Bucket Feeder

capt44 · October 30, 2014, 04:57:25 PM

I found how to make a bucket feeder and Love it.
The picture of the feeder right now has 2-1 sugar syrup in it.
I am feeding 12 hives and no tell'n how many feral bees.

hjon71 · October 30, 2014, 11:44:05 PM

Judging by the ring of bees I think your holes are too high. There is going to be quite a bit of SS left in the bucket. The holes should be as low as you can get them. I use this method but there are a few drawbacks.
1. The strongest hives get the most while the weaker hives get the least.
2. You feed every bee around not just your own
3. It could start a robbing scenario if placed close to your hives.

capt44 · October 31, 2014, 12:54:31 AM

The holes are as low as I could get them.
I shined a flashlight from the outside in and could see each and every compartment.
When the bees stop working it I put a board under the bucket to tilt it.
I like feeding this way.

thewhiterhino · November 03, 2014, 12:08:24 AM

Definitely an easy way.

chux · November 07, 2014, 11:34:19 PM

Looks like your holes leave about 3 inches of ss, which you have to tip the bucket for. I use a 5 gallon bucket from lowes, with the tight fitting blue lid. The lid does not have cuts in the rim. Drill the small holes just inside of the crevice between lid and bucket top. The lid crevice fills with ss. This way, the bucket completly drains as the bees drink. Same as you, just no need to tip the bucket to get the last drop.

Culley · November 08, 2014, 06:49:33 AM

Wouldn't this attract other bees, which could create robbing, which could spread American Foulbrood?

I pictured a bucket fitted to the lid of a hive so they take the syrup in the top of the hive and you can fill it up from outside.

jayj200 · November 08, 2014, 09:07:14 AM

Quote from: Culley on November 08, 2014, 06:49:33 AM
Wouldn't this attract other bees, which could create robbing, which could spread American Foulbrood?

I pictured a bucket fitted to the lid of a hive so they take the syrup in the top of the hive and you can fill it up from outside.

MORE IMPORTANTLY WHAT ABOUT AFRICANS my state says all feral hives are now Africanized honeybees I know there is was at least two hives within 2 miles that were mean they gave them the deep 6

chux · November 08, 2014, 02:44:51 PM

Most of the folks who open feed are probably feeding an outyard with several hives. A small percentage will be taken by ferals. To me, no worries. I dont mind helping them along a bit. Spreading disease? It is probably going to happen whether you open feed or not. Drifting, robbing, drones switching hives... Everything we do, including putting the bees in boxes, brings an issue that the bees have to deal with, different from what it would be in the wild. I open-fed last year with 5 hives. During warmer winter weather, i fed 3 parts sugar to one part water, in the bucket. All survived, dispite my ineptness.

capt44 · January 02, 2015, 08:08:19 PM

I use the bucket feeder in this beeyard here at the house.
I have 17 hives here.
I do know there are feral bees around for I have lost a few swarms.
I've seen bees leave the feeder and fly due north into the timber which has a lot of storm damage from the wiggle tails (tornadoes) that come down this valley.
A bucket of 2-1 syrup will last 4 to 5 days here with the temperature above 50 degrees F.
A bucket of 1-1 syrup will last about 3 days or so.

Culley · January 03, 2015, 02:32:15 AM

Thanks for sharing it.

Do you see other insects using it too, other than honey bees?

rwlaw · January 04, 2015, 10:41:02 AM

I always wanted to try to set up a station like that. Not only for feeding, but for water as well.

KD4MOJ · January 08, 2015, 03:35:35 PM

If I did that (open feed) I would have thousands of dead bees all over the place. What's the secret???

