Advice: when to swap fondant over!

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Chris Tel

New Bee
Joined
Jul 26, 2011
Messages
25
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Location
Birmingham
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
18
Hi All,
After all the bad weather and posts I've read I thought I'd better start checking my colonies a little more frequently than once a week. All colonies have fondant in take away tub above CB. Noticed that a couple are runnign low on fondant and would like to change it over to a fresh tub but can't because the old tub is still full of bees eating the last of the fondant. I even tried first thing this morning (6am) but alas lots of them still in there. What shall I do? Shall I risk waiting for the fondant to be eaten completely and then hopefully they won't be in the tub and I can get another tub on...?
 
Good idea to have two feeding holes next year! Can you fit two tubs side by side each covering half of the hole?
E
 
wait until they've finished that one then swap - any bees left in the tub can be shaken out onto the alighting board. a tub of fondant should last more than a week anyway, so if you have a tub half full on your hives, a weekly check is more than ample, especially in this cold weather
 
Presuming your feeder hole is in the centre.
What I do is put the new fondant next to the old one and then slide both so that each have a half share in the feeding hole.
Now your cut out EPS won't fit so substitute it with a cushion. I find the polyester type with the cover taken off works well, especially as it is squashed down by the crown board.
The advantage of this over a second feeder hole is that the bees are already there.
 
Saw this tip somewhere? If you cut out a feed-hole shape from the bottom of a container, that way you can add more fondant when needed through the lid without disturbing the bees.
The container sits in Xtratherm insulation with another small piece on top of the lid. I'm not sure the bees would come up to the fondant in this freezing weather without the benefit of insulation.
 
Last edited:
Saw this tip somewhere? If you cut out a feed-hole shape from the bottom of a container, that way you can add more fondant when needed through the lid without disturbing the bees.
The container sits in Xtratherm insulation with another small piece on top of the lid. I'm not sure the bees would come up to the fondant in this freezing weather without the benefit of insulation.

similar, i use a container as a mold for the fondant which is in a poly bag or lined with cling film..i can lift the container off the fondant in the cling film/poly bag, slit the plastic/cling film and place another opened container on top
 
similar, i use a container as a mold for the fondant which is in a poly bag or lined with cling film..i can lift the container off the fondant in the cling film/poly bag, slit the plastic/cling film and place another opened container on top

Thanks, MM and Suzi Q for your lateral thinking. Your solutions to adding fondant/pollen patties once the bees had taken the previous offerings had not even occured to me....my bees will be grateful, too !
 
Thanks, MM and Suzi Q for your lateral thinking. Your solutions to adding fondant/pollen patties once the bees had taken the previous offerings had not even occured to me....my bees will be grateful, too !

Have to fess up, not my lateral thinking! Got the idea from this forum, or t'other one. For feeding fondant in a container over a feedhole it is the best way, I think, cuts out the problem of squashed/escaping bees.
 
Hi All,
... a couple are runnign low on fondant and would like to change it over to a fresh tub but can't because the old tub is still full of bees ...

I've been restocking fondant on my hives even when the bees are in the fondant tub. It's tricky, but if you're quick, very few bees will fly out. I have a smoker ready to help should I need it. Mostly I just need to lift one side of the tub slightly and quickly slide another piece of candy underneath. The few bees that escape I can usually just flick back into the tub. The colonies all react differently, but generally the bees stay put and don't fly about.

... you cut out a feed-hole shape from the bottom of a container, that way you can add more fondant when needed through the lid without disturbing the bees. ...

I'll remember that tip for next year.

Kitta
 

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