[Plannerwgp]

I will start feeding 2/1 syrup at the end of this month. I have never had a handle on the use of supplements but would appreciate some advice, as I need time to purchase. There are so many products on the market I can not differentiate between them. Also, what is the timing for the use of pollen patties?

 

[Hops Brewster]

Be very very careful with the use of supplements. Stuff like Honey-B-Healthy or other feeding supplements often cause robbing because they contain attractants like lemon grass oil. There may be some simple vitamin and mineral supplements that don't use any attractants, but I don't know what they are. There are various recipes on this forum for syrup with vitamins added that you can search for.
I don't use any supplements at all. Just plain old sugar syrup.

I throw on pollen sub near the end of winter. In my neighborhood, the January thaw or an early Feb day usually works out well to put on a sugar block if needed and some pollen sub right when the early stages of build up begins.

 

[Hogback Honey]

What Hops Brewster said. I too do not add Honey-B-Healthy, I did once, and yup, sure enough it brought on robbing. I make my sugar bricks, using a recipe from BS, and add them to the hives when I button them up for winter. In the past I've also given my hives, "Dadant Winter Patties", I've added one patty along with the sugar bricks when I button them up. In the spring I put out pollen substitute for my bees, when I see them getting into the hen scratch, and shavings in the horse stalls, sometimes that's as early as mid January.

 

[Robert Holcombe]

Pannerwrp: I feed 2:1 late October to exceed a certain weight; in my case 165lb. minimum for my winter configurations or 80 lb. net. All 10 hives are identical in size. I do not feed anything until the next Fall or if a significant drought occurs; last long summer drought was about 22 years ago and last Fall one ( very rare here) was three Falls ago.

I also heavily insulate and can go on vacations starting in early November.