Pollen patty -- Canadian recipe

[Cindi]

I see there is much controversy about the pollen patty, I will put my 3 cents in.  This recipe is what we use (I think it is pretty much standard in our British Columbia area).  The recipe is one that the Inspector for Bees of the B.C. Ministry of Apiculture has given to a fellow beekeeper in our beeclub and I stick to it.

8 cups brewers' yeast
7 cups sugar (approx.)
3 cups water
2 cups pollen

This concoction makes about 8, one pound patties.  These are very large, round and about 12 inches in diameter.  I place these round patties over the broodnest and I think it also helps to keep in warmth because of the size of them.  They last quite a long time.

The pollen has some of the water added to it, it is allowed to absorb and dissolve.  The remaining water is mixed with the sugar to make the thick sugar syrup.  It is necessary to dissolve pollen in the water because it does not dissolve so readily if sugar syrup is used for the liquid.

Then the pollen, sugar syrup mixture is added to the brewers' yeast and mixed up really really well.  This mixture will be very very hard to work with due to the thickness, but it must be mixed well.  When I make it I use my husbands drill with a painters paint mixing paddle attached.  This makes the work not so difficult.

The pollen is laid on a piece of wax paper and rolled or pushed reasonably flat.  I use a rolling pin.  Another piece of wax paper put on top of it.  It is then frozen or given to bees right away.  It can also be stored in fridge.

The wax paper is applied so that the pollen patty remains moist.  The bees will chew up the wax paper and either drop it to the bottom of the box or will pull it outside.

I feed the bees with this mixture of pollen patty and they love it to pieces.  I never find any wax paper debris in the hive either.

My 3 cents, hope this may help out some of the forum members who seem to be having a time with ascertaining what should or should not be used.  Great day.  Cindi

[Finsky]

That is good recipe. Yeast can be bakers or brewers.

C-vitamin is good to add.

[the kid]

this is great I have been trying to find a patty recipe for about 3 to4 months and here you read my mind .....    THANKS CINDI ...................... Finsky you keep up your good posting  ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,  ,, I look forwad to reading it every night  Im home.. I have four bee sites that I go to  ... I have learned so much from all of you....  At all four sites.  that I feel better about this coming spring ,,,, now I have someone to run things past ,,, that the girls have half a chance to make it .....

[Cindi]

Right on!!!  Glad that this information can be useful.  We are all here to help each other out to become GREAT BEEKEEPERS!!!  Everyone's little bits or big bits of information are all the learning curve that is integral to understanding bees and beehaviours.  Great day.  Cindi

[Finsky]

I have gived recipes many times here

This is one

When it is so warm that bees can get water from soil, give to colony protein patty:

1 part irradiated pollen
2 part baker yeast
more than 2 part soya flour
sugar 40% of which fructose 1/4

I add too C-vitamin 50 mg to 5 liter patty and a multivitamin pill (diluted into water).

Soften pollen first over night with water.  1  liter pollen and  1 dl water.

Mix all and stir with some machine. Add soya flour that is soft.
Roll patty between baker's paper  to 10 mm sheet and put over the bee ball. Put the rest patty in fridge.

Fructose take moisture from air and keep patty soften

I also recommend  terrarium heater 15W

With this consept colony developes at spring 3 times faster than naturally.

If your colony is normal, one box full, it consumes  1 lbs protein per week.

Last year I handled all my hives this way and I am more than satiefied.
I also feed them with protein even if they got pollen from nature. You see when they want patty any more.

When  colony is  3 deeps, you buy a queen and make a nuc .

When colony is strong, it also may try to swarm. Then give brood frames to you nuc.  You can warm your nuc with heater.

Read this  http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/bkCD/HBBiology/nutrition_supplements.htm

http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/apiculture/factsheets/401_spring.htm

WHEN YOU MAKE EXTRA PATTY and put it into fridge , store it into small blastic case that you may warm it up in micro wave oven. It is easy to work when it is warm and soft.

THEY KEY WORD IS "BEE NUTRITION" IN INTERNET

.

[Cindi]

I see that you have listed the B.C. Apiculture branch in the forum.  Good.  They have lots of good information as well as MAAREC, which is excellent.  Great day.  Cindi

[KONASDAD]

The below info was pasted from Finsky's site. This ratio of ingredients matches the advertising of "BEE-PRO' form Mann Lake. Anyone care to offer an opinion about this product?


