Feeders For The TBH

[Beesilly]

Hello,
I was just wondering on what type of feeder to use for a TBH. I like this idea:
http://nordykebeefarm.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=42&PN=1 .
Its easy to fill up, and you disturb the bees less. What do you TBH keepers use to feed your bees?

Also I was wondering... is there a diffrence b/w a boardman feeder and entrence feeder?
Thank you!
Beesilly

[Michael Bush]

Looks like a perfectly good plan. You could just put dry sugar on the bottom and spritz it with enough water to get it damp to keep them from thinking it's trash. You could also make a frame feeder.

[Heritage]

Mr. Bush, how do your girls seem to take the dry sugar?

[BerkeyDavid]

Best feeders for a TBH, IMO, is to make one yourself from a top bar. Very easy. Just take some 1/4 plywood and cut to size / shape of hive, less beespace.
Then make a strip of wood same width as the top bar for the sides and bottom, and then staple the plywood to te top bar, sides and bottom.

Before assemby, take some screen and make a ladder equal to the inside measurement so they can climb down to the syrup on the inside and out if they fall in.

Oh, and take some melted wax from a double boiler and pour it in the bottom and sides to seal up the thing BEFORe you tack on the top bar.

Drill entrance holes in one side just under the top bar, and then drill a fill hole in the top bar.

Make a cork for the top. Works great, you can fill it without opening the nest. Sometimes a single bee will crawl out. :)

I made three of them, somewhere I have some pictures. I took the idea from another web site somewhere a number of years ago.

WHen you are first starting with a new hive you put this about 1/3 of the way and then move it back like the follower board in your link as they build out the hive.

[drobbins]

I fed my Langstroth hives dry sugar this year and it worked very well
here's a short video clip

http://youtube.com/watch?v=jZYtGNa6S6c

you could easily modify it to any type hive

Dave

[Beesilly]

I like the frame feeder idea too... just a question, what is better to feed to bees, sugar or syrup? I would think you should use syrup to feed when you first get the bees in spring, and then use sugar in winter? Or does it not matter?
Thank you for the ideas!

[Michael Bush]

>I like the frame feeder idea too... just a question, what is better to feed to bees, sugar or syrup? I would think you should use syrup to feed when you first get the bees in spring, and then use sugar in winter? Or does it not matter?

Sugar is less likely to set off robbing. Syrup is more likely to get used. Syrup will be more usable directly where the sugar requires them to get enough water to dissolve it. They both have their advantages. The sugar will get eaten even in the cold and the syrup will only get eaten when it's warm.