Would it be okay to put some syrup on, just in case they need it, it has been too cold to open the hive to check for honey...
Have you tried lifting one side of hive to check for weight?
Yes I have, and I have no idea how much weight is how much...etc etc etc...Would it harm them to give them some syrup?
What are you using mediums, deeps? How cold is it?
.....JP
They are in 2 deeps...it has been raining...low 50's during the daytime, low 40's some 30's at night
Your temps aren't that cold. If you want to feed some heat your sugar water to 90 degrees and feed during the day.
.....JP
OOOOkay, I may ...we'll see what happens today!!
Quote from: Jerrymac on February 03, 2008, 05:18:37 PM
Have you tried lifting one side of hive to check for weight?
Thread drift:
I was taught to do that in the beginning beekeeping class I took a few years back. Then last summer, I went to a class where there were three identical hives (1 deep) in the front of the room. During a break, the instructor asked us to go down the line and estimate the weight of each. Most of us had estimates from 20 to 60 lbs from the lightest to the heaviest. What was interesting, is that we completely disagreed on which was the lightest or heaviest! Turns out all three weighed exactly the same! The only difference was the location of the concrete block inside the hive. The perceived weight was quite different depending on which side you lifted.
As for feeding, with temps in the 50's, I'd feed.
indy, it's not really off topic. in fact, i think it's an excellent point. lifting the boxes will probably tell you if you are really light and need to feed NOW, but if folks don't have experience with lifting things, it will not be a very useful tool for estimating the amount of food. your estimate of weight will be influenced by sticking bottom boards, etc.
women probably have a bigger problem with this. unless they are farm girls and sling hay and feed sacks, they don't usually lift heavy things. taking a few buckets or jugs and filling them with rocks, dirt, or water, to different levels can help you train your arms to recognize weights.
or....you can be lazy, as i am, and keep dry sugar on the inner cover :-)
dry sugar eh???
Because your temps get up into the fifties and your lows aren't all that cold, you could open the top deep, this is what I would do and examine it. If its not that heavy, take it off and check the bottom deep for stores. If the top deep is pretty empty and your numbers are enough to where you could just remove the top deep, remove it. This way you don't have draft problems from the emptiness of the top deep.
.....JP
i would think that if your days are hitting the 50's, you can check. mine are flying at 45-50 degrees. of course, it's a bit colder up here. by the time we get in the 50's, i expect the queen will be doing her thing again.
another thing i'd check for, and more experienced can give better advice....but see what your queen is up to. you may want to consider putting on some pollen patties also.
dry sugar: i know that i will not be able to check or feed for most of the winter. last year, my hives were not in such good shape after the winter, even though it was a milder on. this year i decided to keep dry sugar on the inner cover. no only did they use it, but it also absorbed moisture which i think was a +. if you do not live in such a wet place and you use the dry sugar, i think you must dampen it with a spray of water so that it can be used. most call this emergency feeding. i figured it was a bit of insurance.
Quotei would think that if your days are hitting the 50's, you can check. mine are flying at 45-50 degrees. of course, it's a bit colder up here. by the time we get in the 50's, i expect the queen will be doing her thing again.
Mine were flying today on a clear day and 39 F, not many but a few cleansing flights.
Sharon, I liked what JP said. I think that you should really wait until the next day that you can get in to have a look to see if there are some honey stores. There probably are. Feeding sugar syrup, I don't know. I don't see any point to feeding that unless you know that they don't have honey, it is a tough call. Still, have a great, wonderful day, Cindi
Rumaging around in the shed--you wouldn't believe how much stuff my Dad kept in their--I found a 50 lb spring scale (the kind fishermen use for bragging) and I figure if I install an eye hook on each hive I can get a pretty good idea of stores by using the scale. BTW--the shed had enough lumber (there's still more) in it to nearly build my 8X14 ft pigeon pen although I did have to buy 8 studs and metal roofing. It still contains enough lumber to build all the top entrances I'll need, the bottomless hive stands, and a few other things this spring.
Brian, you have a shed full of great stuff, you are a lucky man, and the fact that you can build things makes you even more lucky, hee, hee. I wish I had that skill.
