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Author Topic: My TBH feeder  (Read 9043 times)

Offline oldenglish

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My TBH feeder
« on: April 07, 2009, 01:49:04 am »
This is my first TBH. I took a follower board and cut it down, stapled a shelf to it with a 3" hole in it. I placed a can feeder over the hole and the full size follower closes it up. I should be able to replace the feeder with minimal disruption to the hive.


Offline HAB

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Re: My TBH feeder
« Reply #1 on: April 07, 2009, 03:22:58 pm »
Nice Idea! Good to see innovative minds at work. :bee: :bee: :bee:

Offline oldenglish

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Re: My TBH feeder
« Reply #2 on: April 11, 2009, 07:46:17 pm »
It seemed like a good idea at the time, however the bees are not touching it so I am going to have to try something else.

Offline oldenglish

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Re: My TBH feeder
« Reply #3 on: April 13, 2009, 12:05:30 pm »
Bees not feeding, I replaced the can with an open tray and they are ignoring even that ?

Offline HAB

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Re: My TBH feeder
« Reply #4 on: April 13, 2009, 12:40:46 pm »
Then they must be foraging!  Ours stopped taking sugar syrup two weeks ago. :)

Offline oldenglish

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Re: My TBH feeder
« Reply #5 on: April 13, 2009, 12:55:36 pm »
Then they must be foraging!  Ours stopped taking sugar syrup two weeks ago. :)

Our weather has been hit and mis, we just had three days of showers and its supposed to stay like this for a couple more days before it finally starts warming up. My two langs are feeding like no tomorrow, each getting through almost a gallon in just 5 days

Offline HAB

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Re: My TBH feeder
« Reply #6 on: April 13, 2009, 02:31:51 pm »
What is in the TBH, stores wise?  They have got to be feeding on something.  Even our observation hive has stopped taking sugar syrup here.  And it takes it when the others won't.
Rain can be a real pain, here it started last night about 4am with local high winds and a Tornado spotted about two miles a way.  No real damage here, just some lawn furniture scattered and limbs down everywhere for the umpteenth time this year.  Supposed to last all day.

Offline RyanB

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Re: My TBH feeder
« Reply #7 on: April 13, 2009, 02:43:05 pm »
I have 2 TBH's with follower feeders like yours. I am using 1 QT jars and the bee's are going through that every 2 days so far. Not sure what to say. If they wont even touch a tray or baggy feeder then they must be foraging on thier own. My understanding is once they have a nectar source they wont touch the syrup.  My 2 TBH's are brand new, installed packages almost 2 weeks ago. So, started with no resources besides my feeder and a small pollen patty.
Currently Fermenting:

Cherry Melomel - 1Gal
Pear Melomel - 1Gal
White Pyment - 1Gal
Root Beer Mead - 1Gal
Mead Cyser - 5Gal

Recently Finished:
Sack Mead - 1Gal, Very Good!
Braggot - 1Gal, Very popular!
Mead Cyser - 1Gal, Wifes Fav!
JAO - 1Gal, Nice, A bit too sweet.

Offline oldenglish

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Re: My TBH feeder
« Reply #8 on: April 13, 2009, 03:10:30 pm »
I have 2 TBH's with follower feeders like yours. I am using 1 QT jars and the bee's are going through that every 2 days so far. Not sure what to say. If they wont even touch a tray or baggy feeder then they must be foraging on thier own. My understanding is once they have a nectar source they wont touch the syrup.  My 2 TBH's are brand new, installed packages almost 2 weeks ago. So, started with no resources besides my feeder and a small pollen patty.

Mine started last week with nothing and they are building comb but a little less than my slower lang, they could be bringing in but I would expect them to use the feed until they have some comb built ?

Offline oldenglish

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Re: My TBH feeder
« Reply #9 on: April 14, 2009, 11:52:20 am »
The temp dropped again yesterday and last night we were getting snow flurries, the bees were clustered pretty tight and not trying to get to the tray I put in.
After thinking about it some more I am wondering if the original feeder was a problem because ir was a bright metal tin lid and maybe the bees could not hang from it to feed, so I modified the original feeder to sit flush in the panel with #8 screen across the bottom, I also changed to a glass jar so that I can see how much is left.

Now to some slightly embarrassing rookie mistakes.
1. dont put the pollen patty right below the feeder (even if it is convinient) the feeder dripped turning the patty to mush which the bees got stuck in.
2. If you do #1, dont move bars until you remove the patty, the bees fall off and get stuck in it making a real mess, lucky for me the queen was not one of them.

