Is it time to put out jar feeder yet?

Kerimae · February 15, 2011, 06:25:19 PM

Hello

I am still coaxing my hive through its 2nd winter. There was no harvest last year so I am feeding them. I just went out and checked on the dry sugar I left on the top super; it was maybe 80% gone and the newspaper underneath was a sopping wet mess. So I removed it and instead put in a quart size baggie with sugar-water in it, poking holes in several places to let the feed out.

The problem is that the inner cover won't fit over the baggie, and the top cover is just resting on top, leaving a bigger gap than what was there with just the stick propping it up. This doesn't seem like a good deal. I am wondering if I can get away with just feeding them with the jar feeder at this point? Overnight temps are in the 30's this week.

Or should I put an empty super on top to buy more space? Or...???

Thanks
Keri Mae

backyard warrior · February 15, 2011, 06:53:01 PM

If you have any extra supers you can put the inner cover on then the baggie on top of that then and empty super on top of that then the out cover. I am still feeding my bees fondant until the begining of march

hardwood · February 15, 2011, 07:31:00 PM

They normally won't take sugar syrup when it's cold...say below 50 or so. When I have baggie fed I placed the baggie directly on the top bars and shimmed it up with a shallow or medium box and then put the cover(s) on. The warmth of the hive should allow them to take it.

Scott

Kerimae · February 15, 2011, 07:41:13 PM

Thank you both very much. That makes total sense; I went out and took care of it. Nice to know the temp guidelines for putting out a feeder, too.
Keri Mae

backyard warrior · February 15, 2011, 08:12:28 PM

Moisture is an issue this time of year as well and if the bag would leak and rain down on top of the bees their is a chance they would die. I always like to use fondant till march then switch to sugar syrup. I like to use the pail feeders from brushy mt bee farm i usually set them on top of the inner cover then put an empty deep super on top then the outer cover and keep feeding them till nature can take over. good luck with the bees :)

AllenF · February 15, 2011, 09:16:32 PM

Funny thing about moisture. Yesterday here in Georgia since it was super warm, I went through some hives to check on them. One hive has a plastic top and plastic inner cover with wooden bodies. The oil tray under it was full of water. Water from condensation? The other oil trays in other hives were dry.

backyard warrior · February 15, 2011, 09:31:03 PM

I dont know Allen im stumped on that one :)

hardwood · February 15, 2011, 09:44:41 PM

Could bee that the all wood hives were able to absorb more moisture than the ones with plastic tops?

Scott

bailey · February 15, 2011, 09:51:00 PM

i have 1 plastic inner cover and 10 wooden ones.
the plastic inner cover will almost always have moisture/ condensation on it when i open it.
( quit using it last year because of this )

bailey

Humanbeeing · February 16, 2011, 04:47:32 AM

I tried putting dry sugar on top of newspaper once. It all ended up on the bottom board, under the screen, and out in front of the hive. If I have a week hive in September, I start feeding then, until sometime in October. If it warms up enough during the winter, I open feed a little to top them off. Starvation being a major cause of hive death, and excessive moisture in the hive, running somewhere amongst the other plagues, I take my chances.

AllenF · February 16, 2011, 09:41:10 AM

When I checked this week, some of the hives that had sugar over them in the fall had wet newspaper around the sugar. Most we dry. But all the sugar was rock hard and the bees had started mining into it.

T Beek · February 16, 2011, 01:33:47 PM

Just checked my remaining two colonies (lost three swarms this winter). One is my survivor colony (five years and only one queen replacement, by me anyway ;). This colony had plenty of honey still available and lots of bees. Despite the available honey they were eating up the sugar i left on top in a medium in December, about half was remaining so I gave them some more.

My Long Hive, a two year survivor, seems a bit weak (cluster was between a softball and a volleyball) to me and there's little if any noticeable honey left (I didn't pull much of the inner cover or any frames), so they got about ten pounds of dry sugar on top of the 3/4 inch boards I use as a inner cover, on top of what was left and I put some more on both ends, where they have a small entrance allowing access beyond the follower boards (they had eaten 'all' that I left them on one end last December). Looks like I checked just in time.

We had 43 F so far today, the warmest since last November. Looks like some popple trees are beginning to bloom, but we're going back down to the teens for the next few nights. This little warm up should be just what my bees needed to make it till Spring and beyond.

My bees get no liquid feed until temps stay in the 50's, a while to go yet for me and mine, but I think they'll do just fine.

thomas

Kerimae · February 18, 2011, 01:46:47 AM

I obviously need to go look up what fondant is. And where to get it or how to make it. :-\

My question now is: is it better to just put another helping of dry sugar on the inner cover again? Currently I have the baggie of sugar syrup. Pros and cons?

Still learning.

T Beek · February 18, 2011, 12:40:29 PM

Latest edition of Bee Culture mag had the simplest fondant recipe I've ever seen, just sugar, water and a candy thermometer. They've got an on-line edition available, and Kim Flotum regularly sends great info through his CATCH A BUZZ reports as a bonus.

Until temps STAY above 50 I keep giving them dry sugar or fonadant.

Feeding liquid when temps are lower will invite problems for your bees.

thomas

Kerimae · February 19, 2011, 02:04:15 AM

Thank you, Thomas. Would you be willing to share the fondant recipe?

T Beek · February 19, 2011, 09:58:38 AM

Well....just this one time.....but 'everyone' should become a member of Kim Flotums CATCH A BUZZ and if you don't already subscribe to BEE CULTURE, why not?

BASIC FONDANT (needs no cream of tartar like some recipes))

1 cup sugar
1 cup sugar syrup (2 parts sugar/1 part water) ***this is what put it all together for me**
3/4 cup water

Boil while slowly adding ingrediants until fully disolved. Heat to 238F, then allow to cool. Then MIX briskly with mixer. Consistancy should be like taffy and opaque.

DO NOT EXCEED 238F TEMP when preparing. Good luck.
****I should add that I have never tried this recipe out myself yet, so am relying on the "expertise" of those good folks at Bee Culture*****

thomas

Kerimae · February 19, 2011, 12:35:32 PM

Thank you, Thomas. I'm not familiar with the other resources you gave but will definitely look into them. I appreciate the time you gave to help me.

T Beek · February 19, 2011, 01:14:07 PM

No sweat Kerimae, its why alot of beeks come here :). Helping other beeks keeps our own skills and knowledge sharp.

One piece of advise i try to tell all who roam around here is to go back to the beginning of this site and read the 'many' discussions, offering free advise for all willing to do the work. It is well worth every minute, there are endless gems of info available for those seeking them. Always remember to 'Have fun with your bees.'

thomas