@@sidelinerbeekeeper I don't think syrup alone builds bees they absolutely need surplus protein coming in. I just don't think the research for pollen subs is very strong when it comes to demonstrating increases to brood rearing. With the exception of course that there is no natural pollen coming in. In my area natural pollen is almost year round and there is typically stored pollen in the brood nests with the occasional exception. Hives here don't take pollen patties very well and most of it is wasted or your colonies will get devastated by hive bettles breeding in the patties. I think pollen patties have their place in specific no pollen situations or a cold climate but I don't find myself in the place very often. Plus the added expense, time, and labor make the return on pollen sub investment close to zero for me. I'm am 100% convinced that the dry pollen sub does absolutely nothing to increase brood rearing and the pollen patties are hit or miss depending on the brand. It's a personal choice and I know people who do use pollen sub regularly but myself personally have had no benefit from using it.

@WalkintheWoodsApiaryVlog thanks for the reply.

@@jimallen1176 Personally I don't see the point in putting the medium on the bottom. In my experience the bees do almost nothing with it and it defeats the purpose of a hive and a half. A hive and a half to me is beneficial because the medium is the one you're cracking open and lifting versus a heavy deep. I find it very hard to tilt a deep box up to look underneath it when there's a medium on the bottom. The only reason I even did it this year was because the hives were weak and the bees were not in the medium. I am going to rotate them back before sending them to California or when the spring flow starts.

@@Chris-AZbeeguy That's a great tip thank you! I've never tried that before but I have plenty of these crappy singles to play with. I'll try it out!

Diddo😂

@@sidelinerbeekeeper Haha I guess I shouldn't complain about the temps here too much! That sounds brutal!

You should accept workers with low expectations. ps: stop using corn syrup please

@@atlas4225 Sorry I'm a corn syrup guy all the way! We've had some seasonal help and I'm really happy with the people we found I just haven't been able to offer them a full-time position yet. I know employees can be pretty hit or miss but I think having a second pair of hands around the place would make a pretty good difference.

@@jasonseaward8506 That's what I keep seeing online but I haven't heard anything specific from my broker and at the end of the day he's the one that holds the contract. My guess is they set the bar pretty high and as they struggle to fill the orchards they'll loosen up. I just hope it's not too late for those of us who still have decent hives just a bit small to send them.

@WalkintheWoodsApiaryVlog I hope it all works out for you and u can send both trailers. Since this deep freeze is going to last a cpl weeks, it's going to be tough to get out of it

@@blackberry5908 If there's a hive shortage over there they'll loosen up the rules a lot. On years where there is a hive surplus they get pretty strict. It's a roller coaster every year.

@@lester3836 I'm running a few that way but my broker wanted the medium on top so I'm having to go back and rotate them back.

@@ricksutton2902 Lucky! Enjoy that warm weather!

@@TheHobbyShooter No I absolutely hate the internal feeders! I'm actually pulling the last of them out tomorrow. 2 gallon buckets are my feeder of choice for certain.

@@WalkintheWoodsApiaryVlog Oh, no! Was the reduced capacity a problem?

@TheHobbyShooter That was one issue but I usually rock my hives on the pallet to test for weight or health and when you have internal feeders that stuff splashes everywhere. I also thought having the caps and ladders version would reduce bees drowning but every time I check them they're full of dead bees still. Plus you can't tell if they're full of syrup or not so I can't tell how much the bees actually drank or if the feeder needs topping off before I leave the yard. If you want to rotate your brood boxes or break hives down to a single you have to account for the feeder being in the way and having to be moved or taken out every single time. I can't tell you how many times I've tilted a hive forward to grade it only to splash out a gallon plus of syrup all over the place. I think the only advantage to those truly is if you move your colonies a lot. That would be handy but most of my hives stay in one place all year so it just doesn't make much sense for me.

@WalkintheWoodsApiaryVlog That's good to know. I have a handful of them I bought when I thought I'd be sending a few hives to almonds with a commercial beekeeper I know, but plans didn't work out and the feeders are still in the shipping box, so I haven't tried them out yet. I do have a different style I tried and while I did notice some drowned bees, it didn't seem like an excessive amount, but I didn't like that I had to take it out and tip it to see how much syrup was left and cleaning them out if they got too gross meant unsnapping them apart, which was a pain. I moved to half gallon jars on a hole in the lid and like that much better, although I wish they held more syrup and the lids can be a pain to unscrew sometimes. I do have gallon and a half buckets with tint plugs, but for some reason the bees seem to take the syrup very slowly. I may retry those this coming season with larger holes in the tint plugs. Thanks for the detailed reply!

@@TheHobbyShooter The fifth wheel lifts the rear two tires of the Bobcat off the ground and basically turns it into a three-wheeled machine. It allows for a lot more mobility and doesn't tear your yard up like most skid steers. It may not seem like much but it makes an enormous difference when you're driving it.

