frame feeder question/comment

[billybee123]

Do many people use frame feeders? Ive had past problems with bees getting diahrea which I suspect was due to overly concentrated sugar water past years. I now use 2:1 dry volume. Last year I used 1/3 water and kept adding sugar to fill bottle which is not the same. I only now installed the frame feeders and found bees defensive about removing frame of full honey. They do have 2 brood chambers to overwinter in.
Banging on feeder to wedge the frame in did not help. redface.gif I am also trying the external chicken feeder with stones method of feeding as well. :cool: I only noticed yesterday the bees attracted to this feeder for the first time in 3 weeks. They actually emptied the 5 litres in 5 hours! :D Is it due to having got the taste for sugar water that is in their frame feeder? I dont believe it is too early to be feeding bees, how often should I expect to refill it/top it off? Every 2 weeks maybe?

[Michael Bush]

>Do many people use frame feeders?

I still have some in use.

>Ive had past problems with bees getting diahrea which I suspect was due to overly concentrated sugar water past years. I now use 2:1 dry volume.

2:1 would be good. But heavier would not give them diahrea.

>Last year I used 1/3 water and kept adding sugar to fill bottle which is not the same.

No, it's not.

> I only now installed the frame feeders and found bees defensive about removing frame of full honey.

Do you blame them? Actually it's just because there probably is no nectar right now.

> They do have 2 brood chambers to overwinter in.
Banging on feeder to wedge the frame in did not help.

Most frame feeders actually take up 1 and 1/2 frames, so you end up removing two frames. They also need a float in them if you want to not drown a lot of bees.

> I am also trying the external chicken feeder with stones method of feeding as well. I only noticed yesterday the bees attracted to this feeder for the first time in 3 weeks. They actually emptied the 5 litres in 5 hours!

On a warm day they can suck it up.

>Is it due to having got the taste for sugar water that is in their frame feeder?

It's the weather and no nectar.

> I dont believe it is too early to be feeding bees

Not at all.

> how often should I expect to refill it/top it off? Every 2 weeks maybe?

The amount they will take down when the syrup is warm and the day is warm is huge. The amount they will take when the syrup is cold and the weather is cool, is none. There is no way to predict how much they will take.

[chillardbee]

this is the second year i've used frame feeders. they hold somewhere around a gallon of feed and very light hives might need 3-4 feeds and depending on the weather and especialy when it starts getting cooler outside the feed up take by the bees slows. i keep the feeders in year round and find that they fill up with debris fast and in some occasions fill up with water (this won't happen if your using telescoping lids)and bees will draw wax in them and some point and perhaps put honey in it and displaces a lot of syrup unless you cut it out. but a feeder full of debri and water can start smelling worse then any septic tank you ever smelt. the plastic frame feeders are affordable but so are the 3 gallon pails which i'll be converting to, they don't fill up with debri, one feed is good enough and the syrup is available right above the cluster, the only draw back on pials is the possible or inevitable propolisation of the screens. next year i'll probably sell my frame feeders.