Buying packaged bees vs buying a nuc

[Flyzone13]

Pros and cons of the two if anyone is willing to offer up any discussion of which would be better to start with and why.


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[Beeboy01]

Nucs are small hives with laying queens, brood and workers. They are hives ready to grow as soon as you get them. Package bees need time to draw out comb, have the queen lay and have the hive settle in. Both need to be fed and monitored for early queen failure and mite problems. If the prices for a nuc and a package is close i would recommend the nuc just because it will be more developed as a hive. Most nucs come from local breeders which could also be an advantage.
  I've had success and losses with both, if you buy nucs check with the state's agricultural department to see if the supplier has had problems with foul brood or other issues. I got burned a couple years ago with some nucs that came from a local commercial beekeeper, they were loaded with Varoa and Tracial mites, lost them all within 2 months and he would not replace them. Found out later from the state inspector the yard had problems. 
  All in all I would go with nucs and treat them for mites but buyer be ware

[Acebird]

If you actually buy a nuc that is a nuc you will be better off.  It decreases some of the timing requirements because the colony is already established.  One of the problems is greed where a beekeeper will install a package and sell it as a nuc.  An installed package is not a nuc so verify what you are getting before you make a deal.

[jimineycricket]

An installed package with two frames of brood stuck in is not a nuc ether. Do some research if you can.

[FlexMedia.tv]

I went with the package bees as a hobbyist because I thought I could learn better and have more of a hands on approach. Some people say nucs are easier?
Art

[Michael Bush]

All things being equal (and they seldom are) a nuc has a two or three week head start on a package.  But reality is much more complicated than that.  What size frames do you want them on?  What size cells do you want?  Do you want natural comb?  Do you want to put them in a top bar hive?  Or a Warre'?  If you can get the bees you want on the frames you want on the foundation you want and they are overwintered where you are, I would buy the nucs.  Otherwise I would buy the packages.