# Carniolans from Koehnen?



## SamG347 (Oct 17, 2009)

Anyone have and or using this line of Carniolan? They are bred I guess with Cordovan drones. I'm getting two queens here soon. Just wondering if anyone is using them and if you have pics of the queen...offspring...brood pattern please post!
Thanks!
:thumbsup:


----------



## Scott Allen (Apr 2, 2010)

Just got my Carniolans 3 weeks ago. Most doscile bees I've ever seen. I even mowed around the hive and they didn't get too riled. They seem to be working hard too. No pictures or anything yet. Good luck!

Scott


----------



## BeeCurious (Aug 7, 2007)

I bought two last year and they did well. One was injured in an early Spring inspection, but the other is still with me and doing fine.

Sorry but I don't have a photo...


----------



## alpha6 (May 12, 2008)

I ordered 200 of them this year from them as I opted not to go with half of them Italians like I usually do. (We find that the Italians don't shut down in time for winter which leads to very light hives going into winter. Depending on your area it may not effect you.) Their Carnis do very well. Build up quick, nice brood patterns, good acceptance. I have a couple of boomer queens in the bunch. One produces a drawer of pollen a week and already has four supers on. (Most are just finishing their first or good ones on their second.) As a side note, their Italians are also excellent. The queens are huge and they lay like there is no tomorrow. I have some that are in their second season and they are laying like they are new queens. Like I said their only problem is they build up huge populations and are great honey producers but are late in shutting down. 

Here is a pic of one of my Koehnen Carni Hives from Last year.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/4709138454/


----------



## SamG347 (Oct 17, 2009)

Awesome guys thanks! Are any of you going treatment free? I'm anxious to see how they will do with this.


----------



## denny (Aug 2, 2006)

I purchased 17 of Koehnen's Carni queens this year, and received 18. As it turned out, one of the queens had a bad rear leg, and the bees are superceding her. I think Koehnen gave me another queen with the order for that reason. I'm very pleased with all the rest. They mostly went to work right away and layed eggs in every possible cell made available.

Sam,...I wasn't aware that they're bred with Cordovan drones. Interesting. 

alpha6,..that's a nice stack of boxes your Carnis built up! 

Here's a photo of one of my new Koehnen Carnis......


----------



## alpha6 (May 12, 2008)

SamG347 said:


> Awesome guys thanks! Are any of you going treatment free? I'm anxious to see how they will do with this.


I treat with EO's only.


----------



## SamG347 (Oct 17, 2009)

Well they will be here in the morning!


----------



## Skybolt (Jul 6, 2009)

I bought 3 packages from Koehnen this year and have been very pleased. The queens are big and fat and lay like mad. I had to delay the delivery by a week because of surprise surgery and they were very helpful. The only draw back I had was the cost of shipping to Indiana. Which Isn't their fault

I would definitely do business with them again

David


----------



## khaas15 (Feb 17, 2010)

Here is a video of my brother and me introducing koehnen queen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5igavPNOBs


----------



## SamG347 (Oct 17, 2009)

Well they are here and both got excepted as soon as the cage hit the top of the frames. I will check later this evening on them. Wouldn't doubt if both queens will be out by the same time tomorrow. Now I've got a pretty diverse apiary..have some...

PA mutt queens
Italian souther stock
Carniolan Cali stock

:thumbsup:


----------



## Rob Renneker (Aug 7, 2006)

I bought 10 of them last year and introduced them into splits I made in June. They all wintered well and produced a nice honey crop.


----------



## bhfury (Nov 25, 2008)

Are they hygienic? I've heard stories that they were and I've heard stories they weren't and they don't breed any hygienic queens. Maybe some can clear this up.


----------



## toomanyhandles (Jun 24, 2009)

I have these same sourced Carni's in an observation hive. 

I don't know what is officially hygenic : ). Compared to the italians I have kept in there the previous 3 years (2 different purchased queens) there seem to be noticeably more "cleaning stations" set up with these Carnis. 

FWIW/ YMMV.


----------



## MeadFarm (Nov 4, 2009)

We've received 6 Carniolan and six Italian packages from Koehnen this year. They are all doing fine with no treatment. The Carni's are quite a bit slower to build up than the Italians. Some Carni colonies are less than 1/3 the size of the most productive Italians. THough they are docile and the queens are easy to see!
We had problems with two of the queens and Koehnen's sent new ones free of charge the next day - no questions asked. Customer service is outstanding.


----------



## MeadFarm (Nov 4, 2009)

bhfury said:


> Are they hygienic? I've heard stories that they were and I've heard stories they weren't and they don't breed any hygienic queens. Maybe some can clear this up.


Koehnen's was recommended to me by Marla Spivak from the University of Minn. She has done extensive research on hygienic behavior and her quote was "I LOVE Koehnen's queens!" She has a few other suppliers that she recommends as well. She's worth contacting.


----------

