Do I need to remove fondant?

[BMH]

As an insurance policy, I placed a 6kg block of fondant on each of my hives.

They are all taking it down. Some faster than others.

They are all on brood and a half and feel pretty heavy.

Do I need to remove the fondant (about 60% left in most) in order for them to use their stores to make way for some space for brood or i can I just leave it there until I start to super up when the flows get going?

This is my first winter with bees so I'm not sure exactly what the process is.

Cheers.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

How much stores did they have before you plonked the fondant on?
If they are taking it down there's a good chance they have consumed their stores and are now feeding on fondant. But this is not always the case - bees have been known to store fondant - but not usually at this time of year.
Bit of a don't know situation really - there's no (or very little) nectar out there so if you whip the fondant away and leave them to it they could starve.
Weather's changing now so you could take the fondant off and feed 1:1 syrup
as a 'simulative' feed although I've never found it necessary to do this - unless you need to get your colony firing on all cylinders early on for OSR I find they get up to a good strength early enough on just their own stores or fondant.
Still leaves you in the same situation though - if they build up early and there's no forage out there, you will need to feed until there is.
My thoughts? leave as it is for now until the weather is a lot better and you can have a quick peek to appraise the situation.

 

[BMH]

cheers for the prompt reply.

Will do.

I guess if i wait until its a fair bit warmer I can actually get in there and see what the store situation is and then act appropriately.

My hive stands and ekes for feeding are all very different weights so its hard to get a benchmark for hefting the hives

 

[BeeJayBee]

My hive stands and ekes for feeding are all very different weights so its hard to get a benchmark for hefting the hives

For a quick check at this time of year just lift the back of the hive - put your hand so it lifts the floor upwards from the hive stand. If you need to use your whole hand to lift it then it's probably okay, but if the hive is light enough to lift with a couple of fingers then they will probably need feeding. This is assuming you aren't using ply hives, which are a lot heavier than either cedar or poly.