Will feeding help a small hive grow?

[CaribBeeman]

I got a small swarm. its about ten days old. When I looked inside there were not enough bees to cover a frame. the bees look busy. all day there is constant traffic in and out of the box, so I assume that they finding food supplies nearby.
I would like to see the hive grow in size.
my question is- will feeding help the bees increase their numbers?

[chux]

Feed them. If they don't want it, they won't eat it.

[Richard M]

I caught 2 swarms, this year and last, both were small "cast" swarms, both took off like a rocket once I started feeding them.

I also added a fame or two of capped brood from other hives to help them along too, so they grew exponentially.

[little john]

I got a small swarm.  [...] I would like to see the hive grow in size.
my question is- will feeding help the bees increase their numbers?

Yes - but you need to be careful, as a very small colony is a ripe target for robbers.  So - keep the entrance size to a minimum and feed via any method other than an entrance feeder.  Introduce feed at dusk, and only give a small quantity each evening, such that the feeder is exhausted by morning together with the excitement which such feeding can create, and which can be communicated to scouts from other colonies.

As already mentioned, a frame of capped or just emerging brood would also swell the numbers very nicely.

Good luck
LJ

[Beewildered61]

 I caught a swarm about 3 years ago, in one of the fiber traps, it was just laying under my outbuilding. I noticed a few bees going in and out, and left them alone for 3 or 4 days. When I opened the trap, the entire swarm was no bigger than a softball. I put them in a deep and started feeding and they grew like gangbusters, was one of my best hives!

[Michael Bush]

Feeding too much can actually stunt the growth of the colony by filling all the places the queen has to lay and sometimes it will induce them to swarm when they have far too few bees to be doing so.  If there is a flow, I would not feed them.  If they have plenty of stores and don't need to build up, I would not feed them.  If there is not a flow, and they need to build up, I would feed them judiciously. 

[Colobee]

There are many ways to feed syrup. Much depends on what you are comfortable with and what kind of access you have to your bees. I've always been partial to inverting quart mason jars over the inner cover hole. An empty super box is placed around that, with the outer cover on. One drawback is that the syrup can get chilled over a long cold night and the bees won't want to continue taking it, even if they really need it. One advantage is that the amount of syrup provided can be regulated by the size & number of holes in the lids.

With "backyard" bees, one can easily "adjust" the amount of syrup available by using a smaller ( pint or less) jar with just two 1/16" holes in the lid, or go "wide open" with a half dozen larger holes. In this way the rate of feed available can be reduced to ~25%. The smaller jar, with smaller holes, might still need to be re-warmed each morning after a cold night. The result is that the bees are still fed but the risk of "back filling" the brood nest is minimized.

If you have just a few hives, and they are readily accessible, you may find this option helpful.

[Acebird]

When you ask the question it implies you don't know how to do it.  So this is how I rate hive expansion.  Feeding is risky, adding nurse bees is pretty safe and adding brood is the safest.  The only thing risky about adding bees is the possibility of transferring a queen.  Everything done in moderation.

[CaribBeeman]

thanks for the replies.
Yes I am new to beekeeping. very fascinating subject. still got a lot to learn, I have been doing a lot of reading, but didnt write notes. Lots of variables. Maybe having information overload.
I think I will leave off the feeding. one of the other guys made a bee vac, so we want to try it out tomorrow. hope we can get some brood comb as well.