Feeding

[Levitt53]

I was told on my beginners wintering course last weekend to start feeding all colonies at the same time. I've got a poly hive which came with a poly rapid feeder and a wooden hive which I've bought one of those upturned bucket feeders (contact feeder?) for. I've started feeding them both today but there are loads of bees and a wasp flying around the lid of the poly hive and some bees sticking their mandibles into the lid. Should I have put a crown board between the feeder and the lid or something else, or are the bees just getting a bit excited as there is free food about? I've stuck a couple of bricks on top as the lid seems flimsy and it's quite windy today.

 

[Brigsy]

I've got a paynes poly have and one of their large feeders. I just put my lid over the flimsy plastic crownboard that came with the feeder and the I strap the whole lot down onto the stand .

The bees and wasps can try and find a way in, but there isn't one. Feeding late evening helps prevent getting them excited, I have read.

 

[Levitt53]

Yes I fed them this morning which was probably a mistake. It was cool so I thought I'd get away with it. Hopefully they'll calm down tomorrow.

 

[Millet]

From past experiences it helps a lot if you do not spill any sugar syrup on or around the hive, when i fed last year with contact feeders i did everything over a 1mtr square garden tray that could be took away afterwards, before the tray was used i got tortured by wasps.

 

[Tony M]

A pal had a significant problem with wasps when using a poly feeder that M****re make for their poly nucs. He didn't paint it inside before he used it, and enough syrup percolated through to encourage the wasps to try and chew a way in (although I think that was mainly on the body, rather than the lid).

I have a P**nes poly hive, for which I got their big overall feeder. They recomend several coats of masonry paint on the inside of the feeder - I suspect the poly is somewhat porous. I went along with that and gave mine three coats . Whilst I haven't had a problem with wasps, I'm still not convinced that it is entirely water(syrup)proof.

I'm tempted to give it a coating of diluted PVA to back up the masonry paint - unless anyone has experience to the contrary.

Did you do anything to seal yours? Just a thought.

Tony.

 

[Brigsy]

I used gloss on my Paynes feeder. So far so water tight. And a sprinkling of sand on the bees ladder bit.

 

[Levitt53]

No I had no idea it needed painting inside. It came with the bees rather than direct from payees. Oh well that will have to wait. I did spill a bit with the contact feeder but clearer it up quickly. I upturned it over a bowl as advised but it still dripped a bit. Thanks

 

[Erichalfbee]

I hate those big feeders, especially if you have to get to box underneath when it's still full.
I use 2litre rapids on all mine but then I can visit the bees every day

 

[Brigsy]

It was just the large feeder that is the same footprint as the box that I painted. I don't think the upturned plastic buckets and doughnuts need it. Stand to be corrected obviously though.

 

[Tony M]

I hate those big feeders, especially if you have to get to box underneath when it's still full.
I use 2litre rapids on all mine but then I can visit the bees every day

I agree - mine's back in the shed, and the hive has a 4 pint rapid feeder, an eke and a crownboard. The hive is in the garden, so I can easily keep an eye on things and top up the feeder as needed.

The big feeder is fine (I suppose) if you've got a lot of hives to manage, or they're a long way away - you can just top up once a week or so. It was a real pain lifting it off when almost full, and (unlike a crown board) it's very difficult to check underneath (e.g. to make sure the queen isn't on the bottom).

Having decided I wasn't happy with it, I couldn't see how to empty it, (without getting syrup everywhere), so I had to wait till the bees had cleared it before I replaced it with the rapid feeder.

So much to learn (that's not in the books!).

Tony.

 

[Fritillary]

So much to learn (that's not in the books!).

Tony.

- And so much to be learned from others posting on this forum. I've been wondering what feeders I'd be best using this autumn (with Nationals) so it's v. helpful to read this thread. - Thank you!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I hate those big feeders, especially if you have to get to box underneath when it's still full.

