Feeding sugar syrup, need advice please.

[abates99]

I am searching for some opinions.  I installed a 5 frame nuc into a ten frame hive last week, I have been feeding sugar syrup with an entrance feeder.  The bee's are consuming the syrup at a rate of almost a quart per day, the hive is doing nicley and this weekend I added the second deep super because the bottom was approx 80% drawn.  The honey flow is what I would consider at the peek, maybe just a little past the peek, for this area(north central Arkansas) if anyone if familure with this area please let me know.  I would like to know if I should continue feeding sugar I hear some say that the bees will stop taking it but mine arent.  My goal is to get the second deep full so I can add a shallow super and hopefully collect a little honey this year, I do not expect a large pot of honey in the first year but I would like to do everything I can to get some.  Any help would be greatley appreciated.

[doak]

Keep feeding as long as they are taking it. When you put a honey super on, stop feeding.
With the entrance feeder if you have only one colony, robbing shouldn't be a problem. When you have more than one, either go to an inside feeder or the hole in the top mathod.
doak

[Finsky]

I am searching for some opinions.  I installed a nuc into a ten frame hive last week, I have been feeding sugar syrup with an entrance feeder. 

My 45 year experience is that  stop feeding now and let them get honey and pollen from nature.

The first goal it to get to queen as much as possible laying are. Hive need one full frame of sugar/honey all the time.

If you have 3 lbs nuc, it is able to get at first 3-4 full frames of brood. When first new bees hatch, they fill the whole box. That take time 4-5 weeks from start.  You make a big mistake if you give to small hive too much room and force it draw combs. 

From one full brood frame you get 3 frames bees.

You have summer and don't fill valuable combs with sugar. Look the colony at least every week so you learn how it developes.  Just before new bees' hatching  colony seems to stop, because number of workers drops to half dring 3-4 weeks.

When you start a new cony, drawing combs is not mnost imprtant question. They make combs when they need.

When new bees hatch, they are ready to make more combs.

If you have 8 lbs bees or swarm, it is able to occupye 2 langstroth boxes and it is able to bring honey.  And still one weeks feeding is enougt that swarm


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[Brian D. Bray]

If you feed you bees until they stop taking it (as many maintain) you'll still be feeding twenty years from now, non-stop.  If you're entering a honey flow get the feeder out of the way and let the bees do their thing.  By continuing to feed you are creating a syrup/honey mix that can't be called true honey.  The syrup is viewed as an additive. 

Feeding the bees until they stop taking it is a myth, they will stop taking syrup when they go into winter cluster.  Most beekeepers I know have a tendency to overfeed their bees, even the commercial operators.  Feeding should be done for short periods only, for specific purposes, and no more.

[abates99]

Thanks to those of you who replied, I was expecting to hear from more people.  I withdrew the feeder and let the bees go on their own.  I did take an end frame that was partley drawn from the bottom and move to top center.  They are now slowley starting to draw other frames in the top.  It looked like the bottom was getting syrup bound but now there is more room for brood. All looks good I think they were just slow to start because they were concentrating on the sugar water, because they were not being fed when the man made the nuc.

[Michael Bush]

When it comes to feeding, I agree with Brian and Finsky.

[Shizzell]

Same, I agree with brian and finsky. My first year, one of my hives I overfed it, they filled the frames with sugar water. They swarmed. Not a big deal, that hive today is the strongest of all my hives. However, that swarm set me back a bit.

Bees will keep taking the sugar till the cow jumps over the moon.

Jake