An average pollen mixture contains lipids (fats) and the following minerals: calcium, chlorine, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, silicon, and sulfur. Vitamins include ascorbic acid, biotin, vitamins D and E, folic acid, mositol, nicotinic acid, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, riboflavin, and thiamine. Amino acid content is listed in table 1.

Table 1. Amino acid content of average pollen expressed as percent of crude protein

CONSTITUENT Average pollen(crude protein, 26.3%)
ïpercent
Arginine 5.3
Histidine 2.5
Isoleucine 5.1
Leucine 7.1
Lysine 6.4
Methionine 1.9
Phenyalalamine 4.1
Threomine 4.1
Trypotophane 1.4
Valine 5.8

[TwT]

here's some interesting post I found on the net, Kona queens gives their recipe for patties......

http://www.honeybeeworld.com/misc/pollen/yeast.htm

[the kid]

Finsky ,,,, sorry I didnt mean anything when I said I have been looking for a receip... I found this group end of Nov ,,and didnt know it would be as good as it is to learn  from  ,,,, so I didnt log on but afew times at first  ... now I come on as much as I can but I still miss a lot.. 
     
       the kid

[Jerrymac]

now I come on as much as I can but I still miss a lot.

What? How? Huh? Care to explain that one?  :?

[Cindi]

Reading Kona's site.

Why put in the soy flour, it sounds like it makes the patties really hard.

We don't use the soy flour,   only pollen, brewer's yeast and sugar syrup.  It stays pliable from the moment it is worked until after the bees are done with it.  I have picked up pollen patty from top of broodnest to move it aside at times and it is always soft and pliable.  The bees love to eat it all up, and they eat LOTS.

I was reading my last year's bee notes and I saw I fed pollen until about the beginning of May.  Up until that time they were eating lots.  When they stopped eating it all up so quickly was when I just did not put any more in.  Great day. Cindi

[Finsky]

Why put in the soy flour, it sounds like it makes the patties really hard.

Soy flour has good, strong nutrient values. Crude protein content is 50%.  In willow it is 15% and fireweed 10%. Bees need over 20%.

[michelleb]

And, just for kicks, Keith Jarrett's recipe, as excerpted from his post on Beesource. This is for those who have a LOT of mouths to feed.

The mix is ( 50 pounds brewers yeast, 7-8 gals syrup, 1.5 gals bee pollen). The mixer is a Kushlan 150 motor mixer, Leland 200 meat mixer. I use a Kusland 150  model. You can order them at (home depot) some East coast stores have them in stock, thousand dollars or so. A batch will do about 25 hives and will weigh about 145 pounds. A two man crew can feed about two hundred hives a day or about 1200 pounds of product.

I use  tubs I bought at Wal Mart , 6 dollars a piece. I run a load of mix , slide the tub underneath and pull the pin (use cooking oil to coat the tub first). When I get to the bee yard, I use a three feet by three feet plywood, flip the tub on to it .One guy handles the mix the other handles the bees. It's a sticky mess if you try to do both. Two  keepers work the best. The keeper will crack the supers apart and smoke the hell out of them (I use burlap soaked in oil ), so when we apply the patty (6 pounds, about the size of a gallon milk jug ) the bees and queen don't get crushed. Also bring water and some dry brewers with  you. Its kind of like making biskets on a larger scale.Try to use all the mix up that day as it will be harder the day after.

 I don't use last names but I'm sure Pat wont mind the plug.

Pat Heitkam sells brewers yeast, he can be found in the ABJ.
Glorybee Foods sells bee feed pollen.
Syrup is 11.5 pounds per gallon, DO NOT ADD WATER.

[Finsky]

michelleb. 

You have only 3% pollen  ( 1,5/50). So in practice your patty is yeast and sugar.

[Michael Bush]

He said 1.5 GALLONS.  So the Yeast was in pounds and the pollen was in gallons.  I'm guessing 1 1/2 gallons of yeast would weigh about 10 pounds.

[Finsky]

He said 1.5 GALLONS.  So the Yeast was in pounds and the pollen was in gallons.  I'm guessing 1 1/2 gallons of yeast would weigh about 10 pounds.

Aha! Specific weight of pollen is about 0,5.   Dry yeast - fresh yeast. There are much alternatives which everyone must consider themselves.


 so pollen.........10/50 = 20% pollen. That is ordiary good tasty rate.