Feeding bees in the cold - Adventures in Beekeeping

I know it is too cold to be opening up the hives. With family schedule and a cold snap coming up, I have to get it done.
6 hives remain at the Hidden Meadow. I do not see bees in all of them, but I am not here to check health. I am just here to put the candy board and pollen patty on as quick as possible. They will use it if they need it.
#honeybee #feedingbees #candyboard #pollenpatty #winterfeeding #winterprep #emergencyfeed #2024

[@KajunHomestead]

How do you like the HIVE IQ hive, i was looking into those hives but was wondering if they worth the price.

[@adventuresinbeekeeping7590]

The Hive-IQ system has many great features, super insulated, boxes fit together well to keep out pests and drafts, heavy metal top cover, metal screened bottom board (if you like that), and a nice way to reduce the entrance. There are some well thought out options like the way to split the hive box into two nucs and a way to add a pollen trap. There is an app (I have not tried yet) that works with the built in electronic tag. This is not a full featured review, but here are a couple of issues that I have experienced. 1. They do not work with regular 10 frame wooden boxes or shims. 2. They are working on creating a hive top feeder that is to be available soon. (They showed a prototype at NAHBE.) 3. The lid fits very tight so there is almost no room between the frames and the top for sugar or pollen patty. They say it is geared toward the commercial beekeeper, maybe a commercial beekeeper might not need all of the features like some of the other insulated products. I did a video showing the features up close. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o2GZk3uHiJ13macsi=QVw2vEJWVeJLWpwm. This is my first year using it, so we will see.... Thanks for watching. Hope you have a great beekeeping season this year!!!!

[@HoneyMarketingBoard]

I would take that top box off if its empty. 1"x1" wood feeder shim for the yellow hive. Great Job & Good Luck.

[@adventuresinbeekeeping7590]

Yes I should have minimized back in the fall. That yellow hive is a Hive-IQ hive and it does not play well with wood. Talked to them at NAHBE, they have a top feeder in the works but no good current solution. Still trying to think of / craft something. Thanks for the advice. Thanks for watching. Good luck on this year’s beekeeping season.

[@Steele_Wings]

I remove those frame feeder in fall. I use top feeder because it is easy to switch to fondant or sugar bricks. That feeder can get filled with hive beetle maggots.

[@adventuresinbeekeeping7590]

Leaving or removing the frame feeder has been a debate for me. This is the first year leaving them in. We will see what happens. I certainly don’t want small hive beetle maggots. Thanks for the advice. Thanks for watching. Best of luck in this year’s beekeeping season.

[@beefitter]

When it is cold out and the bees are clustering and low on food. The feed should be put right where the bees are located. If it stays cold, the bees may not be able to break cluster and move up to that upper box to access the sugar. The top deep should have been lifted to see if the bees were under the top box. If they were there, that is where the food should have been placed. Not to criticize, you are doing everything you can do to help your bees. Well done.

[@adventuresinbeekeeping7590]

Agree, “feed should be put right where the bees are located”. Did not think about peeking under the next box to see where they were. Thanks for the advice. Thanks for watching. Best of luck on this year’s beekeeping season.

[@theshadowoftruth7561]

how do the beesd get water in the winter?

[@adventuresinbeekeeping7590]

This is a great question. I have not heard of anyone putting water in the hive for them. If there is a warm day here in Ohio and Kentucky they can go out and get it. They probably can get some water from the landing board if it is not frozen. There is a bit of water in the honey. Many beekeepers worry about too much water in the hive due to condensation that happens when warm moist air from the bees comes in contact with the cold air or a cold surface. That brings us back to your question, “where do bees get the water”. Not sure. Thanks for watching and commenting. Best of luck in this year’s beekeeping season.

[@madeinpapaswoodshop]

Robbed out?! A person robbed your honey and the bees left?

[@highlandhoneybee]

Bees from neighbouring hives go in and rob the honey out of a hive where the bees that were in it had already left (absconded) for whatever reason. Bees will also go in and rob out weak hives that don't have enough bees to defend itself.

[@adventuresinbeekeeping7590]

@@highlandhoneybee I think they were weak and could not defend the entry from other honey bees and yellow jackets that were taking advantage of the resources in the hive.😥