@WalkintheWoodsApiaryVlog That makes sense. Thanks!

@@lt35phila I've never heard of that before that you could just buy it pre-made. I'll have to check that out thanks!

@@kevinlyons919 Yeah Italian hybrids. I mix in stock from other breeders every year to keep my gene pool diverse. They're probably not any specific breed of bee truly.

@@barkersbees Yeah it's on its way out for sure! I try to buy myself a new suit, smoker, and hive tool at the start of each year but this one's having a hard time making it!

@@jasonseaward8506 I've never seen the brown before so I have no idea what it was it kind of surprised me. And yeah I'm sure Bob is right I try not to poke too many holes in my buckets so the bees don't pull the feed too quickly. I was always told that a slow extended feeding is generally better for buildup as well but not so slow that they can't take it like the problem I was having with the thick syrup. It's all a matter of balance and it's really hard to fine tune so many colonies.

@@lt35phila I used to make fondant for my mini mating nucs but it's a nightmare to make such large batches.

@@ricksutton2902 Haha yeah it's Kirk! His shop is only 2 miles down the road from my farm so we rub elbows a little bit! And will do thanks!!

@@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog Thanks for that! I want to make sure I show the ugly side of beekeeping too. It's definitely there and anybody who says all their hives are perfect are definitely lying. Every day is a struggle and you hope for the best but sometimes it just doesn't work out. I think people would appreciate seeing the the real side of it warts and all and not the highly polished version. I have to say too I love your channel as well! I'm glad you commented on my videos because I actually chose my vlog format because of watching your channel for years and I love the down to Earth perspective you give!

@@TheHobbyShooter Thank you! I had a massive brood shut down this August when we were having 100+ degree days on top of a pollen dearth too. As soon as the temps went down and the pollen started coming in they turned around quick. Just have to plan for those hot summers I guess!

@@CharlesONeill-i9u Thanks for the compliment but I'll be too busy getting the hives ready for almonds in January.

@@CharlesONeill-i9u I have enough natural pollen coming in around me that the bees will not eat much of the patties and the beetles get out of control. I'm skeptical that the pollen sub powder increases brood rearing at all. I've tried both over the years but I've been pretty disappointed with the results at least in my area.

@@CharlesONeill-i9u I'm in northern Florida just in the edge of the border with Alabama.

@@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog The corn syrup I buy comes with 23% water added to it from the factory but even with me adding extra it's still incredibly thick. It seems the more I dilute it the better the impact on the bees growth (or at least their ability to eat it quickly).

@ do you add anything to keep it from spoiling when you dilute it?

@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog No I don't because I only add water to the totes that I'm going to be using that day. I haven't had any problems on the solid corn syrup fermenting only crystallizing.

@@rtxhoneybees I haven't seen that video but I'll have to check it out! Thin syrup is a new thing for me so I'm slowly trying out different concentrations.

The video is on @chuckshoneybees. He is in Jacksonville ​@@WalkintheWoodsApiaryVlog

@@jasonseaward8506 The bees would draw all the frames a lot better if I did put wax on them but I usually don't. Every year I say I will but I never seem to find the time. They will draw it without a fresh coat of wax on it but not as much and they have a higher tendency to draw it badly in my opinion.

I haven't heard anything from my broker yet. Last year they shipped out at the beginning of February but sometimes they've left third week of January or so.

@@LittleRiverBees-or6qp Yeah I've been hearing the same thing. Florida lost something like a quarter million hives from the two major hurricanes we had this year from what I've heard.

@@rtxhoneybees I still haven't finished my second round of grading all the hives so I have to do that before I make any decisions. If I need to I will definitely move brood around to boost my hive numbers. There are other beekeepers that can combine with me or I can even combine with someone else but it's too early to make that call yet. I usually start preparing a little on the early side. A lot of beekeepers in my area don't start grading until January.

@@timothyhurst9937 No problem hang in there and good luck!

I'm in northern Florida. Yes, I'll begin selling Queens again this Spring.

I am backyard beekeeper and had not watched many commercial keepers, subbed now, keep them coming!

@@phillipriggs3375 Thank you!!

@@meloneycrews No worries, you're definitely not being nosy I'm happy to share! I top out at around 2,000 colonies in Spring and try to keep as many alive as possible. My wife will help me on the weekends if I fall behind but usually I manage all the colonies by myself. I have to work everyday and I still fall behind from time to time. It's a lot of work but I love running a bee business more than anything in the world so it's not always work. I was lucky enough to hire someone to help raise Queen cells this Spring and for honey extraction which was wonderful. If California goes well I am hoping to be able to hire some full-time help next year but we will see how things go.

We only have about 100 and it’s all these 2 old folks can handle😉I’ll be praying almonds goes well and you can get you some help!! We are about 100 miles east of Madison right on the FL/GA state line in the Okefenokee swamp! So it’s really nice for us to have someone like you that has about the same weather as we do. We truly appreciate all you do to share your knowledge!!