Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Johnny on August 20, 2018, 10:17:39 am
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We are in a dearth in west Texas I am feeding 1-1 sugar water. The bees are taking 10 lbs of sugar a day.
Can you feed too much? I am considering letting the bees go everyother day with no sugar water. Is this
ok or is it determental to the bees to start and stop feeding everyother day?
I am open feeding only 3 hives that i know of probably more feral hives.
The hives are 1/4 miles from feed so no robbing is going on.
Will feeding to much cause bees to swarm?
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Feed continuous until each hive weighs 100 lbs. Then stop until they are down to 60.
These weights are approx. Each hive will weigh different amounts.
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Ask 10 different beekeepers get 10 different answers. No worries about swarming this time of year. I do not like a hive full of sugar water before the fall flow so I feed lite. You could check boxes and see how much they are storing. Adjust accordingly. This time of year I like to feed about a pint or a little more a day to maintain and stimulate a little brood rearing. Others feed a lot more. Not sure about your area. Do you have a decent fall flow there. Any pollen coming in? You will probably get a response from someone in your area that had better advice then me. Local knowledge is often best. Good luck
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I had a new beek (that I sold a nuc to) call me last night. They are about an hour south of Montgomery, Al. They have been feeding quite a bit and he called because he has about 10-12 swarm cells and tons of drones in one of his nucs (now a 10 deep & med - topped off). As a general rule of thumb they won't swarm this time of year - but don't let them hear you say that...
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When I feed, I like to just have 3 small holes in the jar lid. This helps keep them from taking the sugar water too fast. I also do not keep the feed going every day.
If the bees are getting enough SW to back fill the brood chamber, they will swarm.
Jim
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probably not much flow this year unless it starts raining soon and alot. Our pastures look like highway pavement nothing green.
We have had 4.5 inches of rain since last thanksgiving and that is all. But it is getting closer.
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Tough condition. With no rain and weak or no fall flow you might consider feeding 2 to 1 sugar syrup and some pollen substitute. With your weather you better feed like Iddee recommended. Make sure they do not fill brood chamber like sawdstmaker mentioned. Hope you get some rain. Good luck
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With 2 more months until winter, I would feed them to weight. Right now they need all
the sugar syrup to build up the hives. If not enough bees going into the Autumn then even when there is a flow on there won't be any bees to collect.
If you are concern about your 3 hives then feed them at sundown. I put an empty nuc box over the existing hive to feed them. Use small quart or pint size jars so that by sunrise all the syrup will be gone. I use this method to minimize any robbing. Bees cannot rob in the dark. So far so good--no robbing!
Pint size jar will not overfeed them. But you still need to monitor the back filling to minimize any swarming. Skip a day if you have to. It is better than feeding all the feral bees out there. 10 lbs. per day is too much for feeding other bees. You want to feed your own first.