A poll for the people who raise their own queens

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rosie

I don't think you need buy mini-nucs either, although I do use a few myself. You can produce queen cells easily and if you only want to make increase for yourself you just need to make up small colonies by robbing frames of brood and nurses from your others and stick a queen cell in each one.

---

Good point Rosie beekeeping can be horribly expensive
My wife always says "I hope you are going to get enough honey to pay for that lot"
I'm usually too busy messing around to listen
"quiet woman" "where's that antihistimine is my only reply"

I'm with Jon on the 000 or 00 sable brushes...but how come art shops never have more than one and the size varies :D? The issue of robbing frames from strong colonies has come to a shuddering halt for me next season. I will be using nucs for providing frames of brood for nucs for raising queens: now I just need to make twenty more nucs before Spring - when pray tell is that going to happen. Cost? Yes, there's always cost (AKA you can never have too much kit...).

Hi susbees
For the 1-4 hive beekeper what do you recommend them to have for queen rearing kit
Does the nuc splitting method depend on getting some nucs through Winter ?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by susbees

I'm with Jon on the 000 or 00 sable brushes...but how come art shops never have more than one and the size varies :D

---

While watching the Tudor Farm last night on TV I saw them make a fine brush for illuminating religious manuscripts. I use a Swiss-type tool for grafting but if I used a brush I'm sure I would be making my own now with a feather, the way it was done in Tudor times.

That would almost make you a natural beekeeper Steve.
Run away on to biobees!

I thought there was no swearing tolerated on here!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rosie

While watching the Tudor Farm last night on TV I saw them make a fine brush for illuminating religious manuscripts. I use a Swiss-type tool for grafting but if I used a brush I'm sure I would be making my own now with a feather, the way it was done in Tudor times.

---

I saw that as well
My chickens are all nearly bald now
The brushes will be going on Ebay within a day or two :)

Do you know I saw that as well, and thought the feather brush would make a great grafting tool. I want to get hold of a goose wing for a bee brush, in London ha ha, and will reserve a feather from the wing to make a fine brush, if I do.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by beejazz

Do you know I saw that as well, and thought the feather brush would make a great grafting tool. I want to get hold of a goose wing for a bee brush, in London ha ha, and will reserve a feather from the wing to make a fine brush, if I do.

---

Aren't there hundreds of those Canada Geese messing up the Serpentine for the naked swimmers in Winter :)

No need to disturb the birds or naked swimmers in Hyde Park, a forumer has kindly offered to post me some!