Community Feeding

[FatherMichael]

Did a quick search and it has been 10 years since the subject of community feeding was discussed in this forum and it is an idea that seems to be shot down rather quickly then and now.

I put out a community feeder for two hives, one of which was moved to the farm from my back yard because it had become too aggressive.  The other was a newly purchased nuc.

At the time there was not much blooming but the moved hive was top heavy and the nuc had two frames of food.

I built a feeding station for the whole yard, planning to expand to four hives next year.

Community feeding seems like a good idea to me because it cuts down on the robbing of weak hives, which I have witnessed first hand and is not pretty.

[The15thMember]

I see several major issues with open feeding.  Firstly, you are not feeding only your bees, but all the bees within 3 miles of you, which just seems like a waste to me.  Secondly, by drawing in all the bees within three miles you greatly increase the possibility of disease and parasite transmission to your hives, which is the main reason I stopped open feeding.  I used to set out my sticky wax from crushing and straining, and I noticed such a big jump in mite counts when I did that, that I now give hives sticky wax in a modified top feeder instead.  Thirdly, by drawing in all those other bees, you can increase the possibility of robbing, because when you remove the feeder, all those bees are now looking for food at your location and will often target your weak hives.  Lastly, and the one that worries me the most, the timing of your feeding must be precise so that your honey and the honey of all the beekeeper's around you isn't laced with syrup.  And honestly, unless you are very connected to the other beekeepers in your community, how would they even know that what their bees are bringing home isn't nectar?  There is just too much of a possibility you could be causing trouble for others without them even knowing it for me to condone it personally.  If I was going to open feed, I'd be sure to color the syrup, so that I and other beekeepers would know if it was contaminating the honey.               

[Kathyp]

Generally not a good idea especially when there is nothing blooming for all the reasons 15th pointed out.  I used to do it occasionally in spring when robbing is less of a problem.  Things like cappings can be put out if you have a good place away from your hives, but again, it can cause robbing.

Nothing will really cut down on the robbing of weak hives.  There are some tricks to making weak hives stronger.  Swapping its place with a stronger hive so that workers return to the weak one and increase numbers.  Taking a frame or two of brood and workers from a strong hive and move it to a weaker one. 
If you can ID the reason a hive is weak it helps fix things, but often that's hard to do. 

You sure can give it a try and it might work for you, but in general, it's not the best or most economical way to feed.

[FatherMichael]

What bees are likely to try robbing one of your weak hives?

Do they not come from within 3 miles?

[Kathyp]

Any of them.  Could be your own bees.  At my place, one of the worst problems I had was with Yellowjackets.  Anything aggressive and attracted to syrup, honey, or even brood, can be a problem.