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Author Topic: can I feed em to much?  (Read 7035 times)

Offline drobbins

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can I feed em to much?
« on: June 06, 2005, 11:58:29 am »
Hello All,
I started my first package 6 weeks ago
they seem to be thriving
I started on new equipment (foundation) and they've about filled 2 deeps
around here I'm told not to expect any honey the first year
the good flow comes early and the bee's are busy getting established
so now the strong flow is over, I was thinking I'd continue to feed the syrup all summer
they've always been accepting it vigorously
I figured, what the heck, they won't make honey I want, but they can have it for the winter and if they draw out my supers, I'll be ahead of the game next year.
well, now I'm reading about possiblity of brood nest getting honey bound
is feeding em to much a cause of this
I think they'd be fine without me feeding them, I just wanted to encourage them to draw comb.

Ideas??
BTW, I'm feeding 50/50 HFCS and water with a few drops of wintergreen
they LOVE it
and it makes their breath minty fresh  :shock:

Dave

Offline Finsky

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Re: can I feed em to much?
« Reply #1 on: June 06, 2005, 03:47:21 pm »
Quote from: ms132872
I was thinking I'd continue to feed the syrup all summer they've always been accepting it vigorously

Dave


You just turn syrup to honey. That is not honest. Of course they take syrup as much you give.

Offline drobbins

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can I feed em to much?
« Reply #2 on: June 06, 2005, 04:05:28 pm »
Finsky

I have no intention of taking the honey from them.
I'm trying to induce them to draw out the comb in my supers, which is now new foundation
I'm concerned they'll store the syrup/honey in the broodnest instead and cause a problem
then I can feed the syrup/honey back to them

Thanks
Dave

Offline Finsky

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can I feed em to much?
« Reply #3 on: June 06, 2005, 04:42:58 pm »
Quote from: ms132872
Finsky

I have no intention of taking the honey from them.
I'm trying to induce them to draw out the comb in my supers, which is now new foundation


I think that they get honey from nature enough. If you feed them, syrup takes space from combs. You have now summer there, and bees need perhaps one week feeding. Not more.

Online Michael Bush

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can I feed em to much?
« Reply #4 on: June 06, 2005, 05:12:25 pm »
I'm with Finsky.
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Offline drobbins

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can I feed em to much?
« Reply #5 on: June 06, 2005, 05:17:41 pm »
I'm with you guy's :)

Dave

Offline FrogPond

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can I feed em to much?
« Reply #6 on: June 06, 2005, 06:58:14 pm »
Does the "minty fresh breath" help them?

 :lol:
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Offline lee

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can I feed em to much?
« Reply #7 on: June 06, 2005, 09:56:54 pm »
i live in michigan. and i dont know when to stop feeding them.my are on new foundation too . they are eating a lot of sugar and making a lot of wax  :D

Offline Apis629

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can I feed em to much?
« Reply #8 on: June 06, 2005, 10:37:40 pm »
As long as you super it the broodnest won't become honeybound.  If you don't super it the broodnest may become syrupbound :lol: .  I'm with Michael here though.  It's summer and there should be at least a minor honeyflow going on now.

Offline drobbins

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can I feed em to much?
« Reply #9 on: June 07, 2005, 12:00:29 am »
well, here in north carolina it's pretty lush right now
I'm gonna stop feeding them
my thought was to make em draw as much comb as possible
but, umm, I don't know what I'm doing  :roll:
I'll take the advice of folks who know more than me
(thanx Finsky and Michael)
they're doing great
I ordered some suppers today
they should be here by end of the week
check out this pic, it's from a recent inspection

http://68.142.29.112/bee's/Dsc00751.jpg

Dave

Offline Finsky

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can I feed em to much?
« Reply #10 on: June 07, 2005, 12:03:27 am »
Look at bees in nature. Bees build their combs without man's help. How do they do that!


In my small hives the worst problem is that bees bring too much honey. It restrict brood area. Also for beginners the worst problems is that small hive will be filled with honey and it swarms.  Feeding syrup in summer is good not at all. It hinders the growth of colony.

When colony needs combs for eggs or honey, they vigorously buid combs very fast. You need not worry about that.

More you can concern that

1) Do not keep vain  space for colony - they must warm empty space
2) If small colony has insulated box at beginning, it helps it development in many place.

Just now my smallest colony is coffee cup size.  Second bigg is one frame.  I have buyed queens in those.  Colony can be alive but nothing happens. After when colony has one box full of brood it will develope very easily.

