Feed additive

[LeaBees]

A fellow local new beekeeper highlighted this to me as recently being offered to him from T's.
Mineral Bee
Worth discussing? I'm sure a lot of new (and probably experienced) keepers are thinking about ways to get colonies through as best as possible. More snake-oil or not?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

snake oil - another thing to gull the gullible

 

[Erichalfbee]

I wouldn’t use it but I don’t suppose it will do any harm

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

don’t suppose it will do any harm

won't do much good either

 

[Erichalfbee]

Some folk like to give their bees treats.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

yerrrrrrs.......................................

 

[madasafish]

The mud in the next door field is fertilised by cows and treated by my bees as a treat.
Would the Thornes feed be better?

" Cattle manure is a good source of nutrients, such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sulfur (S), and magnesium (Mg) coming from livestock diets, as well as other trace elements. "
https://www.google.com/search?q=min...rome..69i57.6228j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

[Erichalfbee]

The mud in the next door field is fertilised by cows and treated by my bees as a treat.
Would the Thornes feed be better?

I bet it smells nicer?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

But what does it taste like?

 

[pargyle]

I sell a far superior product...all the minerals your bees require ... simply add a few drops to a dish of water and leave it out in your apiary .... your bees will love it and their coats will shine like you've never seen. Brings queens back into lay, double your honey crop and reduces swarming...a snip at £5 a bottle inc postage .... argyles elixir of cow dung .....

 

[user 819]

Only feed additive needed is thymol solution to stop mixed sugar solution forming mould.

 

[Michael ECB's]

I have not been very active here recently as I have realised how very different bee keeping is your side.... Actually even here in SA many of our bee keepers are in my opinion stuck in their old ways... Not thats wrong, if its not broken dont fix it....
However, Im a farmer and look at things differently. (Not a bee farmer!)
Our beef cattle dont have to be fed mineral licks during winter but if I do, breeding season is a huge success as they are in peak condition...
I look at bees the same, why not?
Over the years bees have shown me that they do require additional feedstuff during the year and ifg they have access to these "foodstuffs" they thrive.
I have an AD plant and feed a lot of waste from the food manufacturing side, I notices bees tucking into milk powders, then flour, then powdered egg yolk as well as spilt syrup etc,,, I also keep fish fingerlings for stocking of dams on our properties, once fish were stocked I always washed out the 1000 L flowbins with salt - The bees loved this water... Then some of the neglected ponds turned green, thick algae growing on the surface and once again, the bees loved this... Why?
I purchased a 50kg back of top grade soya bean, milled it down into a very fine powder, mixed in brewers yeast, powdered egg, milk powder and a vitamin and mineral pack designed for livestock feed additive.... Mixed it together and the bees love it. they dive bomb into it doing little donuts until completely covered.

Fortunately I do not have the same challenges you guys have with regards to diseases etc... I open feed this powder along with 1:1 sugar syrup and my colonies explode in numbers..

Given the perfect condition, you will be shocked at how fast a 5 frame nuc can turn into a double 10 frame brood...

Please dont get me wrong, different strokes for different folks......
I think if I was a bee keeper in the UK I may be shot,,,, or told off as I have been here before..... LOL!
Food for thought perhaps???
Nudge nudge - wink wink

That said, I do enjoy reading posts here, especially how often some you guys inspect hives.... Good lord..... I donty have that sort of time....
In closing - thanks for a great forum, reminds me every day of how fortunate I am to do what I do..

 

[Newbeeneil]

I sell a far superior product...all the minerals your bees require ... simply add a few drops to a dish of water and leave it out in your apiary .... your bees will love it and their coats will shine like you've never seen. Brings queens back into lay, double your honey crop and reduces swarming...a snip at £5 a bottle inc postage .... argyles elixir of cow dung .....

Can I have a couple of bottles Philip? Can't resist a bargain!

