Can my obs. hive survive?

[twb]

I have a 3 deep frame obs hive.  All bees are clustered on the top frame.  They have eaten all their stores and I have a feed bottle on top which they are taking.  It is simply a honey bottle with a pointed spout which the bees(one at a time I think) eat through.  My concern is not cluster size but whether they can get enough food to survive with this setup.  I would love to open up the hive and give them some honey in a frame, but temps have  not allowed.  I suppose doing so would be the kiss of doom?

[BjornBee]

How about just squeezing the bottle and forcing some honey into the hive? I'd be pumping honey into it every day. The bees will clean themselves up and store any excess.

[Greg Peck]

I agree just squirt some in there. It would be no different then when you are taking a frame out of a hive and some burr comb rips open some honey and it runs all over. If you could put some in the vent holes to spread it out some that probably would not be a bad idea.

[twb]

Thanks guys.  I have been pouring some honey in for the last couple of days.  I placed some layers of plastic window screening over one of the top vent holes to make the honey trickle instead of gush into the hive.  Today we noticed some cells being filled with stored honey so that looks good.  But, I did see a bee "cleanse" itself in the hive so that makes me think dysentery.  Maybe the honey will help with that issue too.