How To Feed Bees In Winter - Winter Feeding Bees - Feeding Winter Bees

[@davidh3913]

Great simple, step by step, explanation. Ideal for beginners like myself. Thanks. 😊

[@sharonsmith834]

Hey, can you just put a small eek over the large slab of fondant with insulation?

[@patricklaslett]

Yes. Generally I put a fist sized lump fondant in a freezer bag over the central hole in a home made crown board. Sometimes with an eke on or I use my Ashforth feeders in the same way - turned upside down. That is if I haven't been so lazy that I have left the feeder on right way up - then I remove the glass and squeeze the fondant along under where the glass lives and put the glass back. Either way I can easily see which colonies eat it fastest.

[@BlackMountainHoney]

That's an interesting method, Patrick. How much do you tend to apply at a time?

[@patricklaslett]

@@BlackMountainHoney I generally just use a fist sized lump. I can get that into the gaps of an Ashforth feeder. If they eat it all I will give them another lump. As the feeder is on already I can put syrup in - say in Feb or early March. I have (if the syrup has thymol in) left the feeder with autumn feed in it. That probably isn't ideal - but they then take it when it's warm enough. Often I don't have an eke to hand or an Ashforth feeder and use a super full of frames. I have to take out the middle frames and they then tend to become a nuisance. But apart from that it's OK. Ideally I don't want to be feeding at all at this time of the year - but better fed than dead - so I do want to know which hives need it especially as my bee keeping is quite chaotic at the best of times.

[@beebum1909]

How's it going this year? I'm intrigued by the fondant feeding. It's typically unheard of here in the states

[@stephendawes7016]

Do you have to feed your bees because not enough honey stores left in hive late autumn?

[@BlackMountainHoney]

We take the honey but dont have major late season flows. We feed around 12 - 15kg per colony

[@norfolkhoneybee273]

Do you ever use block sugar?

[@laightnightknits4358]

that's so weird. we just got some free doughnuts from gregg's. lucky bees!