 

[user 819]

A lot of us are hobbyist's Michael and not bee farmers, some are semi commercial but not as the main income earner. Like my self I have time on my hands as I am semi retired (though not a retirement age), I can choose mostly when to look at the bees usually on weekly - fortnightly basis April to August then I back off to fortnight or three week basic checks.
The other reason here for more frequent checks is the close proximity/density of housing and the possibility of disease which is never far away, esp EFB.

 

[Worldsend]

I have not been very active here recently as I have realised how very different bee keeping is your side.... Actually even here in SA many of our bee keepers are in my opinion stuck in their old ways... Not thats wrong, if its not broken dont fix it....
However, Im a farmer and look at things differently. (Not a bee farmer!)
Our beef cattle dont have to be fed mineral licks during winter but if I do, breeding season is a huge success as they are in peak condition...
I look at bees the same, why not?
Over the years bees have shown me that they do require additional feedstuff during the year and ifg they have access to these "foodstuffs" they thrive.
I have an AD plant and feed a lot of waste from the food manufacturing side, I notices bees tucking into milk powders, then flour, then powdered egg yolk as well as spilt syrup etc,,, I also keep fish fingerlings for stocking of dams on our properties, once fish were stocked I always washed out the 1000 L flowbins with salt - The bees loved this water... Then some of the neglected ponds turned green, thick algae growing on the surface and once again, the bees loved this... Why?
I purchased a 50kg back of top grade soya bean, milled it down into a very fine powder, mixed in brewers yeast, powdered egg, milk powder and a vitamin and mineral pack designed for livestock feed additive.... Mixed it together and the bees love it. they dive bomb into it doing little donuts until completely covered.

Fortunately I do not have the same challenges you guys have with regards to diseases etc... I open feed this powder along with 1:1 sugar syrup and my colonies explode in numbers..

Given the perfect condition, you will be shocked at how fast a 5 frame nuc can turn into a double 10 frame brood...

Please dont get me wrong, different strokes for different folks......
I think if I was a bee keeper in the UK I may be shot,,,, or told off as I have been here before..... LOL!
Food for thought perhaps???
Nudge nudge - wink wink

That said, I do enjoy reading posts here, especially how often some you guys inspect hives.... Good lord..... I donty have that sort of time....
In closing - thanks for a great forum, reminds me every day of how fortunate I am to do what I do..

Open feeding yikes another debate....

 

[Michael ECB's]

Open feeding yikes another debate....

Here's about 200 kgs of 1:1 syrup going out tomorrow and Saturday to apiaries.... NB! 3 of them are for wild colonies that always take such good care of our mountain flora, its my thank you and down payment for this seasons work... Just to help them along - just a bit.....

 

[Michael ECB's]

A lot of us are hobbyist's Michael and not bee farmers, some are semi commercial but not as the main income earner. Like my self I have time on my hands as I am semi retired (though not a retirement age), I can choose mostly when to look at the bees usually on weekly - fortnightly basis April to August then I back off to fortnight or three week basic checks.
The other reason here for more frequent checks is the close proximity/density of housing and the possibility of disease which is never far away, esp EFB.

I sometimes wish I had the time to check up more, I remember how fascinating it was in the beginning, explaining to my son, scratching and fiddling in boxes.
Busy setting up a new apiary on my sons farm not to far away, so hopefully he will be taking over soon....
Truth be told, when I do have the time I choose other things... Cold beer - putting my feet up etc etc...
Re diseases..... We do have some nasties here in SA but we are very fortunate here in the rural areas, mountains surrounded by desert like open veld....
Blessed in some ways I suppose... Im aware I d get away with murder though.... supervised neglect is what my bee keeping falls under....
SUPERVISED NEGLECT.

 

[bobba]

I sell a far superior product...all the minerals your bees require ... simply add a few drops to a dish of water and leave it out in your apiary .... your bees will love it and their coats will shine like you've never seen. Brings queens back into lay, double your honey crop and reduces swarming...a snip at £5 a bottle inc postage .... argyles elixir of cow dung .....

I will take a bottle - PM Sent.

I finally tried that magic feather you sent me. I tried it on my wife!

It worked perfectly I was able to remove the bees from her with no problems.