when putting new fondant in?

Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum

Help Support Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

biglongdarren

Drone Bee
Joined
Oct 4, 2010
Messages
1,057
Reaction score
40
Location
Mourne mountains
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
20+
when feeding fondant i use them clear plastic tubs that alot of chinese take aways use...i cut a round hole in the lid,fill it with fondant and place it over the feed hole...question is when they eat all the fondant and i am putting a new full one in and lift the old one out,the plastic tub will probably still have bee's in it even though its empty?... what do i do with the bee's in it,do i just tip them onto the crown board and hope they fly away or set them out on the cold landing board or what...one or my hives doesnt have a landing board at the minute!
 
When you fill the second tub leave a bee space. Give the old one a sharp tap on the side to dislodge any bees and then quickly swap the tubs over.
:cheers2:
 
It might be better to provide them with more than they require, and thus "fit and forget" rather than disturbing them with regular feeds.

Also rules out the human factor (i.e YOU) if for what ever reason you can not get back to them.

Fondant is cheap, bees are not.
 
when you say tap it...where am i meant to be tapping it onto?..the top of the crown board or what?
 
when you say tap it...where am i meant to be tapping it onto?..the top of the crown board or what?

I think he mean't put the empty tub with the bees still on top of the new tub of fondant with the bee space now on top. Tap the bottom of the empty one to move the bees into the new tub, turn the new tub over and place over the hole in the crown board.

Good advice, thanks for this...
 
BLD, I was just about to post something about the fondant feeding after hefting 1 of my hives this morning and finding it a little light.
The chinese container answers I question, but how big a hole have you put in it?
 
The chinese container answers I question, but how big a hole have you put in it?

No need to put a hole in it!

Fill it and then just invert the whole tub over the crown board hole, no need for a lid.

The bees will get in there and clear it all up
 
Thanks Jim, I know this is a daft question,(the how long is a peice of string thing) but how longish will it take for them to finish a container?
 
fondant is cheap, so best to provide more than they need and disturb them less.

why is it that after only approx 6 weeks of winter that some people's bees are already in need of feeding? There's another 4 months to go yet...
 
Have you used an eik to allow the chinese tubs under the lid or do they fit?

Thanks Doug
 
In my case Dishmop I was unable to feed when I wanted to due to family circumstances. Simple.

What I do object to is this constant interference with the bees which some are encouraging with this little container business.

Give them an empty super, give them a big slab of fondant, I cut a bit off a 12.5kg blockwhich goes on my nucs, and the rest some 10kg goes in the sup.

Constantly peeping and removing (to be honest silly amounts) and replacing it is just down right annoying to the colony.

If you are going to feed then FEED. Don't mess them about. PLEASE??

PH
 
It might be better to provide them with more than they require, and thus "fit and forget" rather than disturbing them with regular feeds.

Fondant is cheap, bees are not.

What I do object to is this constant interference with the bees which some are encouraging with this little container business.

i dont think anyone is encouraging the use of small feeds?
 
I wonder if all the talk of feeding makes new beeks assume that it is the automatic thing to do.....

Looking at my observation hive they havent even started on the stores in the upper frames...
 
why is it that after only approx 6 weeks of winter that some people's bees are already in need of feeding? There's another 4 months to go yet...

In my case, I didn't get my colony until mid to late September and they hadn't been fed earlier as they were coming to me.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top