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  • Autumn Feeding Debate

  • General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
 #11951  by gwt_uk
 12 Sep 2021, 21:00
Hello all,

When do people usually start autumn feeding? I started at the beginning of the month feeding 2-3 pints of inverted syrup at 2-4 day intervals. I read from one source that it was prudent to finish feeding by mid Sept but having looked at other sources it seems others wait until much later in the month. All my colonies are in single BB.

Thanks
 #11952  by MickBBKA
 12 Sep 2021, 22:45
It would help if you posted your location as it makes quite a difference to advice. I would suggest you listen to someone in your local area with regard to rough timings. There is no hard rule and experience of your area and your bees is the only true approach. For example 2 of my apiaries about 5 miles apart at this moment are in very different states. One apiary has no income at all from the end of July and I have been slowly feeding them for about 4 weeks both syrup and pollen, the other has a huge amount of pollen stored and I have just started feeding those. A third apiary about 15 miles away is still bringing both nectar and pollen from Himalayan Balsam and I have left them for now.
Most important is to inspect your bees and see exactly what they have and what they need.

Cheers, Mick.
 #11954  by Patrick
 12 Sep 2021, 22:55
In Somerset I will be starting this week and aim to finish by early October. I have found if it turns cold suddenly they may stop taking syrup down. If you feed too early they can turn it into bees (not necessarily a bad thing) and you have to top it up.

I tend to feed a gallon after removing supers end July and am not surprised if that has all gone by September. This year they had a surprising amount left - what they had found since then I do not know but a random inspection today showed (although queen-right) several are entirely bloodless.

This year has been all over the place in the Southwest - sounds like you guys up North have had a much better year of it, which is good to hear.
 #11956  by AdamD
 13 Sep 2021, 12:15
I often feed during August as there's usually little income from when the blackberry finishes until the ivy comes along. A steady supply of syrup helps smaller colonies grow - which as Patrick says, is no bad thing. I am ahead this year and most colonies are pretty full already. However I like to get them finished by the end of September if possible - although in most years I don't always achieve that. At around the end of September, colonies that have a super of stores over the brood get the super put underneath with the queen excluder taken away.
 #11957  by Steve 1972
 13 Sep 2021, 21:06
Shall i feed or shall i not.??? ..from experience hives have two weights (hefted weights) that is..i can't give a exact figure as to what each colony should weigh as they will all be different but this is what i do..
It is simple really :roll: ..i lift the colony with one hand from both sides..one side is often heavier than the other..in summer the colony wants to be moderately heavy but by winter time i am happy if it feels like it is screwed to the ground..nuc's always feel light so they always have fondant for insurance some have pollen added some do not ...

In your first year it is always a gamble..if you are unsure just give them fondant directly on the top bars of the brood box within a eke and crown board above. that will keep the bees alive..
 #11966  by JoJo36
 16 Sep 2021, 05:19
I've been feeding mine for a couple of weeks now and they are still taking down more!
I checked one of my hives yesterday and found a new queen on the same comb as the existing queen walking around happily! She emerged around 2-3 weeks ago and is roughly same size as old queen so I marked her assuming she has been mated?! I will keep feeding until they stop taking it down but mindful it doesn't get too congested??!!
 #11967  by NigelP
 16 Sep 2021, 08:01
If the weather remains warm they won't stop taking it down until it is congested. It's a matter of judgement based on your location and sizes off colonies and their weight after feeding. Not an easy thing for anyone to give advice on....except it's better to overfeed than underfeed.
Where we are, with the queens now laying after a brood break I haven't made any syrup up yet. Will check a few colonies later today and see where they are, possibly start feeding next week. I use large Ashforth feeders on many of hives with up to 10 litres of thick thymolated syrup per hive. I stop when they feel rooted to the stand, as Steve describes. Even though they all start winter with equivalent stores some will guzzled them down, some won't.
 #11968  by JoJo36
 16 Sep 2021, 17:20
Hmmm, maybe I should stop feeding for a few weeks and re-start as all the colonies have brood frames full of syrup but not sure down below where the super is, maybe next week I'll take a look! About 2-3 weeks ago the supers underneath the brood boxes were empty and my feeding was meant to fill them up, however I'm not sure yet if they have so maybe I'll stop continually feeding for now as weather still quite warm down in the South West:)
 #11970  by Patrick
 16 Sep 2021, 22:23
Take a look by all means, but also use the opportunity to take a brief heft before and then another after to get a real sense of what that amount of stored feels like. Muscle memory of loading is remarkably sensitive and you will quickly develop a sense of what a virtually empty hive and a really full hive (“nailed down”) feels like.

An occupied cedar hive with bees and a full set of combs weighs remarkably light compared to one full of stores. Hefting can tell you a lot between July and March, and can be done anytime without suiting up, lighting the smoker or disturbing bees.
 #11971  by JoJo36
 17 Sep 2021, 06:45
Thanks Patrick!
I'll give it a whirl, stupid question but should I take roof off whilst 'hefting' or leave everything together?!
I've a feeling they are all going to be pretty heavy and have had plenty of syrup already!
I suppose with clogged hives I won't have any cells for the queens to lay in unless they start scoffing quickly??!!:)