feeding fondant.

[reigate]

I have hefted one of my hives and found it is quite light. Should I now feed fondant as an emergency feed?

 

[Beefriendly]

Mine are still taking syrup and we are in North Yorkshire. Either should work, depends what's easiest for you.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I have hefted one of my hives and found it is quite light. Should I now feed fondant as an emergency feed?

I have one light hive too
They are a big colony and the warmth on the crown board is “toasty”
I’ve given them some more invert today
I’m sure they will continue to take it for long enough

 

[Swarm]

Another round of invert this weekend, not much coming in over the last few weeks of deluge and there doesn't look like a break in it. Plenty of time still left to feed them to a decent weight.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Another round of invert this weekend, not much coming in over the last few weeks of deluge and there doesn't look like a break in it. Plenty of time still left to feed them to a decent weight.

I'm still feeding syrup and to my surprise comb is being drawn .
I've continued syrup as I've a big colony and nucs that are still light.
This is at 450 metres on a hill .
I've 6 frame poly nucs weighing
1 9.8 kgs
2 11.2 kgs
3 10.6 kgs

I want my nucs to weigh 12.5/15kgs with 1 kg of fondant also included in the weight.

Double brood colonys are 45kgs all standard national hives and I weigh without the roof.
This is a minimum weight for my double brood.
Ill add this to the sticky thread of "hive weights"

 

[Ian123]

Feed them syrup and they should continue to take syrup until the first hard frosts, and even when we eventually get frosts if the weather improves after they will again take syrup.

 

[madasafish]

Our Association bees are still bringing in pollen but have hardly touched liquid feeds this week. We have stopped feeding , will let them finish feed left and remove feeders end October.

I am doing the same to my hives today. I will continue to feed liquid to a few nucs and fondant to mating nucs where I overwinter queens (the latter will continue every month into 2020.)

 

[thedozzer]

We are still feeding invert (syrup) to the bees, both hives have all ready taken 20ltrs each but both are 12 x 14 poly with a super underneath.
we fed them up to the end of November last year when they stopped flying regularly.
we use the 2 gallon miller feeders and its easy to seen when they are slowing down taking the invert.

 

[Erichalfbee]

We are still feeding invert (syrup) to the bees, both hives have all ready taken 20ltrs each but both are 12 x 14 poly with a super underneath.
we fed them up to the end of November last year when they stopped flying regularly.
we use the 2 gallon miller feeders and its easy to seen when they are slowing down taking the invert.

What was the state of play in the spring? Did you have to take stores out?

 

[thedozzer]

What was the state of play in the spring? Did you have to take stores out?

Hi Dani
we did have a little bit of invert in the first frame that we extracted, but it was a brood frame. they seem to stay a bit more active in the poly hives as we have another 50mm of kingspan under the roof so nearly 100mm in total including the poly roof!! they had used most of it.

 

[Vortex]

I don't liquid feed too much hassle.. fondant is just so much easier at any time of the year..

 

[Erichalfbee]

Hi Dani
we did have a little bit of invert in the first frame that we extracted, but it was a brood frame. they seem to stay a bit more active in the poly hives as we have another 50mm of kingspan under the roof so nearly 100mm in total including the poly roof!! they had used most of it.

You obviously got the feeding just right
My bees always do better in poly

 

[Bee Boys]

What poly hives do you use Erichalfbee?

 

[Erichalfbee]

What poly hives do you use Erichalfbee?

Swienty boxes with Abelo roofs and home made wooden floors, most with underfloor entrances
I have top space so I first tried no runners but the frames were difficult to move so I reinstated the runners and added a strip of poly to the top of the box.
Nucs, I like Maisie’s but I don’t like the bottom space so I use a polycarbonate crownboard with a beespace rim and deepen the roof.

 

[Lancs Lad]

Erichalfbee
I'm intrigued, I also don't like Maisies nuc roof how do you deepen the roof.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Erichalfbee
I'm intrigued, I also don't like Maisies nuc roof how do you deepen the roof.

Simply glue a strip of wood measured to take the depth of the crownboard to the edge
Paint and you can hardly tell the difference
It gets worse
I make another deeper roof out of 50mm PIR to cover the top of the whole thing for winter

 

[Lancs Lad]

Thanks

 

[Swarm]

These are the original roofs? The new ones are deeper.
My solution was to use a sheet of correx, folded etc with 50mm kingspan inside. The whole thing fits snuggly over the roof, with a decent overhang.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

These are the original roofs? The new ones are deeper.

Personally, I don't like the new roofs, I just leave the feeder on all winter which gives the added insulation everyone seems to crave.

 

[Swarm]

I found without the added insulation. there was a build up of condensation on the feeder window, directly above the cluster. They also came up and finished the invert they had left