Sugar syrup stores

[Curly green finger's]

Feed the hive full of syrup and there it is. Those calculations make no sense.
.
Your 4.5 kg sugar took 2 weeks to feed. It is 5 litre syrup. Normally that feeding takes 12 hours..
A hive consumes it in autumn in two months.

I understand what your saying finman , if you take the time factor out the rest still stands...as a guide for weight of sugar stores.

Can you answer the last bit of my first post ??

 

[Beefriendly]

Hives are individual, there is no one fits all solution when it comes to feeding.
I have 15 hives sat in my back garden...all fed copious amounts of syrup...all were well heavy late October....a few weeks ago one of them was very light.....Fondant now added.
I could spend a long time trying to figure out why this one used their stores and the rest didn't...over many years I've found it far easier just to heft and add fondant as required.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Hives are individual, there is no one fits all solution when it comes to feeding.
I have 15 hives sat in my back garden...all fed copious amounts of syrup...all were well heavy late October....a few weeks ago one of them was very light.....Fondant now added.
I could spend a long time trying to figure out why this one used their stores and the rest didn't...found it far easier just to heft and add fondant as required.

Yes.
If you’ve fed them properly in the autumn all you can do is to monitor and add food if they need it.
Why? seems a bit redundant.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Hives are individual, there is no one fits all solution when it comes to feeding.
I have 15 hives sat in my back garden...all fed copious amounts of syrup...all were well heavy late October....a few weeks ago one of them was very light.....Fondant now added.
I could spend a long time trying to figure out why this one used their stores and the rest didn't...over many years I've found it far easier just to heft and add fondant as required.

Each hive is individual, but it's good to know when you feed x amount of syrup you know ' if they don't use it for rearing brood how much is being stored .

Having 10+ colonys now I would rather not over feed , it's a waist and costly in many ways.

How do the Bee farmers do it I wonder?

 

[madasafish]

Each hive is individual, but it's good to know when you feed x amount of syrup you know ' if they don't use it for rearing brood how much is being stored .

Having 10+ colonys now I would rather not over feed , it's a waist and costly in many ways.

How do the Bee farmers do it I wonder?

Read ITLD's Twitter feed.

https://twitter.com/calluna4u?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

 

[SWEET]

I've read every post on this board and 100's more regards feeding/winter.

This year, each hive has a full super + clear CB, it's easy to lift the poly roof and check the capped stores (like yesterday watching the bees milling around over the stores), one hive looked lean so now has 2.5kg of fondant (sealed bar a slit running over all frames (or its melts)) lay on the super frames inside a simple eke.

No heft, no stress, seems to work.

Spare super feed (come Spring) will either be used for nucs or saved again for next winter.

No master BK mentor friend/wizard required.

 

[Poly Hive]

It's a waste and costly in many ways??

Explain please.

PH

 

[Finman]

.
To feed a hive for whole winter is about £ 10 as sugar.
Too much food for winter is better than start new feeding in Spring.

10 hives is not much.

 

[Finman]

I've read every post on this board and 100's more regards feeding/winter.

This year, each hive has a full super + clear CB, it's easy to lift the poly roof and check the capped stores (like yesterday watching the bees milling around over the stores), one hive looked lean so now has 2.5kg of fondant (sealed bar a slit running over all frames (or its melts)) lay on the super frames inside a simple eke.

.

2.5 kg fondant is equal to one full langstroth frame.

.

 

[SWEET]

2.5 kg fondant is equal to one full langstroth frame.

.

Thanks FM, or 2 or 3 good national super frames, these are a feral hive who seem to manage on little, I'll keep an eye on them and stick another block in the hive come Jan if needed.

 

[Curly green finger's]

It's a waste and costly in many ways??

Explain please.

PH

Honey/ syrup bound
Queen not having space to lay
Spring crop being contaminated with sugar IF ... you don't manipulate the hive properly in spring.

Apologies for not replying earlier .

 

[Finman]

Honey/ syrup bound
Queen not having space to lay
Spring crop being contaminated with sugar IF ... you don't manipulate the hive properly in spring.

Apologies for not replying earlier .

That is true and normal. But you may take extra frames off. So easy..

 

[Poly Hive]

I don't agree actually.

If they are well fed in Autumn and the queens are shut down there is very little laying going on. So syrup bound? By the time space is needed the bees will have made it by simply eating what they need to keep going.

It's a pretty careless beekeeper who allows sugar to get in the supers surely?

Full stores combs are handy to have for helping struggling colonies or for feeding nucs.

Or of course judicious bruising will sort them out long before supers go on. Mind you many super too early and in that situation, I suppose there is a risk but that's poor management.

PH

 

[Finman]

.
When it is spring, brooding rises. Consumption of food becomes big.
The hive needs all the 2 frames capped stores to avoid starving. It is 5 kg food minimum. You cannot avoid some mixing of sugar and honey.

In double brood hive you swap the brood boxes and bees consume old winter food ehey the rearrange the brood area.

 

[Murox]

Honey/ syrup bound
Queen not having space to lay
Spring crop being contaminated with sugar IF ... you don't manipulate the hive properly in spring.

Apologies for not replying earlier .

These are management/knowledge issues really. Each hive will vary in the same apiary developing at its own pace and consuming more or less stores. Feeding is always a balancing act and as PH (and others elsewhere) suggested, appropriate feeding /autumn preparation is key and is the beginning of a beekeepers year.

 

[Curly green finger's]

.
When it is spring, brooding rises. Consumption of food becomes big.
The hive needs all the 2 frames capped stores to avoid starving. It is 5 kg food minimum. You cannot avoid some mixing of sugar and honey.

In double brood hive you swap the brood boxes and bees consume old winter food ehey the rearrange the brood area.

Box reversal for double brood is a mUst do thanks for making that point .
Even if it's brood/ half I use box reversal in the spring.

Sorry folks I'm on a roof trying to get it water tight.

We've renovating the house while father's in hospital.
TTFN