following the amazing information you've posted here. I just want to add more. I wished I had produced more last year but I was nervous (who know why when you've proven success). This coming year I intend to more aggressive about it. 

Thanks for all of your info. You are a positive source for any beek willing to listen. 

Mike


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## libhart (Apr 22, 2010)

This is an excellent thread that has been discussed often before, but this time I thank Mr. Palmer for his timeline explanation instead of just a lot of people reporting how packages don't work and how the package producers don't let the queens lay long enough, etc, etc. The timeline explanation has good, biological science behind it. That said, I don't think anyone who's starting out will regret having all mediums, even if they have to start with packages. I'll also say that with the timeline explanation, I may suggest to my local club that we have those with the resources offer to sell 2 frames of brood+bees to those getting packages. I think that may be a good middle ground plan to help those packages along, giving the hive what it needs to care for the new brood the queen will produce while not requiring the new beekeepers to drive hours and hours to try to find a nuc. Can anyone see anything that might not work out with a plan like that? Thanks.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

T0ADMAN said:


> Perhaps I'm an idiot, but I'm glad I started with packages just for the experience of watching a hive grow from absolutely nothing into a booming hive.


No, certainly you're not and starting with packages is a excellent way to watch the evolution of a honeybee colony. The poster had a specific question which begged to be answered.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Acebird said:


> Point me to these videos please.


Thanks to MP being the generous soul that he is - you can see this presentation on the following website. Note that it is in two parts.
http://www.vimeo.com/23178333 

and Part 2
http://www.vimeo.com/23234196


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## rharlow (Mar 20, 2011)

I actually started with a package, and that was a good experience, but queen got superseded and eventually the hive went queenless and died. Currently am overwintering a Nuc and have an order in for another over-wintered Nuc. Was looking for one more over-wintered Nuc, and I ran across a nuc for sale here up north. When I asked if it was over-wintered, I was told no. If pickup is in April, then I highly doubt the queens are local, so queens must be being brought in from down south and added to the nuc. This is what got me thinking (always dangerous when that happens!). 

Didn't realize that it was the young nurse bees that were key!! Thank you once again Michael! So in order of highest probability of success, I would think it's over-wintered Nuc, Spring Nuc, Package with added frames of brood, and plain ole package. That sound right?


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## MethowKraig (Aug 21, 2011)

I am sorry to say that my experience with splits has not been all positive. 

Over the years, I have consistently imported disease; AFB and chalkbrood. I cannot be 100% certain the imported brood was always to blame because a five frame split immediately gets four more frames of my own. But I am pretty sure of it. Why else would disease only appear in those hives? It seems to me that commercial hives are exposed to so much territory, it is almost impossible for equipment from such operations to be completely clean. Running the numbers over three years of splits (aprox 50 splits, from two different sources), just over 5% haver been diseased. 

It is certainly true that splits/nucs build up faster. But I try and treat as little as possible and have never seen brood disease from a package.

"Met How" Kraig


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

For sure Methow I couldn't agree with you more. You have to know your source. But what if the nucs were from your own bees?


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Michael Palmer said:


> Thanks to MP being the generous soul that he is


Yes, you are and I thank you for that.


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## Rick55 (Aug 1, 2010)

How can I order mike palmer Nucs


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## Rick55 (Aug 1, 2010)

How do I order your Nucs


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Not this year Rick. I usually sell some, but after the miserable fall flow after a miserable summer, and a hurricane that wiped out the goldenrod, I think I'll be facing a re-building year. Some of the yards went into winter with small clusters and some had varroa issues. I'm also planning on using some to re-populate my mating nucs...which took the biggest hit of all, and some to harvest the 500 nucs we're planning on wintering in 12-13. I better hold on to what I have this year.


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## Adrian Quiney WI (Sep 14, 2007)

I'll second MP on the "fun" of making your own nucs. It is more satisfying me to open one of my five frame nucs and see a new queen laying up a frame than it is to sell honey.


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## DeeAnna (Nov 5, 2010)

Ummmm. Almost 6 GB of video ... much as I would like to view MP's lecture, it's not gonna happen. I'm on limited bandwidth and this would blow through over 1/3 of my monthly allocation. Dare I ask if there is a transcript or any lecture notes?


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

I haven't watched it either for the same reason. Maybe at the local WiFi?


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## rwurster (Oct 30, 2010)

Even without a bandwidth limitation 6 gigs is over the top. Same reason I've never watched it.


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## mmiller (Jun 17, 2010)

I watched it and am glad I did. Thanks for sharing it Michael.