The big feeder is fine (I suppose) if you've got a lot of hives to manage, or they're a long way away - you can just top up once a week or so. It was a real pain lifting it off when almost full,

Now I'm back home I've given up on the big jumbojumbo feeders (which hold three of four gallons I believe. I now go happy medium with a one gallon feeder which sits on the crownboard - either Maisies jumbo feeder (feeding cone to one side)as opposed to their jumbo rapid feeder which is mahoosive with two cones or big T's 'English' feeder with the cone in the middle.

 

[Brigsy]

My Paynes massive feeder can take 6kg at a time. Pros and cons.

 

[Levitt53]

I've just gone to top them both up. I left it till nearly dark. Loads of bees on the upturned bucked thing who got very upset with me. I got stung straight away. I couldn't get them off the lid so squashed a few putting it back. The other one the poly feeder was full of bees so something wrong there. How the heck do you top these up without the bees thinking you are robbing them?

 

[Tony M]

(Sorry - started as a quick reply, but turned into a bit of a long story!)

Loads of bees on the upturned bucked thing who got very upset with me. . . . . . The other one the poly feeder was full of bees so something wrong there. How the heck do you top these up without the bees thinking you are robbing them?

Not sure what's going on there. With my current feeder, which sits on the crownboard inside the eke, there are no bees under the roof - there's no way in, 'cos the feeder blocks the hole. The feeder has a lid over the top that I can lift off to check on the syrup, and the cone through which the bees come in has its own cover - so the bees can crawl up out of the hive, then down the outside of the cone, but they can't get out. I can top the feeder up without interacting with the bees at all. The crownboard has a second hole, but I put a mesh over that to stop them getting through.

On the P***nes poly feeder, mine has an upturned perspex "trough" that goes over the raised bit where the bees come up - again, this lets the bees crawl down to the sugar, but should stop the bees getting out into the body of the feeder. (This is a revised design - their website refers to a change to stop the bees "coming out at you" when you remove the lid).

If yours doesn't have the inverted trough arrangement, it might be possible to put a plastic cover between the two walls that create the gap for the bees to crawl down - rather like the arrangement on the M***ore nuc feeder - you'd need to make sure there was room for them to crawl over the top edges of the entrance tunnel.

That said, I had an interesting experience with the bees pushing the central cover off a M***ore nuc feeder (suddenly bees everywhere!) - mine is now held in place by a couple of removable stainless steel wires across the top.

I'm not sure how clear that ramble was . . .

Tony.

 

[Levitt53]

Yes my poly feeder is as you describe. It's got the Perspex over the top and didn't let any bees through the first time I used it. I've got a horrible feeling that I put the removable bits in wrong and have left a gap somewhere. I don't think there is anything I can do until it's empty of feed as I won't be able to get the bees out.but I'll relook at it then.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I've just gone to top them both up. I left it till nearly dark. Loads of bees on the upturned bucked thing who got very upset with me. I got stung straight away. I couldn't get them off the lid so squashed a few putting it back. ?

Is this a contact feeder you are describing?

 

[Levitt53]

Is this a contact feeder you are describing?

There it is yes. In hindsight I should of waiting till it was empty then they wouldn't have been been so aggressive.

The poly one is as Tony M describes. I think I've put it together wrongly as the bees are getting in. Damn. I don't think I can do anything while it's got syrup in it hopefully it will be eaten tomorrow and then I'll look at it again and see what I've done wrong with it.

 

[madasafish]

If I used a big tray feeder ( which I don't 2 liter rapid for me) and wanted to empty it often, I would suggest a small suction pump...like in emptying ponds.. or a car oil sump emptier or a medium bore tube and siphon feed into a container.

Being mean I would use the siphon method.. clear plastic hose in car DIY shops would serve.. or home brew pipe

 

[Angularity]

Being mean I would use the siphon method.. clear plastic hose in car DIY shops would serve.. or home brew pipe

I just got this image in my head of someone lifting up their face veil, dipping the plastic tube in the syrup, sucking till the syrup ran, putting the open end into the ticket to catch the syrup, then fighting off the swarming hordes from face, mouth, bucket and hose.