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Feeding bees now?

2.9K views 17 replies 13 participants last post by  summersetretrievers  
#1 ·
I am a complete novice with one hive, so bear with me...

Should I be feeding my hive now? I've read different things...

We are in Southern Virginia and I left them 2 deep bodies full.

thanks
 
#4 ·
Joey Wahoo . . .

Lifting hive as iddee suggests and then guessing the weight is a good way to get a "ball-park" idea if hive has adequate food. This method is used by a lot of "experienced" beekeepers who have learned what a "full" hive feels like.

But, lacking experience, you may want to look for capped frames as Finman suggests.

A full deep frame that is capped will contain at least 5 lbs of honey. If you have 4 100% full frames, 4 50% full, and 2 maybe 10% full, how much (weight) do you have?
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[ November 27, 2006, 05:40 PM: Message edited by: Dave W ]
 
#6 ·
A simple pattern I use and similar to what Dave W mentioned above is to check the top chamber for stores by a quick open and look during November. I expect to see some honey at the tops of the center frames and apparent full frames of honey all the way to the sides. I then heft the colony to see if it weighs up to snuff. I expect to feel about 75 pounds at this time of year. This is about 35 pounds for the boxes and about 35 pounds of honey plus maybe 5 to 8 pounds of capped over pollen.

Dave's frames will be just about 25 pounds of honey. Why you say? Most people just added up the anticipated 5 pounds per frame full, 4 - 50%, 2 - 10% and got about 32 pounds. Wrong! Big Time. That colony has packed pollen into at least 1/4 of the cells that are capped with honey. When you subtract out the volume of the pollen, you have about 25 pounds of honey. Thats why its so important to not just guess based on visible capped honey.

2 years ago, I had a very very strong colony that was also extremely vicious. They were light weight going into winter with less than 20 pounds of honey in the hive. I had removed 2 full shallow supers but did not realize that they had stored most of their surplus in the supers leaving the 2 brood chambers very light. Since they were so hot, I decided to let nature take its course figuring they would be dead by spring. To my thorough surprise, that colony put out a strong foraging force in 50 degree temps when no other colony was flying. They brought in enough aster honey to make it through the winter. The next spring, they were my strongest colony and had to be split 3 times to prevent swarming.

Fusion
 
#7 ·
I think the unseasonably warm weather that many of us are experiencing is part of the concern. As a first year beekeeper, I'm still concerned. I fed in the fall because I had a hive that had replaced their queen in mid summer. With no previous experience to guide me, I kind of thought that the girls were doing OK. When the new queen got going, things took off. BUT....by then, the flow(s) had, for the most part, gone by. So...I fed....and fed. I stopped when I had two deeps full of syrup...top to bottom and front to back.

The weather stayed warm and the girls kept flying. Pollen kept coming in as did a little nectar. I threw a medium on top of the two deeps and they pulled about 4 frames before the first cold hit. Of those 4 frames, two were either partially filled, or filled and capped. I decided to leave the medium on, mainly because I couldn't decide what to do plus I had treated with Apistan so I couldn't take anything for myself anyway, even to sample.

Now, with the warm weather sticking around, I'm not sure of the protocol. Do bees eat MORE when it's warm or LESS? I was thinking that they need to generate heat when it's cold and would eat more. But, maybe they're more active when it's warm and need more honey.

So, lifting a super tells me that the thing is darned heavy. But, with the warm weather, will it be a LOT lighter a week from now, when the weather is possibly too cold for the girls to take syrup? Maybe I should anticipate what they need a week or two down the road and feed them now. We do that in the fall.....anticipate what they'll need for the winter...and act accordingly.

It seems that it would be easier if the weather had gone from warm to mild to cold...period. None of this extended, protracted, indian summer.

Bottom line for me is that my head tells me that I should try and feed, mainly because I can. My heart tells me that the girls will be OK so long as I check them early and often in the late winter / early spring, when stores are sure to be lower than they are right now and the colony will have lots of new and hungry mouths to feed.

Thoughts?
 
#8 ·
>Bottom line for me is that my head tells me that I should try and feed, mainly because I can. My heart tells me that the girls will be OK so long as I check them early and often in the late winter / early spring, when stores are sure to be lower than they are right now and the colony will have lots of new and hungry mouths to feed.

Go by the weight of the hive. Not your heart or your head.
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#14 ·
When using a top feeder how late into the year would you leave it on? It's been so warm with bee's flying around we figured we better give them something. First put out wet cappings for them to clean honey off of and then put on top feeders. Now weather is turning cold I think snow for tomorrow after 65 earlier in week. Can/should you leave the top feeder for duration of winter on or do we need to pull them off now that it's getting cold?
Cindy
 
#15 ·
In really cold weather, having a hive top feeder on seems kind of pointless. The bees won't be able to leave the cluster to use the feeder. Although, I don't suppose it would hurt anything and if you got a nice January thaw they might get up there.

I'm trying Mountaincamp's method of dry sugar on the top bars of a hive that ended the year kind of weak. If they make it, good. If they don't, it was at least worth a try.
 
#16 ·
Hi Gyus! You are nursing too much

1) recommendation: When bees have food stores, let them consume it firts and do not disturb their winter rets.

2) Learn to see when food store is too near to end. First I lift the hive corner and try how heavy it is. It it is light I open the inner cover and look do I see cappings in upper parts of frames. Main food store may be in lower box and I feel it by weighting.

3) For emercengy feeding you may pour 1:2 SYRUP right into combs and then you put whole box of filled combs under the wintering box. Bees lift syrup in the center of hive.

4) VAIN FEEDING I have killed many big hives when I have feeded too much too late. Bee are not able to cap syrup, it begins to fermentize, bees get ill and whole winter ball come out with their stomach pains and will be dead outside the hive.

BUT NOTICE: DO NOT FEED DURING WINTER IF THEY HAVE FOOD STORES. THEY ARE NOT BABIES WHO NEED TIT EVERY DAY.

AFTER CLEANSING FLIGHT IT IS SAFE TO FEED WITH SYRUP.

BEES NEED ALL THE TIME AT LEAST 10 LBS FOOD RESERVE. WHEN YOU FEED, GIVE THAT AMOUNT IN ONE TIME.


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#17 ·
<THEY ARE NOT BABIES WHO NEED TIT EVERY DAY.>

I couldn't have said or even thunk it better, bwaaaa haaa haa, Finman! You da man! I love reading your wisdom, I can see you've been there done that, in every post, always. I know its a long shot but I'd like to meet you some day.

I gotta wonder why the big deal about feed feed feed. Is honey such a valuable commodity that a good supply can't be left on the colony? Maybe I don't get it, maybe I don't care enough about keeping the honey. Feeding is too much work. Why not check on the hives in early Oct, beef up with capped honey or feed a few gallons if needed, then leave them alone 'til Feruary? Repair the boxes, build new frames, make some mead, forget the bees man we're into December!

[ November 30, 2006, 11:05 PM: Message edited by: wade ]