Offline drobbins

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can I feed em to much?
« Reply #11 on: June 07, 2005, 12:10:13 am »
Finsky

thanks for the advice
it's great for you knowledgable folks to contibute so much to us beginners
without exerience, it just seem like, feed em = good
I'll just leave em alone and let them do what they do best

Thanks again
Dave

Offline lee

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can I feed em to much?
« Reply #12 on: June 07, 2005, 01:06:24 am »
ok thats it when they use all the sugar water up they will be cut off. they will have to get out and work for a living, no more hand outs.but it makes sense what do the bees do in the wild. will keep an eye on them to see how they do on there own. thanks michael and finsky. i will post some pic of my hives in a day or two :)

Offline Finsky

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can I feed em to much?
« Reply #13 on: June 07, 2005, 04:53:18 am »
Quote from: ms132872



http://68.142.29.112/bee's/Dsc00751.jpg



I do not know, if this is frame filled with syrup. But this happens also if bees get a lot of honey from rape or where else. Here you  can see in pic, that there is no space for brood.  Brood area is really mini. That is the worst situation for colony development. And where they this day honey and tomorrow?

Bees surely make new combs when they need them. Bees are master of saving. They do not make extra combs, for next year like human.

When hive has 5-7 box, it handles everything. Just take of honey and give new empty box. Bigg hive build whole box foundation in a week when it is honeyflow, and next week they build second box.  No idea to force small colony to do bigg hives job

Offline JP

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can I feed em to much?
« Reply #14 on: June 07, 2005, 10:45:41 am »
Placing bees in hive bodies is not natural to begin with, so sometimes the bees need our help. It's been 12 days since I started my hives & have been feeding the sugar water non-stop. I was told I started my hives about 6 weeks late by two very expeienced beekeepers in my area. I'm going to check my hives today. It's been one week since I last opened the covers, & this will basically be the first real inspection to see what's going on in there. I have also wondered when I should stop feeding them. My goal is to build two bodies up before they winter. It's been 90 degrees here.
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Offline Finsky

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« Reply #15 on: June 07, 2005, 11:56:42 am »
Quote from: JP
It's been 12 days since I started my hives & have been feeding the sugar water non-stop.

I was told I started my hives about 6 weeks late by two very expeienced beekeepers in my area. .


We have start of summer here. Our temperature is just now 59F. Apple trees are in full blooming.

Our swarming season use to start 15.6. and continues 10.7. After swarming hive build combs.

You see, that here our swarms is able to build combs and gather 40 lbs honey for winter if they are wild.

It is difficult to understand that you in south are late. Let the hive grow and let them make brood. You have there 2-3 month good summer and you hive will be quite a bigg this summer.  They will build 3-4 box foundations during summer, but GOOD HEAVENs! Do not fill combs with sugar! Let the queen lay there eggs :P

Offline drobbins

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can I feed em to much?
« Reply #16 on: June 07, 2005, 11:59:00 am »
JP,

I'm pretty sure that after 12 days you should still be feeding them
keep in mind that I started this thread because my plan was to feed mine all summer to try to encourage them to build comb. Finsky's point was that at some point once they are established, you should let nature take over.

This is pretty darn fun,
lot to learn though

Dave

Offline JP

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« Reply #17 on: June 07, 2005, 03:47:47 pm »
I'm in the same boat you're in Dave. I want them to build a strong foundation & then leave them Bee.
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Offline Sting

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When to stop feeding?
« Reply #18 on: June 07, 2005, 04:20:39 pm »
From my experience, the length of time to feed a new package or nucleus depends on the time of year, ie: weather, not on how long you have had the nuc.  At my latitude, we generally install nucs sometime during the first two weeks of May.  I wouldn`t dare feed them for more than 10 days or so, for the reasons already outlined above by Finsky and others.

The Queen could become honey-bound with unnecessary syrup thereby encouraging swarming.  You can also contaminate your honey with sugar.  At this time of year, there should be plenty of nectar available to our bees just about everywhere in North America.  However, your experience in the deep south may be entirely different.

Where I am situated, in the Ottawa River valley, it is hot (31 C. or 88 F.), humid and we are in the middle of a heavy honey flow from wild honeysuckle, lilacs and late spring flowers and fruit tree blossoms.

Another point is that we consistently get some surplus honey from newly installed nucs, with enough left over for the bees to overwinter comfortably in our extreme conditions.
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Offline Finsky

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Re: When to stop feeding?
« Reply #19 on: June 07, 2005, 05:24:40 pm »
Quote from: Sting

Another point is that we consistently get some surplus honey from newly installed nucs, with enough left over for the bees to overwinter comfortably in our extreme conditions.


When I have 5 frame full of bees at the beginning of May, I am going to take 160 lbs honey from that hive in July. When I have robbed all those honey in August, I give sugar for winter. It is my aim. What happens is in he hand of Lord. I just make my hive 6 box ready gather honey. Lord gives weather. Farmer gives rape field. Wood harvester give fireweed openings into forest.  

But it is sure, that if I feed at the beginning hive full of sugar, I get nothing.