Feeding Foundationless Colony

[Fellstoflats]

A question for the foundationless afficionados.

I've taken a foray into the world of foundationless this summer, hiving two swarms on foundationless frames, mixed with a few drawn frames to keep them straight.

Two queries!

- One hive is reluctant to draw the right hand panels on all the frames. No obvious reason, hive is level etc. Frames are warm way. Any ideas?

- Secondly, is it worth feeding to encourage them to draw the frames? I'm in Oxfordshire, so weather good, and a reasonable flow is on, but wondering if it's worth feeding to encourage them to build out the frames.

Any tips welcome!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Turn the frames round?

 

[blackcloud]

They may not feel they need the space
Reduce the amount of frames until they figure it out. Use fat kingspan blocks then remove them as required

 

[Fellstoflats]

Turn the frames round?

I've done that- they carried on regardless!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Will they squeeze into a poly nuc?

 

[Fellstoflats]

Will they squeeze into a poly nuc?

Don't think so- I had them dummied down to five frames in the BB, and foolishly opened them out rather than forced them to draw the remaining thirds of the frames.

 

[Anduril]

Sounds like a chimney effect, alternate the frames so that the first frame is undrawn on the right, the next undrawn to the left and so on. A little stimulus of sugar syrup should help as well.