if i put sugar syrup on 1 hive, must i put it on all hives?

TwoBigCats · November 11, 2009, 11:45:30 AM

folks,

one of my hives appears to be near-starving, while the other two are doing very well. if i put a feeder on hive one, should / must i put a feeder on all of the hives?

thx for any / all feedback.
hal

iddee · November 11, 2009, 11:48:31 AM

What type feeder are you going to use? Boardman, frame feeder, top feeder? It will make a difference.

Michael Bush · November 11, 2009, 12:07:17 PM

I have found it's easier to head off robbing if I feed them all and then steal some stores from the strong hive if necessary when I'm done feeding.

Tucker1 · November 11, 2009, 12:35:39 PM

Michael: If it's only the beginning of Nov. and winter hasn't begun........ what is the best way to manage the hive that is in trouble? (Location is California) :?

Regards,
Tucker1

TwoBigCats · November 11, 2009, 12:49:20 PM

Quote from: iddee on November 11, 2009, 11:48:31 AM
What type feeder are you going to use? Boardman, frame feeder, top feeder? It will make a difference.

boardman.

iddee · November 11, 2009, 01:24:52 PM

With Boardmans this time of year, you can expect robbing. Don't do it without a robber screen. With a good robber screen, you should be able to feed only the one.

Search for robber screen if needed.

TwoBigCats · November 11, 2009, 03:58:17 PM

thx to everyone for their feedback... i'm on it :)

fr0sty · November 11, 2009, 04:48:38 PM

I currently have one hive and I'm starting a new hive next year.

I plan on only feeding the new hive with a top feeder. I shouldn't really have any problems right?

BeeHopper · November 11, 2009, 04:54:05 PM

Quote from: TwoBigCats on November 11, 2009, 03:58:17 PM
thx to everyone for their feedback... i'm on it :)

Have you tried the baggie feeder method :?

iddee · November 11, 2009, 04:56:58 PM

fr0sty, feeding in the spring, after the flow begins, normally doesn't cause problems. Bees, tho, don't read the rule book, so keep an eye on them.

Michael Bush · November 12, 2009, 10:06:40 AM

I'm not in your climate, so it's hard to predict. If you have drawn comb, you can use a spray bottle and spray the syrup into the combs...

TwoBigCats · November 14, 2009, 11:17:44 AM

thx to everyone for the feedback.

beehopper: yes, i've given thought to taking the baggie approach but i've read about people drowning their bees w/this approach. (frankly, and no complaints about it) there appear to be soooo many different approaches to addressing bee issues - each with accompanying potential "gotchas" that at times it's difficult to not be overcome by paralysis by analysis.

update: two days ago i did a late-afternoon inspection of the starving hive and discovered the queen and a small colony of worker bees still in the hive. discussing this with my local beek-mentor the past few days, today i'm planning on swapping a couple of capped brood frames from my strong hives to the starving hive to give it a bit of a jump-start. given that we're beginning to get cold weather here, i'm also going to reduce the entrance to the hive and see how they do.

again, thx to everyone for their feedback - very much appreciated.