Right, about the fish scale, I have one of those (from my Dad's stuff too that he had in a shed out the back of our place). I think that would be an interesting thing to check weight. But elaborate a little more. The hook goes on the bottom of the box? You hold the scale yourself? I am horrible when it comes to picturing how things work. Have a great and best of this day, lovin' life. Cindi
I was thinking more of a peavy or folcrum. An upright about 3 feet high with a level that swivels mounted horizonally with the scale hanging off the short end of the lever. Attach the hook on the scale into the eye hook on the hive and push the lever down. Lift the hive about 3-4 inches off the stand and multiply by 2 (have the weight is still on the hive stand).
Brian, huh? OK you have lost me even deeper, but that is OK, I have a man that I live with, he is my Husband, hee, hee. I will tell him what you said and he will explain to me what you are talking about. I just don't get some of the most simplest of things, just the way my mind works. Think I have mentioned this strangeness before, maybe when we were talking about the 2X4 on the end of eggs getting ready for incubation to keep them turned. I couldn't get that picture either, but finally figured it out. Well, well, well.....have the most wonderful and greatest of this day, we be lovin' this life we live. Cindi
That's okay Cindi, I understand. My wife is that way and city raised so I have to go to great lengths to explain things to her and re-explain, and re-explain, and finally, maybe, she gets it. By the way my sife is shorter than you--5 ft 1/2 inch. You two would be like sisters.
My wife is 5' 0" and my mom is 4' 8" now. She use to be 4' 10". This is due to her scoliosis. Her back is shaped like an "S". I think she was suppose to be six inches taller.
Quote from: Jerrymac on February 09, 2008, 12:14:47 AM
My wife is 5' 0" and my mom is 4' 8" now. She use to be 4' 10". This is due to her scoliosis. Her back is shaped like an "S". I think she was suppose to be six inches taller.
And I thought my wife was short, at 5' 1/4"
....JP
Hee, haw!!! So there are alot of other short women in this world too, and I thought that I was just the only one, hee, hee. Yep, they say good things come in small packages, we be them. Have a wonderful, beautiful, great, awesome day, what more can I wish? Cindi
Short, or vertically challenged? Hmm that would be me...5'1/2"...the derned supers weigh more than I do some days! hhhhmmmm
Sharon, now that is a funnnnneeeeee!!! And I can bet your bottom dollar that is true, I am a little more stocky, I think that I weigh about 130, that is fat around my waist, I am working on that, hee, hee, 30 pounds of fat, now come on, gotta get rid of it......smiling.
Have a wonderful and great day, in our beautiful place on Earth, Cindi
LOL Cindi...It is our Winter protection! Gotta keep warm! Heehee...
Om shanti shanti~*~
Quote from: DayValleyDahlias on February 10, 2008, 07:51:22 PM
Om shanti shanti~*~
Sharon, what does that mean? Sounds like something I chant when I can't get to sleep at night, "han say, han say, han say" over and over and over, it works, I am smiling, thinking of the beautiful night time rest. Have a beautiful and wonderful day, love our earth. Cindi
It means Peace..Peace...Peace...a nice way to wake up and fall asleep...huuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmm too bad it didn't work on the bees yesterday...they only responsed to: ssssssssmmmmmmmokkkkkeeeeee
great, now i am talking to midget mystics.
it's no great shakes being tall. i am 5' 8". never got picked as a square dancing parter because i was taller than the boys.....until i started to develop and they discovered that their face ended up in my chest :-\.
i think the scale is a great idea. it would be fun just for record keeping from year to year.
Master midget mystics. Say that ten times fast. :shock:
Quote from: kathyp on February 11, 2008, 05:52:26 PM
great, now i am talking to midget mystics.
No biggie, I'm a Troubled Troll, and my wife is a Devine Dwarf.
Quote from: kathyp on February 11, 2008, 05:52:26 PM
never got picked as a square dancing parter because i was taller than the boys.....until i started to develop and they discovered that their face ended up in my chest :-\.
And I bet those little dudes thought they were in heaven.... :shock: ;) :) :) :) Have a wonderful and beautiful day, live our lives. Cindi