Winter feeding: fondant or table sugar?

[robirot]

Did you have a look at Geller, they habe quite good prices, even for Bio.

I know Geller quite well. He was almost up and about to move a truckload of bees to me for pine-honey, but cement-honey got in between. But as for feed, nowadays we are required to buy "Bioland", not just "bio".

Thats new, but maybe now no more south american sugar, when it is available produced at home.

For everyone not familar with the term "Cement-Honey" it refers to Melezitose containing honey, which settles dead hard in about 3 days in the combs. If you geht the brown variete, beautifull honey, but hard to harvest, since you need the bees to move it a second time and then use that short time window for harvest.  Wie had the same problem this year even up Herr.

For the recipe I just make it up to my feeling, i gues about 20% syrup to 80% powdered sugar.

[beepro]

I use these sugar bricks for emergency feeding and through out our
entire summer when we're on the summer dearth.   During the early Spring days when
nothing is blooming they are there for food security when the queens start laying again.   During the
long winter months when moisture (fogs, rains) is an issue all of my hives got these sugar bricks piled on the
top bars.   The more sugar bricks you have, imagine a deep full of them, the more food security and
moisture absorbed during the entire winter.   

I've test these sugar bricks out on 3 seasons already.   Every year my hives got through without any moisture issue while
feeding the bees on brood nest expansion in the early Spring.    No issue so far!

[blackforest beekeeper]

Did you have a look at Geller, they habe quite good prices, even for Bio.

I know Geller quite well. He was almost up and about to move a truckload of bees to me for pine-honey, but cement-honey got in between. But as for feed, nowadays we are required to buy "Bioland", not just "bio".

Thats new, but maybe now no more south american sugar, when it is available produced at home.

For everyone not familar with the term "Cement-Honey" it refers to Melezitose containing honey, which settles dead hard in about 3 days in the combs. If you geht the brown variete, beautifull honey, but hard to harvest, since you need the bees to move it a second time and then use that short time window for harvest.  Wie had the same problem this year even up Herr.

For the recipe I just make it up to my feeling, i gues about 20% syrup to 80% powdered sugar.

I cut up the combs (after extracting what was possible), mixed with water in a bakery-dough-kneading-machine till dissolved, strained and made mead with it.
Could intoxicate a little village with it....

[blackforest beekeeper]

How about mixing crystal sugar with water to a dough, maybe some acid along. Would that be taken up by nucs e.g.?

[robirot]

How about mixing crystal sugar with water to a dough, maybe some acid along. Would that be taken up by nucs e.g.?

Nope, would just dry out and large crystals get removed. Better feed then with syrup or proper fondant.

[blackforest beekeeper]

How about mixing crystal sugar with water to a dough, maybe some acid along. Would that be taken up by nucs e.g.?

Nope, would just dry out and large crystals get removed. Better feed then with syrup or proper fondant.

some feed just plain poured crystal sugar. I thinkg Michael Bush does that, too???
THAT would be easy to feed nucs. But they might not be able to dissolve it.

[robirot]

How about mixing crystal sugar with water to a dough, maybe some acid along. Would that be taken up by nucs e.g.?

Nope, would just dry out and large crystals get removed. Better feed then with syrup or proper fondant.

some feed just plain poured crystal sugar. I thinkg Michael Bush does that, too???
THAT would be easy to feed nucs. But they might not be able to dissolve it.

You can, if you use a pouch, fill up with sugar and add water, to harden. They consum some, but if you have screened bottoms, put a varroatray under it, you will find a lot of dumped sugar.
Mountain camp works due to the condensation.

[Hops Brewster]

that's exactly why I use sugar bricks.  Condensation moistens the bottom surface making usable syrup, but there's a lot less dumped or spilled to the bottom than loose sugar.
It is a lot less work than "proper" fondant, just a tad more work than mountain camp, and every bit as effective as either.

[beepro]

I just put a sugar brick or 2 on the top bars along with the patty sub.  They will eat these through out
the entire winter.   As the weather gets cooler I will add more sugar bricks in to the hives, stacking
them one on top of another.  Putting an empty box on top of the hive will create an airspace to dissipate the
hive moisture allowing the sugar bricks to absorb even more moisture coming from the hive.   I have no hive
moisture issue at all.

Bees eating sugar brick:    https://tinyurl.com/yakzq773

[Van, Arkansas, USA]

that's exactly why I use sugar bricks.  Condensation moistens the bottom surface making usable syrup, but there's a lot less dumped or spilled to the bottom than loose sugar.
It is a lot less work than "proper" fondant, just a tad more work than mountain camp, and every bit as effective as either.

Hops, do use place sugar bricks placed directly on the frames as Beepro, or on a winter board???

[Hops Brewster]

yes, Van, right on the top bars, using a shim.  Compare that to Mountain Camp style feeding, where bulk sugar is just poured onto a newspaper resting on the top bars.
I found the bricks have a lot less spilled sugar in the hive than Mountain Camp.

[beepro]

In early Spring you can also pour the loose sugar directly on the bottom board to
stimulate the brood rearing.  The bees will not push out the sugar since there is a
high moisture issue in the hive during that time.   Very good for emergency feeding if you have
the bottom entrance like I do.   Hive top entrance I don't know.  I've tested the loose sugar method before
when I ran out of sugar bricks one year.   Now I got a suit case full feeding through our summer dearth too.