How To Make a Quick and Easy Feeder for a Top Bar Hive

[@theindianpreservation4432]

I transferred bees this morning to my first hive. I used your feeder and am I ever impressed. It took them a while to discover it, but now they are draining it dry. Thank you so much for this wonderful tip.

[@thehighlandlife2023]

I am finding lol your videos soooo helpful. Our top bar hive has arrived and we need to put it together and we get our bees in April so am thankful to be directed to your channel and also have your book xx

[@justusobare]

This is so informative i really love watching your ideas about bee keeping keep up the good work

[@ingoscholler4814]

Great idea Phil, easy to prepare away from hives, no spillage, clean and quick.

[@janerees5207]

Just seen this, my bees keep drwoning in feeders on top of bars so I am going to try this thankyou so much

[@laurenshaw7273]

I love this idea, thank you!! I'm going to start my second hive shortly, a Warre hive, and will be using this method.

[@BarefootBeekeeper]

I'm not sure how you would make it work in a Warré hive. Where would you put it?

[@laurenshaw7273]

Hi Phil, thanks for the reply! :) I was thinking of placing it in lieu of a jar top feeder, or possibly as a floor feeder until the colony is established?

[@BarefootBeekeeper]

@@laurenshaw7273 you could put it in an eke, above the colony, I suppose, although a standard round feeder with a central hole would probably work better. You don't want to put a feeder below a colony in a Warré, as you will have to lift all boxes containing bees to retrieve or refill it.

[@laurenshaw7273]

Ah, that makes more sense. Thank you! So it looks like I will need an extra box, in any case, to house the feeder? Glad I stumbled upon your site. So much great info! :)

[@BarefootBeekeeper]

@@laurenshaw7273 we usually use an eke, which is a simple half-height box, with enough space for the feeder.

[@MrandMrsBergner]

I love your bees

[@totto-torgeirstueng705]

Simply geniously simple!

[@the0prynce]

This is fantastic! We're having wild temperature fluctuations lately as robbing has been occurring as well. I will certainly give this a whirl soon!

[@JimLaddie]

Thanks Phil: I used a 2ltr carton and filled it with 50/50 sugar water. Also added a cedar strip to the ramp. Seems to work fine for a new split TBH.

[@wildabezet860]

Great tip! Do you ever add a drop of minerals to your sugar water?

[@RS-lv2lk]

Here because of Roger Patterson's Webinar about Winterising Bees.

[@gorriturbo]

Chapó, por este video, eres un genio.un saludo desde España.

[@BarefootBeekeeper]

Saludos desde Inglaterra!

[@rstlr01]

I was looking for the video you did for emergency winter feeding with the fondant recipe. Is that one available on this channel?

[@timothymitchell9956]

Very nice Phil. Simple and very efficient. What was the sugar water ratio.? I am thinking this would make a great feeder in one of those queen rearing or mini nucleus

[@Thurlows]

Listening to some experience is not necessary for the better as I was told to boil water then add the sugar! Lucky before doing this my study’s found boiling sugar water can make the syrup toxic for the bees!! So I have been simmering the water then adding sugar, however seeing your lovely vides again, I might think again 🤔

[@celinedevi116]

phil, i keep hearing that sugar water is not so great for the intestines of the bees..what is you view on that since I see you use it often?

[@mariosupertramp9396]

Hi, iam write from italy, what did you put on the flor into the hive? And why? Thanks bye

[@Misolina]

Fabulous idea! For feeding in the winter, where would you place this box? Also, I read that bees don't like wool, how does that fit with using wool as insulation?

[@BarefootBeekeeper]

I would not use this method in winter, as bees may not be able to break cluster for long enough to use it. You should only feed fondant in winter in any case, as they cannot deal with liquids when the temperature is low. Bees get tangled in wool fibres, but as they never come into contact with the insulation, so it doesn't really matter what you use.

[@Misolina]

Cheers Phil. So where do you place the fondant in the winter?

[@BarefootBeekeeper]

@@Misolina on top of the bars, under a clear plastic food container. The bar directly below the fondant will have cutaways to allow bees to pass through. That way you can always see how much fondant they have and you can replace it without opening the hive.

[@Misolina]

Thank you :)

[@colinevans1177]

This is a great idea but dont do it when your syrup is any less than a 2 to 1 ratio, sugar to water. I have just used this method on a summer feed of 1 to 1 and because the syrup is thin, I have lost around 200 bees through drowning. The principal is really good but take care to make sure the sugar syrup is thicker, (which, I suspect Phil Chandlers mix is) otherwise losses will occur.

