hello,
I was wondering if i could collect corn pollen to feed my bees for a spring buildup?
latewood23@hotmail.com
I have not collected my own pollen, but I use Estonian pollen very much. This summer I have bought 40 kilos just for spring buildup. In Estonia earnings level is 1/7 compared to Finland. And my own pollen will stay in hives.
From internet I learned that I can use soya flour and yeast with pollen. If you put over 20% pollen to mixture, it is palatable for bees.
I make dough with dough machine.
3 kg dry pollen
0,7 litre water to soften pollen ower night
3 kg yeast
2 kg soya flour
1 kg heated honey (liguid)
1 kg flour sugar
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10,7 total
28% pollen
If dough is too wet, add soya flour and balance the mixture with it.
Then I roll the paste between two dough paper to 5-8 mm plate and give it to the top bars of frame. During one week 2 super colony can eat 0,5-1 kg that dough. New born bees eat it very eargerly.
Near 20% pollen all colonies are not willing to eat dough.
Dough will be in condition at least 3 weeks in cold. The flour sugar add the content of sugar and stops yeast fermentation.
All thet stuff will transform to bees