Mike


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## winevines (Apr 7, 2007)

DeeAnna said:


> Ummmm. Almost 6 GB of video ... much as I would like to view MP's lecture, it's not gonna happen. I'm on limited bandwidth and this would blow through over 1/3 of my monthly allocation.


What's that saying... you can please some of the people some of the times..... 

The video is shot and posted in High Definition (HD) which is why it takes up so much bandwidth. There is a blue HD on the bottom right side of the video screen- you can click on that and that turns off the HD which should significantly reduce the amount of bandwidth needed to view. 
There is also couch mode (upper top right) but I am not sure what that does in terms of size. IF anyone knows, please share. Videos, even crappy videos, take up ginormous amounts of space. We opted for the better quality when we made and posted this and split it up in two parts. Honestly, I did not even realize folks had monthly bandwidth allocations. 

There is an older (2008?) version of a similar talk here: http://www.yulesapiaries.com/VideosandPics.html


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## Barry Digman (May 21, 2003)

I just finished watching the first part of the video on nucs. 

Listening to Michael Palmer makes me want to work harder to be a better beekeeper. 

I also inquired on our state beekeeping FB page about buying nucs. One gentleman is asking $175.00 per nuc and $130 for a 3lb package. Even more incentive to learn how to overwinter them myself.


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## ldaxon (Apr 14, 2010)

Got to put my two cents in with Toadman and adamant. Becaue of moving a lot, I have had to start beekeeping over 3 different times and used packages all 3. So much more fun. Seeing comb where there was none. Figuring out that the queen is in fact laying. Feeling like you have been part of the colony from the get go.

You know exactaly what has and has not been used on the frames, where the queen came from, etc.

And in 10 years I have never lost a hive. Don't understand why others seem to have trouble with packages.


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## Adrian Quiney WI (Sep 14, 2007)

With regard to the vimeo videos: I am very grateful that they are there as they say more than just a power point slide series by itself could. The way I see it is that without the vimeos I would not get to see MP as at present I am unable to afford to travel east far enough to see him, and I haven't seen that he has ventured this far west to lecture yet. In the meantime this is a good alternative.
On a similar vein I am glad that another poster put a link up to a Michael Bush podcost, I am saving this until tomorrow when my kids are in school and I can veg out in front of the computer in peace. Lets not forget that all of this is possible because of Beesource, thanks Barry.


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## toomanyhandles (Jun 24, 2009)

rharlow said:


> Didn't realize that it was the young nurse bees that were key!! Thank you once again Michael! So in order of highest probability of success, I would think it's over-wintered Nuc, Spring Nuc, Package with added frames of brood, and plain ole package. That sound right?


You will also find books and posts here that indicate if you start with a package, and then give them a frame of brood once in a while from another hive, you can often see the same end result as if you started with a nuc. Part of the reason is the big increase in the nurse bees to help the hive manage its growth.

That's what I found, using frames pulled from my observation hive (to make space) and adding them to packages off and on over the spring.

At this point in this long thread I forget if you have other hives to pull from, or not : )


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## Barry Digman (May 21, 2003)

Watched the 2nd of the two videos from Michael Palmer. 

The message isn't just about the choice between overwintered nucs and packages; it has to do with a sustainable approach to keeping bees that utilizes a system of self-reliance.

He discusses an interesting concept that I was only vaguely aware of but that make a lot of sense. That is the idea that all hives are not always "production" hives. I tend to treat my few hives as production hives all the time and perhaps that's not the correct practice. 

Watch the video. Well worth the time.

If you're a Georgia package producer you may just want to watch "Dancing With The Stars" or whatever is on these days...


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## winevines (Apr 7, 2007)

Barry Digman said:


> Watched the 2nd of the two videos from Michael Palmer.
> The message isn't just about the choice between overwintered nucs and packages; it has to do with a sustainable approach to keeping bees that utilizes a system of self-reliance.


Exactly. Did you notice the title of the talk? The Sustainable Apiary


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Take it one notch further, Sustainable Apiary in the North where queens and packages are not always available.


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## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

It's apples and Oranges. 
In an ideal world a good nuc is hands down better, but with a package you know what you are going to get. You have a greater chance of getting a very poor nuc than a light package, and because a package is sold on weight, you have grounds for a refund on a package that is light. Legally a Nuc only has to be 5 frames of drawn comb with a queen and bees it it... I would advise inspection of a nuc at the time of pickup... if you don't like what you see, ask for a different one... It is difficult to find somebody who will allow you to do that.


