Feed with capping

[alancooper]

Could I feed extraction cappings back to the bees by putting them into an eke (empty super) separated from the brood box by a board with a small (size?) hole in it? Would this result in honey being moved down into the brood box or result in a waxy mess in the eke (my past experience without a board)?

 

[Amari]

Could I feed extraction cappings back to the bees by putting them into an eke (empty super) separated from the brood box by a board with a small (size?) hole in it? Would this result in honey being moved down into the brood box or result in a waxy mess in the eke (my past experience without a board)?

Put the cappings into an English feeder or similar but remove the cup.

English Feeder

6 litre capacity rapid feeder for feeding syrup to bees. Cup allows feed to flow in but stops bees escaping into feeder. Will fit all standard hives.

www.thorne.co.uk

 

[Curly green finger's]

Could I feed extraction cappings back to the bees by putting them into an eke (empty super) separated from the brood box by a board with a small (size?) hole in it? Would this result in honey being moved down into the brood box or result in a waxy mess in the eke (my past experience without a board)?

No it works well Alan when there isn’t a flow on ,your cappings will end up being ready to melt down .

 

[ericbeaumont]

when there isn’t a flow on

This is the crucial part: try it when any sort of flow is on and they'll use the cappings to build comb and put nectar back in.

 

[alancooper]

No it works well Alan when there isn’t a flow on ,your cappings will end up being ready to melt down .

Thanks - and what size hole in the board?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes but beware you do often end up with the bees gluing everything together.
Why don’t you just wash the cappings and use the honey solution to make up your syrup.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Thanks - and what size hole in the board?

As small as possible ,not pin hole size 1 inch .
I use reversible cbs on some all season the ekes are 50 mm - 100mm and permanently attached so when you have finished hole gets sealed then insulation gets put back in the eke.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Would this result in honey being moved down into the brood box or result in a waxy mess in the eke

both.
I find it a pretty pointless exercise, only useful for someone with nothing else to do with their time, as, unless quickly cleared away after the bees clean it they just remodel the wax into all kinds of shape so when you come to melt it down it is no better than any other wax and will need filtering before using

 

[ericbeaumont]

Would this result in honey being moved down into the brood box or result in a waxy mess

They did both, Alan, when I gave heather comb off-cuts in a box feeder.

 

[Moobee]

Thanks - and what size hole in the board?

Old CDs work well - perfect sized hole

 

[rdartington]

both.
I find it a pretty pointless exercise, only useful for someone with nothing else to do with their time, as, unless quickly cleared away after the bees clean it they just remodel the wax into all kinds of shape so when you come to melt it down it is no better than any other wax and will need filtering before using

It is all so much simpler if you use a long deep hive. Just put Cappings to half fill a honey bucket and put that inside the hive body , right at the back, separate from the occupied frames but touching the hive walls. Bees clean out any honey but do not restructure the wax as much as they do-if the wax is right above the brood nest.