BBKA Forum

British Beekeepers Association Official Forum 

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  • General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
 #10244  by SuesBees
 15 Mar 2021, 14:43
I am going to be a very new beekeeper. I hope to receive a nuc in May and look forward to any advice anyone can give me.
What should I look out for, what should I feed to a new nuc, are there any courses I should go as a beginner (I live in North Yorkshire near Hawes)?
 #10245  by Alfred
 15 Mar 2021, 15:46
Biggest bit of advice I can offer is to make sure you enjoy yourself -take care but don't treat it as some devout religion.
It's a rollercoaster ride of delight and dispair
At some point you'll get honey and at another you'll get stung.
You'll gain a colony and you'll lose one ( there are so many ways.....)
Rinse and repeat.
The internet is a noisy place to start ,with differing opinions and lots of heated slanging matches.Some bad advice and some American advice so steer clear of it all if you can for a while ,book a course or three at the local affiliate
and pick a good book such as the Haynes manual
This is the best forum you can turn to - avoid the other one for now.
 #10252  by Patrick
 15 Mar 2021, 19:06
Hi Sue

Welcome to the forum. Good advice from Alfred.

If you haven’t already, get your full hive sorted, so they are not left in the nuc too long and outgrow it. They shouldn’t want to swarm this year but may if they get too overcrowded. The nuc may not need feeding if the weather is okay, also be careful not to overfeed and fill the smaller box up.

Don’t feel obliged to rush out and buy lots of gadgets, the brochures are full of them. A quality full beesuit, hive tool and smoker are the only essentials. Your family and friends will be only too happy you have a new hobby they can buy you bits and bobs for.

You will see loads of different advice and techniques on the Internet. Keep it simple and don’t try too many bright ideas at once, otherwise both you and the bees may get confused 😁
 #10257  by SuesBees
 16 Mar 2021, 09:34
Thanks to both for your advice. I have my hive built and ready! At the moment it is sitting in my dining room. I am still waiting from my suit from Bee Equipment. It should have come with the beginners kit but they say they haven't got my size. Any suggestions where else I could get one.
 #10259  by AdamD
 16 Mar 2021, 09:50
Check your local beekeeping association for courses - although with covid, it may be difficult. The Norfolk Honey Company - Stuart Spinks - has lots of videos which cover a lot of the questions that you might need answering. Check back here though with questions! I have an expensive suit from BJ Sherrif as I use it a lot - I've found the cheaper ones don't last so well. I have a local Thornes agent nearby who has a few suits to try on - there may be one near you although they are not advertised anywhere as far as I know. (Thornes are probably the most established supplier - not sure if they are the biggest now). If you are not sure if you will get the bug of beekeeping, you can get a cheap suit for anywhere - say Simon the Beekeeper on eBay. If you then decide you want a better one, the cheap one can be a spare or used for guests as people will want to share the beekeeping experience with you. I prefer a fencing veil as it casts a smaller shadow when looking for eggs in a frame.