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## bhfury (Nov 25, 2008)

Michael Palmer said:


> http://www.vimeo.com/23178333 and Part 2 http://www.vimeo.com/23234196


Anyone else having problems loading videos? I would love to watch them, but having a hard time loading them.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

You buy packages by the weight of bees but nothing says they are alive or half dead when you get them.


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## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

Acebird said:


> You buy packages by the weight of bees but nothing says they are alive or half dead when you get them.


The sticker on the package says LIVE if you receive them through the mail .

Funny we don't hear about the 1000s of packages that show up dead every year? Better Bee is the only place I know of that would sell a dead package.


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## Nabber86 (Apr 15, 2009)

I think we are talking about 2 scenarios: Beginning beeks, and sustaining established apiaries. 
As a beginner, I was able to find overwintered nucs from a reputable local source. Part of the deal included talking face to face with the supplier, getting to inspect several nucs, and was then allowed to take my pick. Pretty good service if you ask me. I don’t like the idea of mail-order livestock, so I would only buy package bees if I couldn’t find anything locally.

As far as sustaining an existing apiary, nucs are all but out of the question. When I first started looking, a 5-frame nuc was going for about $75. Now they are $125, or more. I cant sustain that kind of expenditure on a regular basis. Besides, catching a few swarms each season (only a couple were mine) has provided me all the new bees that I need. I suppose if everything died out (been lucky so far), I would go out and get another nuc or 2 and start over.


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## Peakebrook (Apr 18, 2010)

Nabber, I think your missing the point. Sustainable is referring to beekeepers raising their own nucs....not buying them.


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

the big advantage of the nuc is you can see how well the queen is performing.


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## Barry Digman (May 21, 2003)

winevines said:


> Exactly. Did you notice the title of the talk? The Sustainable Apiary



I did, and that's the interesting part that tends to make the original questions moot in my mind. 

Rharlow's original questions were "... why is a non-overwintered nuc any better than a package?" and "wouldn't it be best to just buy a cheap package and the re-queen in summer with a "better" queen?"

The video and the detailed explanations it contains tend to answer both questions with the answer that:

a.) Nucs are best AND 
b.) we need to be producing our own nucs, not buying them. 


Thanks to you folks in Virginia and to Michael Palmer for your work.


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## Matt NY (Jan 14, 2006)

rharlow said:


> I actually started with a package, and that was a good experience, but queen got superseded and eventually the hive went queenless and died. Currently am overwintering a Nuc and have an order in for another over-wintered Nuc. Was looking for one more over-wintered Nuc, and I ran across a nuc for sale here up north. When I asked if it was over-wintered, I was told no. If pickup is in April, then I highly doubt the queens are local, so queens must be being brought in from down south and added to the nuc. This is what got me thinking (always dangerous when that happens!).
> 
> Didn't realize that it was the young nurse bees that were key!! Thank you once again Michael! So in order of highest probability of success, I would think it's over-wintered Nuc, Spring Nuc, Package with added frames of brood, and plain ole package. That sound right?


I believe that your rating is quite accurate. I'd be interested to hear from the more experienced folks as to a rating scale, 10 being an over wintered nuc and 1 being a package.

My thoughts:
Over wintered nuc, 10
Spring nuc, 6
Package with 1 frame added brood & frames of drawn comb, 5
Package with 1 frame of added brood and frames of foundation, 4
Package with frames of foundation, 1

What say the pundits?


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## Matt NY (Jan 14, 2006)

bluegrass said:


> The sticker on the package says LIVE if you receive them through the mail .
> 
> Funny we don't hear about the 1000s of packages that show up dead every year? Better Bee is the only place I know of that would sell a dead package.


Tell me what you know.

Did you see these dead packages?

Even if so, running down your competition is a poor practice.

I have heard enough to know that there is some trouble up in Greenwich, but this taking a little jab at my neighbor seems a bit low.


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## BMAC (Jun 23, 2009)

squarepeg said:


> the big advantage of the nuc is you can see how well the queen is performing.


 I couldn't have said it better myself. The problem I found with packages is the queens. Maybe I just bought a slew of bad package queens. Im not here to knock anyones package production but I know I can check the performance of a queen prior to purchasing a NUC. Now with that said what is an acceptable performance of a queen when you look at a NUC?

1 frame eggs
1 frame capped brood
1 frame uncapped brood?

Opinions?


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

One you make yourself or one you are buying? 

As a Nuc for Sale producer, I want to see at least three or four frames of brood in a 5 frame nuc w/ plenty of bees covering that brood, a laying queen of course, and brood, pollen and honey in the rest of the nuc, 6 weeks after making it up. I like beekeepers to pick out or approve of the one they want to take home w/ them.


