About patty feeded colonies

[Finski]

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We have discussed about protein patty feeding during spring.

I started feeding ( soy+dry yeast+ 7 y old pollen) 6 weeks ago. My target was to make my hives able to forage early summer's yield. I have now hundreds of hectares dandelion in full blood. 13 ha autumn canola has started to bloom. First apple trees are open.  Just now nature has more nectar than  any hive can forage.

I have now many hives with 5 boxes. Some have started to rear swarm cells.

Last year I have only one dandelion foraging day (rains). Now it has been a week and good weathers continue.

Biggest hive has 20 frames of brood and brood are in 3 boxes. Smallest hives have 2 frames of brood.

I remember what hives ate patty like mad and now they are real mammuts.
Nature started to give fresh willow pollen 3 weeks ago.

One problem is. Hives prefer to fly long distances for huge silver willow trees (Salix alba) even if dandelion fields are seen from hive entrance. Noughty bees.
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[Finski]

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Salix alba




In full bloom

[rdy-b]

**One problem is. Hives prefer to fly long distances for huge silver willow trees (Salix alba) even if dandelion fields are seen from hive entrance. Noughty bees.**


My bees get pollen from willows -no nectar-they get nectar from Dandelion
if bees bring in nectar they wont swarm-if they keep gorging on pollen they will swarm
many swarms this year big problem--Black berries are now bloming -problem over--RDY-B

[Country Heart]

if bees bring in nectar they wont swarm-if they keep gorging on pollen they will swarm

Interesting

[rdy-b]

**Biggest hive has 20 frames of brood and brood are in 3 boxes. Smallest hives have 2 frames of brood.**

your big Hive is also a two queen hive-- :lol: RDY-B

[Finski]

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My hives are quite swarmy nowadays because I have taken virgins from swarm cells.
I prefer healty bee stock.
Strictly selected bees are not so healthy as cross blood stock.

But it is true that I get rid off swarming when main yield begins.
If they swarm after that, the hives are full of honey.

Normally my bees consume in early summer all food what they get.
In my homeyard hives were quite empty, near starving, but in willow bushes they have got 10-15 kg willow honey. Very exceptional, but it tells that willow pastures do not stand many hives.


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[Finski]

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What happens to tiny  hives "coffee cup colony) now?

Yesterday we went through my friend's hives.
One hive was very tiny after winter. It is miracle that it has stayed alive from March to end of May.
It had now 2 half medium frames of brood. Alltogether one full frame.

Neighbour hive had 2 boxes full of bees and emerging brood. It had quite old queen larvae and we made a false swarm.
Old site got 2 boxes empty half made combs and the queen.
Brood part went on the side of tiny colony.

After few days the tiny gets 2 boxes of brood and it will be a normall hide at once.

I have kept for same reason some tiny colonies. I have had opportunity to give earlier the bees to the small colonies but then I would ruin the ability to forage early yield.

[Finski]

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Difference with natural growed and patty feeded

It is tremeandous spring yield going. It seems that in my corner of country there are 2 weeks foraging weather.

Like my friend, she has good queen and hives are full of bees and brood. However she has not much bees in foraging age. Willow started blooming 3-4 weeks ago, but foraging bees must be layed 6 weeks ago.
A newly emereged bees consume all food what old gang of bees bring home.


The bees, which is layed now, will be foragers in the middle of July. It is main yield then.
Of course they are needed as home workers.

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Like I have calculated here before, the queen lays now and bee emerges aften 3 weeks. But actually this is not practical build up time to new workers.
A queen must lay over one week that it gets one box full of brood. So it takes 4 weeks that the hive has a good amount of new workers. 2-3 weeks further and they are foragers.

Amount of new feeder bees seems to be important how fast the colony may grow.

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