...DOUG
KD4MOJ

rookie2531 · January 08, 2015, 08:05:43 PM

Looks like fun to watch.

capt44 · January 11, 2015, 01:47:15 PM

Using the bucket method of feeding I actually have very few bees drown, very few.
As far as other insects feeding on the syrup, yes I do.
I've see Yellow Jackets and Bald Faced Hornets.
The bees usually keep the yellow jackets and hornets at bay.
But the Yellow Jackets and Hornets will fly and feed at a lower temperature than Honey Bees.

chux · January 15, 2015, 04:10:18 PM

Quote from: KD4MOJ on January 08, 2015, 03:35:35 PM
If I did that (open feed) I would have thousands of dead bees all over the place. What's the secret???

...DOUG
KD4MOJ

Why do you believe you would have thousands of dead bees if you open-fed? Have you tried it, and had thousands dead? Have you been told this is what will happen? I believe the danger in open feeding could be locating the feeder too close to a hive. As with a popular entrance feeder, you could enduce robbing. Especially from a weak hive. The solution to that danger is to place the open feeder on the other side of the yard. Put some space between feeder and hives.

My girls are all over top of each other, trying to get to narrow band of syrup, but they don't have a war. They get in when they can, then head back to the hive. I know a commercial beek who feeds over 1,000 hives this way. He may have 50-100 hives in a staging area, and multiple buckets set up to feed. It works.

BeeMaster2 · January 16, 2015, 01:01:49 PM

Quote from: chux on January 15, 2015, 04:10:18 PM
Quote from: KD4MOJ on January 08, 2015, 03:35:35 PM
If I did that (open feed) I would have thousands of dead bees all over the place. What's the secret???

...DOUG
KD4MOJ

Why do you believe you would have thousands of dead bees if you open-fed? Have you tried it, and had thousands dead? Have you been told this is what will happen? I believe the danger in open feeding could be locating the feeder too close to a hive. As with a popular entrance feeder, you could enduce robbing. Especially from a weak hive. The solution to that danger is to place the open feeder on the other side of the yard. Put some space between feeder and hives.

My girls are all over top of each other, trying to get to narrow band of syrup, but they don't have a war. They get in when they can, then head back to the hive. I know a commercial beek who feeds over 1,000 hives this way. He may have 50-100 hives in a staging area, and multiple buckets set up to feed. It works.

I'll second that.
I'm not big on feeding my self, especially open feeding, I would bee feeding several other Beeks bees, but I have a friend with several hundred hives you does and depends on it and is doing very well.
Jim

CapnChkn · February 05, 2015, 07:38:26 AM

Open feeding is a lot quicker than going hive to hive, but I can tell you around 10 hives (and visitors) suck down a 3 gallon (11 liter) bucket full in a day's time. That's a good 12 or 15 pounds (5.5 to 7 Kg) of sugar a day!

Get a friction top bucket from the bakery at your local supermarket. There's a ring around the top that when turned upside down, will make little troughs. Drill 1/8 in (3 mm) holes every half in (12 mm) at the BOTTOM of these little trays from the inside of the bucket. Backlighting helps a lot with that. The flexing of the plastic will fill those troughs when you turn it over, and the bees will drink from the holes when they get the them empty.

I put out a jar feeder where the bees could all feed, and they packed themselves into it and died. Maybe a thousand bees in that contraption. With this arrangement, the worst I've found is a half dozen dead bees when the fury subsides.

You MUST keep the feeder 300 feet (100 meters) from your hives. The waggle dance changes at that point, and if they're too close the bees seek a food source that's within that circle, which includes the hives...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlBYPp6SqIE

Richard M · February 07, 2015, 08:21:39 AM

Isn't open-feeding like this a sure-fire recipe for spreading disease?

capt44 · February 07, 2015, 12:32:52 PM

BeeS fly and when they fly they check a lot of things out. Diseases can be spread from a tame hive or a feral hive.
Yes open feeding will bring bees in from anywhere within range of your feeder.
It is like you going to a restaurant.
Let the bees do what they do best, BE BEES.

CapnChkn · February 08, 2015, 09:44:11 PM

I agree. Drones go from hive to hive undisturbed. Your managed hive probably has feral visitors every day.