Feeding Your Bees

Should you feed or not? and if so with what?

Well, they say that if you have checked and made sure there was enough stores in the Autumn, feeding should not be necessary.  That is the ideal situation but the fact is that many colonies die out in the Spring due to lack of food.  It may have been an unavoidable mishap, miscalculation, you may have been too busy, the weather may not have been favourable and many different circumstances can result in the bees being low on food.  You will not be alone if you have slipped up.

OK, now is a good time, on a fine day to take a quick peak under the cover-board (don’t go any further in at this point).  You may even heft (lift) the hive to get a feel of the weight, it can give an indication of any food stores available.  Ask yourself, do the bees look happy, (no they won’t have little smiley faces) but they will behave quiet, content, be active and should take very little notice of your presence.  If you feel happy with the situation close up and leave alone.  If however you feel unsure it will not hurt to feed.  At this time of year, certainly in my location, it is far too early (Mid February) and cold to feed syrup and would stress the bees, so I recommend fondant, either purchased or home made.  Place about 1 to 2 kg on top of the frames directly above the bees, you do not need anything to place it on.  Put an empty super or preferably a home made spacer on the hive, deep enough to give space for the fondant, (just tack four pieces of 2″x1″ batten in a hive size square will do fine) replace the cover-board and roof and leave alone.  Check over the next few weeks to monitor etc, add more if required.

Whilst at the hives check there is a supply of water close by, a shallow container full of pebbles is ideal to avoid drowning your bees.

Tags: Bee Feeding, Bee Health, Information

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