Bees or Nucs for sale Perth

Hi, I know it is early but does anyone know of any decent breeders in the Perth area that have strong Nucs for sale at the moment. preferably looking for at least 5 frames +. Cheers.

I got mine from Guilfoyles in Bellevue. Beewise are also reputable for nucs. You have to book your nuc early as they will have a waiting list. I missed out the first year.

Another option is Gumtree, which should be cheaper but you have to trust the seller about queen, and temperament etc.

When I have nucs to sell I will be selling there and would prefer the buyer to actually come and inspect the bees, and I also want to make sure that I sell them to beekeepers that know how to care for bess. That’s my intention anyway.

There was an advert from Chittering Valley Honey in the WAAS newsletter. Still likely to be a month or so away from most suppliers

It is probably too early to get a nuc in Perth but definately not too early to order a nuc. Good advice already given from the others. Maybe others near Perth will be doing Spring splits and be able to supply to you at a good price.
Cheers

Thanks @Honeyeater, @AdamMaskew and @Peter48, Magick Planet have some at the moment with May Queens, he seems reputable and does it professionally, have you heard from him? I am ordering one from him and looking to get a second and thought it may be better to have two different suppliers. what are your thoughts on that or am I being overly cautious? Cheers

Word travels fast in bee keeping so you might ask some locals if they have had dealings with him or someone on the forum might know of him.
You can always have a nuc that doesn’t perform so if he is close by I wouldn’t worry about buying both from him.
Cheers

Definitely the wrong time for a nuc, I would advise against it. I understand you’re keen to start up but they’ll need to stay in the nuc hive until spring as the bees will not draw out comb now, it’s too cold and wet then when the bees do explode if still in the nuc box you’ll need to be on your toes coz they’ll be on their wings.
Both Honeyeater and I will have locally mated queen right nuc colonys for sale late spring considerably cheaper than commercial suppliers.
Also, I don’t think you have your hive yet so it still needs assembly and painting. Ideally you need to transfer the nuc colony to the brood box within a week.
Where in Perth are you?

Thanks guys, basically everything is pretty much in a hold pattern but is available. My plan is for around the end of August, dependent on when it starts to warm and flowers appear. Main reason is I wanted to get the jump on first hive with a Nuc when spring hits and most Nucs won’t be properly established to go until late spring.
Flow is due at EOM but was going to establish a standard brood box if it is not here in time.
Do you (Skeggley) or Honeyeater have pricing?

You describe an overwintered Nuc. I’d be tempted to get it to at this time of year knowing that I’ll have to look after it a bit. Depending on what the Nuc population and brood is like you may get more than a week or two to move it into a brood box. When moving it and there is no nectar flow you can feed to assist them in drawing out the comb until a flow starts. I’d use frames with foundation though.

Not sure if you have seen the new WAAS Best-Practice Guidelines for Urban Beekeepers www.waas.org.au but it may help you through some other stuff as well.

Adam

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Cheers Adam, This is my opinion and i could be wrong. I am not that worried about getting a Nuc this time of year, I was going to keep their feed up and have a brood box on hand. It is only going to get warmer and more forage as Spring nears. As I said, my opinion, but in this way (as long as I watch them) I am ready for Spring.

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Hi, I have just seen this discussion and it seems some people on here have not come across us, Magick Planet, before. We breed nucs and we supply our nucs to commercial as well as hobbyist beekeepers throughout Western Australia. If you would like to learn a bit more about us and our bees, please take a look at our website: www.magickplanet.com.au We are actually doing a series of videos at the moment, featuring 5 different style Langstroth Hives, including a Flow Hive. The Flow Hive has been generously donated by Flow Hive and this hive will be going to one lucky West Auatralian based beekeeper at the conclusion of our series. This is a link to our entry form for the Flow Hive lucky draw: https://magickplanet.com.au/2021-flow-hive-draw

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The top YouTube video in your link comes up as “Private” for me, but otherwise welcome to the Flow forum! :blush:

Dealt with Sonja and Eddie at Magick Planet, great to deal with and very helpful.

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