Moving hives end of Feb.

[Finman]

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I use to open inner cover of the hive, do they have capped food in frames.

Lifting with two hands reveals, does the hive have enough weigh. Blind feeding is not good idea, but it adds spring yield.

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[madasafish]

This may be a silly question.....

Do supermarkets sell fondant that will be ok to use in an emergency before I can get some correct fondant. I'm on holiday all week so will not see my workmate who keeps bees to see if he has any....

I have ordered some but expect it to be 2-3 days before being delivered...

The simple answer is :NO

Most supermarket fondant has lots of additives and bees will not touch it because of that.

 

[simonforeman]

Ok guys thanks for the help and advice...
I have fondant arriving first thing in the morning so will put straight on...

Had a rummage through the boxes of frames today in the garage and found another 4 brand new flat packed supers...this good deal is getting better all the time. This brings me onto another couple of questions....

The 50+ super and brood frames all have foundation in them. Some are quite brittle are these old and need replacing before using???

Also if they are ok to use some are wavey in the frames and not dead flat, will these be ok and bees draw out ok? I may being picky but i want to avoid any problems.

Thanks in advance simon.

 

[drex]

A quick waft of a hair dryer on warm will refresh the foundation, and may sort out the warping too. If badly warped you will end up with wavy combs, which can make uncapping a chore. Try it on a few now, but best done just before putting on the hives.

All foundation is brittle in the current temperatures anyway, hence some suppliers will not ship it in very cold weather

 

[Pete D]

If you need a hand Simon I am only up the road and have plenty of fondant.

 

[Millet]

Best reply ever..

 

[enrico]

If you need a hand Simon I am only up the road and have plenty of fondant.

Aaahhhhh! Does the heart good
E

 

[simonforeman]

Both hives now have fondant... straight onto the top of frames and closed up....

 

[simonforeman]

So just an update on the 2 hives I moved a week ago....
both were given 1kg of fondant 4-5 days ago

1 straight on top of the brood frames (this was the very light hive with no super on)
The other straight on top of the super frames.

We have had snow low temps and wind chill around minus 6-8 over the past week.....

So today with all snow all but melted, no wind and it being 8 degrees with the sun out I can report that both hives are out flying completing their orientation flights.

Well pleased that they have survived the move and cold.

One question.. when should I open them up again and give more fondant, how long does it take them to get through 1kg?

Thanks for all you guys help and info simon.

 

[john t]

hi simon , you seem to have got yourself a bargain and have had to learn quickly with having to move hives etc without any experience, so far so good,

i would just make sure they have enough stores/fondant for now until spring truly arrives, nothing wrong with a quick look in the top but would not be tempted to pull out frames,
plan your first inspection , most probably in April and do it on a calm warm spring day, ask yourself why are you doing an inspection and have a plan of action and what you are planning to achieve

remember bees are very forgiving to our mistakes , but if you chill the brood that will set you back weeks and you may miss the first nectar flow

 

[simonforeman]

Thanks for the info John T

 

[pargyle]

i would just make sure they have enough stores/fondant for now until spring truly arrives, nothing wrong with a quick look in the top but would not be tempted to pull out frames,

plan your first inspection , most probably in April and do it on a calm warm spring day, ask yourself why are you doing an inspection and have a plan of action and what you are planning to achieve

remember bees are very forgiving to our mistakes , but if you chill the brood that will set you back weeks and you may miss the first nectar flow

Unfortunately, on here, the best advice is sometimes ignored in favour of those who actually give bad advice.

"Enough stores" is the key ... if a hive is so heavy you have to put it down three times when moving it - it's got enough stores and did not need feeding. OP needs to read up on the spring feeding threads elsewhere on here.

Try here: https://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=41599

In Lincolnshire the likely early flow is going to be OSR ... or it used to be ... and then very little else depending on where in Lincolnshire he is .. so, with a brood box stuffed full of stores, nowhere for the queen to lay and a potentially good sized colony ...and an early OSR crop - best read up on swarm control as well !