Fondant in a TBH?

[aberreef]

Just wondering if any TBH users feed fondant and if so, how do you go about it?

I think mine has plenty of stores still from the syrup I fed in the autumn but would still like to top them up to get them through March (long term forcast is for more snow

Cheers

Huw

 

[madasafish]

I am thinking of doing so..

Using a plastic tray (Chinese takeaway) with slashed clingfilm on top, slid on top of OMF. Or fondant pressed into frame feeder. Entry from follower board.

As the temperature has not risen above 5C for 3 weeks and it's been cold and wet/cold and windy/cold and misty/cold and gray... I have seen no bees for the past three weeks so am doing nothing till we have a warm , dry and windless day. Probably mid February if current weather continues....

 

[oliver90owner]

slid on top of OMF

So, if they really need it (a really cold spell and short of stores), your frozen fondant is going to be accessible for the bees?
Stick to the alternative, I would suggest.

Regards, RAB

 

[Teebeeaitch]

So if you fed in Autumn and still think they have enough stores, why even consider having to top up. Fondant feeding in a TBH is for emergency only. As Rab says, will they move towards it anyway if its cold? Just simply leave them alone until spring. If you see bees flying they are alive, if nothing in spring, they are probably dead. Deal with it then, its that simple.

 

[tonybloke]

isn't the whole point of TBH hives to not interfere?

 

[Mike a]

isn't the whole point of TBH hives to not interfere?

Warre hives owners tend not to interfere.
But there is no reason why a TBH with caution couldn't be managed the same as a hive with frames.

As for fondant I have placed it down on the mesh floor under the combs and made a top bar with wire mesh to support a slab vertically.

 

[Gardenbees]

I've got fondant on the top bars in my long hive at the moment. I wouldn't normally bother - I would usually just leave a large amount of honey for them, if available. In this case they were a late-starter and didn't really make quite enough stores even with autumn feeding, at least not for the kind of winter we've been having. So I gently parted a couple of the top bars and laid a couple of bags of Apifonda over the top with the underside slit, and the bags completely covering the gap. The bees hardly noticed, little heat was lost, and since then they've been gradually hollowing out the bag via the slit.

The roof is raised slightly, resting on a false rim that acts like an eke. Actually I did this in order to place a slab of insulation over the bars, but I've separated this into several slabs (polystyrene) and put the fondant in between. In summer the rim, insulation etc. gets removed and the roof goes on normally.

It isn't vital to have insulation over thick top bars, but with the OMF it probably helps a bit, and the extra space for fondant etc. is useful. Whilst I might not always bother, I was quite glad of it on this occasion. With any luck I won't need to do this next year.

 

[aberreef]

So if you fed in Autumn and still think they have enough stores, why even consider having to top up. Fondant feeding in a TBH is for emergency only. As Rab says, will they move towards it anyway if its cold? Just simply leave them alone until spring. If you see bees flying they are alive, if nothing in spring, they are probably dead. Deal with it then, its that simple.

I'm not sure I see the sense in risking £150 worth of bees for not having fed enough. There's loads of empty comb in there for the queen to lay even if everything they stored in the autumn doesn't get eaten. I simply don't want to lose my bees through starvation, thats just silly.

It's been a horrendous winter so far and I haven't seen any bees flying from this hive. Only seen them the once from the national as it happens but both hives still very much alive atm.

I've got fondant on the top bars in my long hive at the moment. I wouldn't normally bother - I would usually just leave a large amount of honey for them, if available. In this case they were a late-starter and didn't really make quite enough stores even with autumn feeding, at least not for the kind of winter we've been having. So I gently parted a couple of the top bars and laid a couple of bags of Apifonda over the top with the underside slit, and the bags completely covering the gap. The bees hardly noticed, little heat was lost, and since then they've been gradually hollowing out the bag via the slit.

The roof is raised slightly, resting on a false rim that acts like an eke. Actually I did this in order to place a slab of insulation over the bars, but I've separated this into several slabs (polystyrene) and put the fondant in between. In summer the rim, insulation etc. gets removed and the roof goes on normally.

It isn't vital to have insulation over thick top bars, but with the OMF it probably helps a bit, and the extra space for fondant etc. is useful. Whilst I might not always bother, I was quite glad of it on this occasion. With any luck I won't need to do this next year.

Thanks for the info. I'll see if I can make something this weekend.

 

[Pete Nicholson]

Fondant feeding.

I have noticed a drop in hive weight of around 5Kg. over the last two cold weeks and am feeding fondant. I use the porter hole in the crown board with the fondant on greaseproof paper and a glass dish over it so I can see how much they are eating - they clear 100g slab in around two days and seem to love it (home made with a pinch of salt and teaspoon wine vinegar).
There is condensation on the glass but I figure the bees can use the water to help get the fondant.
As a newbee I want to give my girls every chance as I only have the one colony which appears to be thriving.
Hope this is useful

P.

 

[Gardenbees]

It's definitely worth feeding. I've just been to check my hives, and the National now has no uncappings underneath, and no honey smell coming from the entrance. They've demolished a whole 14x12 box of stores, which was almost completely full in September, plus the shallow super full of extra stores (from feeding) which was on top, and that was almost full too. They're now just eating the fondant, hence the lack of smell and uncappings. They seem fine otherwise, and the death rate isn't higher than I would expect. But I think that this is the first winter I've experienced where I would probably lose them by March if I hadn't fed them, despite insulation and a lot of stores.

Interestingly, the smaller colony in the TBH is still uncapping stores and has only eaten a few cubic inches of fondant so far.

I wonder if perhaps it's the big changes in temperature which up the food intake as much as anything. After all, a prolonged cold winter isn't unusual in Europe. Perhaps the "warm up, fly around, oops back in the cluster again, nope it's warm again" routine is making exceptional demands. Certainly the day to day differences have been very extreme this year.

 

[Pete Nicholson]

Fondant feeding

Really good point GB - up until two weeks ago I was noticing lots of uncappings under my Nat OMF - now very little so I concur that they are using/used most of their stores and 'need the feed'. I don't have any honey supers/uncapped drawn frames for them and the latest message from FERA gives the last option of fondant feeding which is my only option so I will continue as long as they take it.
P.