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## Nabber86 (Apr 15, 2009)

sqkcrk said:


> One you make yourself or one you are buying?
> 
> I like beekeepers to pick out or approve of the one they want to take home w/ them.


That's what I was getting at. My supplier let me look at several nucs and even pointed out what was good and what wasnt so good (brood pattern, what breed of queen, ect.). That was a big help when I was starting out because I didnt know what I was looking at anyway. I learned a whole lot in those first 30 minutes of beekeeping. That's why I am sold on nucs. However if a supplier looks "shifty" and wont take the time to talk, that would turn me off. (And I do realize that a nuc supplier may be really busy and not want to talk too much, so both parties have to show a little discretion to make it work).


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Nabber86 said:


> and wont take the time to talk,


A beekeeper not willing to talk? Is there such a thing?


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## BMAC (Jun 23, 2009)

sqkcrk said:


> One you make yourself or one you are buying?
> 
> As a Nuc for Sale producer, I want to see at least three or four frames of brood in a 5 frame nuc w/ plenty of bees covering that brood, a laying queen of course, and brood, pollen and honey in the rest of the nuc, 6 weeks after making it up. I like beekeepers to pick out or approve of the one they want to take home w/ them.


Im with you. I just wanted to see what other folks think. I don't let anyone buy bees from me prior to going thru them going thru the colonies and approving of what they see or answer any questions they have before we load them up.


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## Nabber86 (Apr 15, 2009)

Acebird said:


> A beekeeper not willing to talk? Is there such a thing?


If I went barging into his bee yard and started telling him the 2,600+ things that I thought he was doing wrong, he may not want to talk. If fact, he may punch me in the nose.


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## BeeCurious (Aug 7, 2007)

Acebird said:


> A beekeeper not willing to talk? Is there such a thing?


There should be...

Acebird, You post more frequently than Michael Bush, and I would suggest that you have a very small (miniscule) fraction of his knowledge and experience. 

In your own words:

http://www.beesource.com/forums/sho...s-at-other-peoples-houses&p=747340#post747340



> Think about that. Who would pay me (Acebird) to mentor with two years experience? Alright, maybe somebody would but why should they when they could get 100 time better experience help from Beesource?


"could get 100 time better experience help from Beesource" if they could weed out the advice and opinions pulled out of one's hat!

Ben Brewcat, move over!


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## No-sage (Mar 14, 2009)

So when you pick up your nuc, how do you inspect it without your foragers leaving. I would assume very early morning or late evening?

For you NY guys, how long are queens in the nucs before they are sold? Are all the bee's in the nuc the product of the queen?


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## Nabber86 (Apr 15, 2009)

No-sage said:


> So when you pick up your nuc, how do you inspect it without your foragers leaving. I would assume very early morning or late evening?


As for timing, the guy usually tells me to come over and pick up the nuc in the evening. I load my box and exchange frames (if required) in my truck in the morning and then head over to pick up the nuc(s) after work.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

No-sage said:


> So when you pick up your nuc, how do you inspect it without your foragers leaving. I would assume very early morning or late evening?
> 
> For you NY guys, how long are queens in the nucs before they are sold? Are all the bee's in the nuc the product of the queen?


When I make my nucs I do so in SC in March and April. The March made nucs get queen cells. The April made nucs get Queens. I stop making nucs two weeks before loading them to travel back north to NY. So, some of the adult bees are progeny of the queens in the nucs. All? Probably not. Is that important? I don't know.

I like my nuc buyers to come before dark, early enuf to inspect their nuc, but late enuf so most of the field force is back when they load to take away. I also encourage people to bring their own equipment to transfer the nuc into. That way I don't have to chase down nuc boxes and the buyer doesn't have to return the box.


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## bhfury (Nov 25, 2008)

Acebird said:


> A beekeeper not willing to talk? Is there such a thing?


Yep, happens here too!!


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## BMAC (Jun 23, 2009)

No-sage said:


> For you NY guys, how long are queens in the nucs before they are sold? Are all the bee's in the nuc the product of the queen?


I make most my NUCs from cells. I like to leave them in there long enough to verify myself it has a good queen. Typically 3 weeks after the cell is set I will check and rebuild as needed. Like Mark I do use mated queens but not often. I prefer to use cells.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Where I got my nucs you drop off your hive and 4 to 6 weeks latter you pick it up in the evening. But the last time I brought the hive and he pulled frames out of another box and I went home with it and that turned out to be a strong hive. I think the important part is finding someone you can trust and knows what he is doing. Then it's a no brainer.

Oops there goes another post.

BTW nabber, I never felt threatened by Mark and he is a big guy.


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