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Author Topic: Feeding bees for winter  (Read 6438 times)

Offline StefanBohm

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Feeding bees for winter
« on: May 03, 2021, 07:33:49 am »
Hi
I have two small colonies with just 1 brood box each, about 5 frames of bees and no honey. They didn't stock up on nectar in summer as it was a very poor season here around my backyard in WA I think this year.
I have about 3 to 4 months of winter, they still forage and it never goes below zero degrees.
I'm trying to figure out how much I have to feed with the less possible disruptions.

I'm reasoning that in a healthy hive you leave 2-3 frames of honey, about 8Kg, correct? So if I feed 2kg of dissolved sugar in 1L water for about 4 times, and then leave them alone, would that be a safe bet?
Thanks.
Stefan B?hm

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Re: Feeding bees for winter
« Reply #1 on: May 03, 2021, 08:16:10 am »
Stefan,
Welcome to Beemaster.
Feeding during winter is different than doing summer and fall.
If the temperatures are below 50 F. You do not want to bee feeding them sugar water. It causes too much condensation which if it fall into the bees is deadly.
During the winter you want to feed them either fondant or dry cake sugar. The easiest way is to pit newspaper on top of the frames and pour sugar on top of it. Spray a little water on it to make it a cake.
Jim Altmiller
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Offline StefanBohm

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Re: Feeding bees for winter
« Reply #2 on: May 03, 2021, 10:29:27 am »
Thanks for that Jim. Yes although I never had to feed in winter before I was aware of feeding dry sugar. We?re still in autumn though and just realised the thread title is misleading, and was hoping I can get the feeding done now, before winter, so I won?t open the hives in the cold months.

In any case, how much weight in dry sugar roughly I should be aiming at feeding?

Offline Beelab

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Re: Feeding bees for winter
« Reply #3 on: May 04, 2021, 06:23:34 am »
Hi Stefan. We had the same situation last year, no rains ever, fires raging.
I never harvested from most of my hives. Just some.
Some colonies were going gangbusters and started bearding just before winter.
I did a couple of splits, one didn?t make it. I know with extra food they would have made it.

I usually do baggie feeding. You can check that often.

Offline StefanBohm

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Re: Feeding bees for winter
« Reply #4 on: May 04, 2021, 08:52:57 am »
I didn't harvest a drop of honey here. One of the hives got honey in each frame, but not a single frame is fully capped and am leaving all the honey for them. Other hives are either low, or have none. Been an amateur beekeeper for 6 or 7 years now and this is by far my worst year.

Offline Beelab

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Re: Feeding bees for winter
« Reply #5 on: May 04, 2021, 08:50:47 pm »
WA copped it this year. We still have a good flow on where I am on the east coast.  The rains in summer made all the difference. The flooded gums are full of flowers and will keep giving for a while yet.

Last year, I put the sugar syrup baggies under the roof, on top of the crown board or the lino mat. That way you can quickly check in winter without the bees getting cold.
It works well if you just have a few hives.

Offline StefanBohm

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Re: Feeding bees for winter
« Reply #6 on: May 04, 2021, 09:39:51 pm »
I really need to go and have a chat at my local apiary store and enquire what others are doing around here. I thought it was just my particular location that copped it. My bees rely on mostly weeds in winter and spring, and native red gums in summer. The red gums flowered as usual but must have been low on nectar production. Some say if it rains in summer it will wash the nectar away but it always rains a bit in summer and I don?t think that was the issue.

I have a wooden tray on top with a round plastic feeder that takes 1.7L of liquid feed. One of the hives gobbled that up in less than 12 hours and had to make sure it was not cracked and leaking.

Offline Beelab

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Re: Feeding bees for winter
« Reply #7 on: May 05, 2021, 01:08:43 am »
I think Skeggley is in WA, not sure if near you. Maybe he will chip in with some experience.

Offline StefanBohm

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Re: Feeding bees for winter
« Reply #8 on: May 05, 2021, 08:10:23 am »
I was on a local WA beekeepers Facebook group with some 2000+ members but it was full of nasty and unfriendly people so I mostly get my updates from my local apiary supplies shop. Not a great beekeeping community here in Perth unfortunately.

