Pollen Patties

[Matz]

With this winter we've been having in central Canada I'm tempted to start slapping on the pollen patties for spring build up. I know its early, too bad temps are so unpredictable from 0C to -30C. Guess I'll be waiting another month or so. Can anyone remember the recipe for patties? I know its brewers yeast, soy flour, sugar and crisco, but what amounts?

[Michael Bush]

My favorite is pollen mixed with enough honey to make a thick "dough" and pressed between waxed paper. If I don't have enough pollen I'll mix some expeller processed soy flour. smile.gif

Sorry I don't have a recipe that doesn't use pollen.

[LaRae]

Are there some negatives to using a pollen substitute?


LaRae

[Michael Bush]

The bees raised on real pollen live longer and are healthier. There are plenty of studies to support that. Real pollen and substitute mixed seem to do pretty well, since the real fills the gaps in the substitute. The substitute is probably better than nothing as it at least stimulates brood rearing and real pollen usually starts coming in shortly afterwards anyway.

[Aspera]

This is what I'm using (by dry weight):

4 parts white cane sugar
3 parts low salt yeast (torula, powdered brewer's, or feed)
3 parts soy flour (finely ground from lightly toasted beans if possible)
1 part no fat powered skim milk
1 part dried egg powder

add foulbrood free honey diluted in warm water and mix to the consistancy of peanut butter

[LaRae]

Well the reason I ask....it is unbelieveably dry here....and unseasonably warm. There is nothing for the bees to gather.

I'm feeding them now. However my concern is for a few months from now (spring) and if this drought continues...what I'm going to do or have to do to keep my bees alive.


LaRae

[Michael Bush]

Mine are gathering the grain dust in the feed buckets. I think the pollen substitute is an improvement over that. smile.gif

[DChap]

any thoughts on the Global patties ?

Blessed be
Doug

[peggjam]

I'm trying some Bee-Pro patties this year. I've never fed patties before so I'll let you know how it goes.

[chillardbee]

In the past i used nothing but brewers yeast for my patties. I would mix up one to one syrup then add the brewers yeast until you got a nice thick dough. A couple years later after i read the alberta beekeepers manual it had in there where they added anise or fennel oil to the syrup before mixing in the brewers yeast so i started that and noticed a diffinate improvement in there ability to eat the patties faster(this saves the patties from going bad if left on to long). the anise or fennle oil has a black licorice smell and is a appetite stimulant to the bees, kind of like walking into your favorate pizzaria when stark hungry. when the product beepro can out for the first time we started using that in place of brewers yeast and noticed that it worked better and i've been using beepro ever since.

Then along came caspian solution. I mix a batch of caspian up and add more pollen and honey than usual along with anise oil, then i add the beepro until i reach a nice stiff dough, then i roll them in forming sticks to get a nice 3/8 patty.

I've already fed 1/2 pound patties on the 20 of january and the patties are gone or just about, the next patties wiil be fed on the fourth of february with more caspian fed as well. There's still a chance that we could get a cold snap but the clusters in the hives are huge and don't think that they'll be affected by it. I've been feeding dry sugar as well and that helps the bees by giving them energy to keep the hive warm as well.

for making patties though, It's nice to be able to get the liquid part of your mixture as mix and the sugar disolved as possible so the beepro or brewers yeast doughs up nicer.

[WG Bee Farm]

I have used Global Patties for the last 3 years. They are convenient, cost effective, and the bees go after them. Approx. protein value is in the range of 17%.
I use them in the early spring for build up, for raising queens and for fall boast. (to make sure I have good, healthy winter bees)

[Matz]

Maybe I'll just save myself the hassle and go to local Beemaid for patties. There only $1.10Can anyway, well atleast that was the prices last year. Must be some sweet weather on the coast Chillard, I'm jealous. What were the temps like when you started putting patties on? Thanks for the info everyone...

[BULLSEYE BILL]

I use Bee-Pro patties every spring. I usually start mid to late Febuary when I start the 1-1 feeding.

Up until that time I keep the dry pollen out for the bees just to keep them off the horse feed.

[Finman]

I make dough with dough machine.

3 kg dry pollen
0,7 litre water to soften pollen over night
3 kg yeast
2 kg soya flour
1 kg heated honey (liguid)
1 kg flour sugar
___________________
10,7 total

28% pollen

If dough is too wet, add soya flour and balance the mixture with it.

Then I roll the paste between two dough paper to 5-8 mm plate and give it to the top bars of frame. During one week 2 super colony can eat 0,5-1 kg that dough. New born bees eat it very eargerly.

Near 20% pollen all colonies are not willing to eat dough.

Dough will be in condition at least 3 weeks in cold. The flour sugar add the content of sugar and stops yeast fermentation.