Is two, better than one?

[Rich V]

My orginal plan was to start out with one hive. As luck would have it. I ment a beekeeper who was selling off some of his hives. I bought several  deeps, and supers. I now have enough for two hives.

Would I be smart to start two hives this spring,and have a better chance of making it through next winter, with more bees ? Or as a new beekeeper shall I keep to my orginal plan.

Whats your opinion ?

Rich V

[Jerrymac]

It is mentioned somewhere in these forums that it is better to start with two. That way if one of the queens should happen to vanish, you can get brood from other hive and they will make them a queen, or combine the two until you get another queen. Several options with two hives. No options if you have one hive and no brood.

Also if needed you can pull brood from a strong hive and place in a weaker one.

[Robo]

You should start with a minimum of 2.  With only one,  you have no others for comparison or for help if your hive runs into any unforseen circumstances.

[beemaster]

I never like to repeat what others say, but it is very true - having two hives allow you to gauge one against the other, which will quicly point out early mistakes that you or the hives are making - and make it much easier to correct quickly. A big issue is queen health or prolificity. You'll be amazed at the fast drawing out of comb in both hives if the queen is healthy, pheromonally controlant and prolific. A single hive gives you very little feedback, and operservation and knowledge is everything in the beeyard.

Two healthy queens, and equal number of workers with the same food sources and sugar-water supply SHOULD equally grow in bee count, brood count, foundation development, honey and nectar/pollen stores, etc..

If you notice any major differences in either hive, you can better correct a problem before it becomes a major one.

I've had a dozen hives and I've had only one - I'll gladly stick with 2 if given the chance to have hives for observational purposes. With just one hive (especially if new to the hobby) is not a good way to start, you just won't see any problems coming as easily as with two.

[Lesli]

One of my two colonies swarmed late last summer, so having a second colony to combine it with meant staying a beekeeper! I don't think the the number of bees left in the hive would have made it through the winter.

[Beth Kirkley]

And just incase you've been wondering......... two hives are very easy to care for. It's definately NOT too much work for a beginner. I only have 2 hives right now, after starting in the summer of 2003. I wish I had started with two or more hives, but my fear at the time (never having dealt with bees) was that it would be so much work that I couldn't handle it. Not the case at all.
I was also kind of scared of the bees when I started, and fasinated all at the same time. When I first saw those 2,000 + bees loose in the hive, I thought - oh boy, what am I doing. :) But I learned really quick how fun working with the bees was, and wanted more bees. But I had started my hive way late in the summer, past the time where I could buy any more packages.
Definately start with atleast two.

Beth

[Sting]

Twenty years ago, I started with one hive.

My advice to you is to go with two; just as all these good folks have suggested.

[asleitch]

Odd though it sounds, I'd be tempted to say have 3-4, and then roll back to 2 when you are happy. The advantages are: you have more hives to look through, so you don't go mad and open them up every day "just for a peek". You gain the experience when you need it - which is early on, you can sort out any problems with queens, you could end up with two rubbish hives, but it's unlikely you'll have 3 poor ones.

[Lesli]

I would agree that more than two is all right, too! But woodware etc. runs about $150 per hive, so it's not cheap to start so many.