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Author Topic: Pollen substitute recipes  (Read 7097 times)

Offline Oldbeavo

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Pollen substitute recipes
« on: January 26, 2016, 04:19:41 pm »
Our bees are bringing what we think is huge amounts of maize pollen, which the literature is a poor pollen for breeding bees.
When it stops we would like to attempt to feed them to keep the breeding on lline.
Will they use a pollen substitute of good quality when carting in poor quality maize pollen?
Please put up your pollen substitute recipes or what commercial substitutes have worked for you?

Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Pollen substitute recipes
« Reply #1 on: January 26, 2016, 07:22:52 pm »
Bees will gather the most nutritious pollen they can find.  Sometimes it's good and sometimes it's substandard.  But odds are if anything is blooming there will soon be something better blooming.  I use straight pollen.  If I'm short on straight pollen, I use half pollen and half full fat soy flour.
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Offline Honeycomb king

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Re: Pollen substitute recipes
« Reply #2 on: January 28, 2016, 03:47:44 am »
Never had any great success with any of the commercial mixes. Where abouts are your bees at the moment?  Can you move them to a better option.?

Offline Oldbeavo

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Re: Pollen substitute recipes
« Reply #3 on: February 03, 2016, 05:23:17 pm »
Next best thing is 2 weeks away at the best, grey box, which is only average pollen.
If the bees don,t breed strong bees on grey box and go into winter off grey box then the bee population declines dramatically over winter. The area where the grey box is has nothing else flowering at the time. 
If I could provide a top up pollen source and keep the brood strong into late autumn, bee population will be good to go to almonds and then I hope to have a stronger start into spring.
Any one out there had experience with "Feedbee"?

Offline Honeycomb king

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Re: Pollen substitute recipes
« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2016, 07:34:54 am »
Grey box has started already, about 2 weeks ago. Never known it to flower in January, but everything's about 3 weeks ahead this season. Well that's around mansfield, yea etc. Blue gum, messmate are doing well in the hills with manna gum and swamp gum to follow.
Your bees will be struggling after Almonds if grey box pollen is all they have had.
I found "feed bee" to be better than "bee build", but wouldn't buy either of them again of I can help it. I hope that helps....
Any stringy bark or blue gum where your grey box location is.?

Offline Oldbeavo

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Re: Pollen substitute recipes
« Reply #5 on: February 08, 2016, 05:51:15 am »
no one had any experience with "feedbee"?
Can you use milk powder as a pollen substitute?  Price is not an issue, just can you use it. Mixed with yeast?

Offline Honeycomb king

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Re: Pollen substitute recipes
« Reply #6 on: February 08, 2016, 06:15:09 am »
Do you have any sites in the northeast, up in the hills? Can you purchase pollen from anyone?

Offline Oldbeavo

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Re: Pollen substitute recipes
« Reply #7 on: February 08, 2016, 04:43:19 pm »
We don't have any sites in the NE Victoria. We are hoping to shift to Grey Box by the end of the month.
We are also trying to get our bees stronger going into winter, so the enquiry on pollen substitutes to supplement the Grey Box pollen intake both for quantity and quality.

Offline iddee

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Re: Pollen substitute recipes
« Reply #8 on: February 08, 2016, 05:58:10 pm »
Seven replies and not one recipe. Maybe the title needs to be changed?

How about 80% spent brewer's yeast, 10% soy flour, 10% dried egg yolk. That recipe seems to work well on this side the earth's belt.
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Offline Oldbeavo

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Re: Pollen substitute recipes
« Reply #9 on: February 09, 2016, 06:09:09 am »
Hi iddee
Thanks for the recipe, if I changed the title I would get even less recipes.
Q. Is the soyflour full fat or defatted?

Cheers

Offline iddee

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Re: Pollen substitute recipes
« Reply #10 on: February 09, 2016, 06:37:26 am »
I have no idea. I use what the grocery store sells.
"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . . Anything can happen, child. Anything can be"

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Offline Honeycomb king

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Re: Pollen substitute recipes
« Reply #11 on: February 12, 2016, 08:24:23 am »
Hey Oldbeavo how many hives are you wanting to feed?
 I have a few buckets of bee build left if you want it. I think I'm up shepp way later this week.
The only time I've had any results with it was on grey box, so it might be OK.
Lots of pollen supplement recipes on you tube too.
Sending bees from corn to grey box is tough on them with a lack of important protein in their diet over a long time.
Did you get any red gum this season?

Offline Oldbeavo

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Re: Pollen substitute recipes
« Reply #12 on: February 16, 2016, 03:58:30 am »
Hi HK
The Grey box wasn't doing much so a very generous Beekeeper has lent us a Red Stringybark site, so the last 3 days have been shifting bees.
The are also gathering dandylion/ flatweed pollen on the RSB site from neighbouring farm land.
The RSB is not bright blossom but it is yielding, for how long????
We run 200 hives, and I was considering open feeding it, so the bees that need it use it.
I would be interested in aquiring some bee build from you, PM me a contact No. if you wish.

Offline Honeycomb king

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Re: Pollen substitute recipes
« Reply #13 on: February 21, 2016, 01:21:36 am »
Oldbeavo I'll be back home tomorrow, I'll see how much beebuild I've got there is only 2 or 3 buckets.you can have them.
It comes in bags and I've put it into buckets 10 kg. ?? Each.
I should have organized it earlier as my sister is up at numurkah this weekend.  That's your neck of the woods isn't it.
Anyway I'll  pm?? You tomorrow.

Offline Honeycomb king

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Re: Pollen substitute recipes
« Reply #14 on: May 10, 2016, 01:49:00 am »
Oldbeavo a report on your finding would be handy for many others reading this forum. Conversation with you has been very informative perhaps others may find it so too.

Offline little john

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Re: Pollen substitute recipes
« Reply #15 on: May 10, 2016, 03:17:52 am »
If it's a recipe you want:

Dry Pollen Substitute:

    * 3 parts (by weight) Soy Flour (expeller-processed soybean flour)
    * 1 part (by weight) Brewers Yeast
    * 1 part (by weight) Nonfat Dry Milk (Not instant milk)
    * 1 teaspoon Vitamin C per 5 cups of the above mixture.

Add to fondant to give a ratio of approx 5%.
Some beekeepers add 1 to 2 cups per 5 lbs of fondant.


Although I've never noticed a shortage of pollen around here, I once made up this recipe out of interest just to see if it was any good, using whatever the local Health Food store could supply.  The results were unexciting, with the bees pretty-much ignoring the straight stuff.  When added to fondant they scoffed it alright, but I rather suspect it was the fondant itself they were after.

Don't think I'll be making any again, but that's only because there's usually plenty of the natural stuff available.

LJ
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