Offline RyanB

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Re: My TBH feeder
« Reply #10 on: April 14, 2009, 08:26:34 pm »
I suppose if it is too cold to break cluster, then there isnt a whole lot you can do.  When I installed my packages I left the package box under the entrance in the hopes that the stragglers would fly up shortly. I also put the feeder can offset a bit.When I went back out in the morning there was a small amount of bees clustered under the feeder.  You may need to investigate how to get a top feeder in so they dont have to break cluster? This is quite difficult with a TBH.  however maybe just remove one bar, lay down some wire mesh and put the feeder can there?  This assumes your roof has the room. I built mine with a pitched roof so I could get away with something like that.
Currently Fermenting:

Cherry Melomel - 1Gal
Pear Melomel - 1Gal
White Pyment - 1Gal
Root Beer Mead - 1Gal
Mead Cyser - 5Gal

Recently Finished:
Sack Mead - 1Gal, Very Good!
Braggot - 1Gal, Very popular!
Mead Cyser - 1Gal, Wifes Fav!
JAO - 1Gal, Nice, A bit too sweet.

Offline oldenglish

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Re: My TBH feeder
« Reply #11 on: April 15, 2009, 02:05:59 am »
No room under the roof, it was warmer today and every hive was flying, however they are still not feeding. I am told by other local beeks that we are about a month behind right now due to weather and nectar flow is minimal. Not sure why they wont feed but figure if they need it they will take it.

Offline BGhoney

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Re: My TBH feeder
« Reply #12 on: April 19, 2009, 11:49:16 pm »
I notched the bottom of my follower board and used a boardman feeder,  They didn't take it to fast, so I slid the feeder back an inch and set 2 more boardman feeders behind it.  It was 75 today, there were bees at all 3.

Offline eri

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Re: My TBH feeder
« Reply #13 on: April 20, 2009, 08:34:47 am »
This may be off the wall, but when I first hived my package in the TBH I used the can from the package propped on little shims in the back of the hive. They barely touched it after 2 days. My 2 other hives (1 package, 1 nuc) were going through an inverted quart jar of sugar syrup a day. I switched the can out for a sugar syrup jar (warm) and they loved it. Don't know if it was the viscosity of the corn syrup in the can or the number of holes in the lid (2 in the can, a dozen or so in the jar), but it made the difference. I put the can at a community feeder I'm setting up and noticed that only a few bees at a time could eat from the 2 tiny holes in the can.
On Pleasure
Kahlil Gibran
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And to both, bee and flower, the giving and the receiving of pleasure is a need and an ecstasy.
People of Orphalese, be in your pleasures like the flowers and the bees.

Offline oldenglish

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Re: My TBH feeder
« Reply #14 on: April 20, 2009, 10:03:22 am »
After inspecting them this weekend (hive two weeks old) I am no longer concerned. They are barely touching the feed, but they are building and storing, I had an accident with one frame and the comb collapsed, it was just loaded with stores, could be a tbh thing where they prefer to forage ?
I will leave the feeder on for the rest of this week but its coming off for good on friday.

Offline RyanB

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Re: My TBH feeder
« Reply #15 on: April 20, 2009, 05:21:02 pm »
Good to hear things are going well oldenglish!
Currently Fermenting:

Cherry Melomel - 1Gal
Pear Melomel - 1Gal
White Pyment - 1Gal
Root Beer Mead - 1Gal
Mead Cyser - 5Gal

Recently Finished:
Sack Mead - 1Gal, Very Good!
Braggot - 1Gal, Very popular!
Mead Cyser - 1Gal, Wifes Fav!
JAO - 1Gal, Nice, A bit too sweet.

Offline oldenglish

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Re: My TBH feeder
« Reply #16 on: April 20, 2009, 05:25:24 pm »
Good to hear things are going well oldenglish!

Not so well if I dont learn how to manage a TBH without destroying the comb  :(

Offline mtbe

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Re: My TBH feeder
« Reply #17 on: April 20, 2009, 05:33:08 pm »
OldEnglish,

I'm having problems picturing this.  I'm a new keeper also with TBHs.  I'm using the baggie method, but I hate to disrupt the bees every 2 days.  Looking for another way myself.  Any chance of pics?

Also, once the hive is full, how would one put in the baggie feeder?  Now, I can just remove some empty bars and slide the baggie in.  But when all the bars are full, then what?

mtbe

Offline oldenglish

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Re: My TBH feeder
« Reply #18 on: April 20, 2009, 05:40:44 pm »
OldEnglish,

I'm having problems picturing this.  I'm a new keeper also with TBHs.  I'm using the baggie method, but I hate to disrupt the bees every 2 days.  Looking for another way myself.  Any chance of pics?

Also, once the hive is full, how would one put in the baggie feeder?  Now, I can just remove some empty bars and slide the baggie in.  But when all the bars are full, then what?

mtbe

My feeder is pictured at the top of this thread.
I took a follower, cut the bottom 4" off, added a shelf with a 4" hole in it, covered the hole with 1/8 hardware cloth, place can on top. Then place a full follower up to that to close it all in. I am considering attaching the full follower the the shelf so that it is a little more stable.

Offline mtbe

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Re: My TBH feeder
« Reply #19 on: April 20, 2009, 05:58:18 pm »
Hmmm...maybe pics are blocked from the office.  Will look tonight at home.