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Re: Feeding bees for winter
« Reply #9 on: May 05, 2021, 09:39:56 am »
Stefan,
You can ask as many questions as want here on BeeMaster. We have a lot of very experienced beekeepers and a lot of new beekeepers who are wanting to know the answers to the questions you ask. We love to answer questions no matter how basic. We had to start out and ask questions in order to learn beekeeping.
Jim Altmiller
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline Ben Framed

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Re: Feeding bees for winter
« Reply #10 on: May 05, 2021, 09:48:32 am »
Stefan,
You can ask as many questions as want here on BeeMaster. We have a lot of very experienced beekeepers and a lot of new beekeepers who are wanting to know the answers to the questions you ask. We love to answer questions no matter how basic. We had to start out and ask questions in order to learn beekeeping.
Jim Altmiller

X2 and welcome, (Im still asking by the way) lol
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline crispy

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Re: Feeding bees for winter
« Reply #11 on: May 06, 2021, 06:27:32 pm »
Hi all i managed to harvest just 2 frames last week was hoping for 4 but decided to only take two , there was an article in the paper the other week that said honey production is down by 49% this year and what with fires ect i can understand that , my bees have been busy but not able to supply a lot of honey .

Offline Ben Framed

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Re: Feeding bees for winter
« Reply #12 on: May 06, 2021, 07:20:53 pm »
Hi all i managed to harvest just 2 frames last week was hoping for 4 but decided to only take two , there was an article in the paper the other week that said honey production is down by 49% this year and what with fires ect i can understand that , my bees have been busy but not able to supply a lot of honey .

Well two is better than none. Savor every drop. 😊
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline StefanBohm

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Re: Feeding bees for winter
« Reply #13 on: May 07, 2021, 07:10:26 am »
honey production is down by 49% this year and what with fires ect i can understand that

Hi crispy, no fires here though. Not within my bees' foraging grounds anyway. The trees flowered like any other year and didn't notice anything different. Was about to blame my queens. Did the article say where in Australia had 49% less production? I doubt that's across the country.

One guy I know around here was a bit guarded and didn't reveal much how his bees did this year.

Offline crispy

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Re: Feeding bees for winter
« Reply #14 on: May 07, 2021, 07:57:31 am »
Hi guys i didnt read the article my mother did and told me so it may have been south oz only ,just a quick question bit of topic but i gave a bloke some honey on wednesday and he rekons after eating it some bees attacked him .He claims that it comes out through the poures in your skin and the bees smell it ,i was a bit shocked wen he told me but any truth in it .
Ben i got 250ml out of the whole lot after giving it away to friends and family after chewing their ears off for the last 12 months  about bees hahaha

Offline Beelab

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Re: Feeding bees for winter
« Reply #15 on: May 07, 2021, 08:58:33 am »
Hi Stefan. It will always be this way, up and down in different parts of the country, indeed, the world.
I had about 30kg from 20 hives last year, worst I ever had, so I concentrated on keeping my colonies happy. I only lost one over winter. A late split I failed to feed.
Then, spring, they all booted up so quickly, I had trouble to prevent and catch all swarms.
Had to sell splits to keep under my limit of 20.
Then I thought, the 500kg I extracted a month ago were going to be it this season, but the supers are all full again, against all odds.
You can never tell with bees and seasons.
Crispy, he might have had a bit of honey on his beard?

Offline crispy

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Re: Feeding bees for winter
« Reply #16 on: May 07, 2021, 11:23:51 am »
Wow beelab thats amazing 500 kg , on facebook marketplace everyone is selling honey ranging from 12per kg to 20 dollars , i dont know why but although the foragers are working steadily my honey super hasnt filled up in fact one frame is still empty . With the new queen i have noticed a drastic change in the hive temperment i was actually leaning over the brood super and the bees were as calm as anything they are now fun to work .
 As we draw further into winter i will start to feed them suger syrup and pollen patties im happy just to have healthy bees the people i have given honey to said it is really good so that makes me happy ill probably give more away than sell knowing me .

Offline StefanBohm

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Re: Feeding bees for winter
« Reply #17 on: May 07, 2021, 08:15:24 pm »
Hi beelab do you feed your own honey to the bees? I have a couple kilos left over from last year and I?m thinking feeding it back to them before it starts to crystallise, but it?s from different colonies. Not sure that is advisable or not. Never had any diseases I?m aware of.

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Re: Feeding bees for winter
« Reply #18 on: May 07, 2021, 08:35:21 pm »
Crispy,
The bees did not attack your friend because he ate honey. There was probably some other reason.
Jim Altmiller
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline crispy

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Re: Feeding bees for winter
« Reply #19 on: May 08, 2021, 06:48:28 am »
Hi jim ill tell him that when i see him i thought it was a bit far fetched but i dont know thats why i had to ask . give a bloke free honey then he complains the bees are chasin him maybe there jealous of my honey hahaha.