[@hel1copter]

I’ve not yet started with top bar beekeeping, but I think I’ve got most of the theory in my head now. My understanding is that the follower boards are meant to contain the bees’ comb building and, to an extent, help to encourage combs parallel with the bars. If you move a follower board away from the existing comb far enough to accommodate the length of a tetrapak, aren’t the bees then likely to build random comb within their new-found space? Or is it the case that the time you supplement their food doesn’t correspond to the time they are expanding?

[@BarefootBeekeeper]

The tetrapack will slide underneath partly-built combs, and while this kind of feeding can theoretically be done throughout the season, you would most likely use it early or late, when they are not building. However, while you are absolutely correct in your statements, as long as you have good comb guides on your top bars and they are using them, they are unlikely to go astray in the time it takes to feed.

[@hel1copter]

Phil Chandler Thanks. I thought the method was clever, by the way, and I was surprised at how much syrup had been consumed by comparatively few bees (comparative to, say, a National with three supers and a feeder in an eke). But this seems a much more reasonable way to interact with one’s bees.

[@mikealake4726]

Thank you for this. How long will this sugar solution feed the bees? How many times do I repeat this process? What is the ratio of sugar to water in the solution?

[@BarefootBeekeeper]

Mike Alake The one litre container holds approx 1kg of sugar. Add water to fill it and you will have a syrup the bees will consume in 24-36 hours if they need it. You can use it to feed thinner syrup early season, but that mix works well any time. If they haven't taken it within 48 hours, they don't need it and you should remove it before it begins to ferment.

[@mikealake4726]

Philip Chandler I really appreciate your prompt response. Please, do you have easy to understand tutorial on queen rearing in top bar hive? If yes, kindly give me a link. Thank you.

[@BarefootBeekeeper]

I am re-writing my queen rearing tutorial and will probably make some videos on this subject this year.

[@ahorsley1027]

Great tip!

[@larrym884]

Genius

[@hawksoaring3014]

Great idea as are all that I have watched. But I would think that white sugar would not be good for bees. Thanks for all you post

[@BarefootBeekeeper]

White sugar (sucrose) is a mixture of glucose and fructose. While this is not at all good for humans, it is a very pure product, free from any form of contamination, and in fact supports bees for longer even than honey in tests. Strange but true!

[@hawksoaring3014]

I wonder if the same would be true for humming birds

[@BarefootBeekeeper]

@@hawksoaring3014 no idea, but bees have been fed sugar for many decades with no apparent ill effects. After all, nectar is sugar that has been produced by plants in the same way that sugar cane and sugar beet manufacture sugar that we consume.

[@hawksoaring3014]

Phil Chandler thanks Phil for your quick response and all your great ideas Have you seen the videos by Mr Ed with his straight sided top bar hive. Very interesting

[@derekbarker5825]

Where in UK do you get insulation material you have please

[@BarefootBeekeeper]

derek barker you don't need anything special. A bag of straw or wool, or wood shavings all work well. The shiny stuff is called Reflectix and you will find it on ebay.

[@Wlsngrl]

How do you feed if there is no room to place a feeder inside due to all the comb? Also, how do you manage for small hive beetles? New top bar beekeeper here.

[@fiaklinkhamer5791]

What a great idea

[@BarefootBeekeeper]

You can use a top feeder, accessed via a slot in a prepared top bar, but if it's that full' do you really need to feed?

[@sallietillman1997]

What on the floor of the hive?

[@brannanhoover8654]

Hey Phil. Awesome video. I am a huge fan. I tried out the feeder. I feel like I made it exactly like the video, but I had a lot of bees drown in it. Probably 50? Did I do something wrong?

[@nicholasarrow2443]

Yeh, I had exactly the same experience. Maybe our bees are just clumsier than Phil's?

[@fishmut]

A very good idea I used to use is a ziplock bag, put sugar syrup in it, close it up and lay it flat so don’t put to much in it , maybe about half or bit less till you get a feel for it, put some pin holes in it while it’s lying down where you want it and the bees can drink it with out drowning, sometimes I put little tiny cuts in the bag with a box cutter knife or exacto knife . No drowning bees, the problem here though is you only get to use the bag once unless you can find a way of useing it again.

[@satopham]

Yep, same for me.

[@luismaza79]

Great idea! BTW, can we do it using brown sugar, instead of white one? What do you think?

[@BarefootBeekeeper]

Luis Maza No, you should never feed bees brown sugar, as it contains solids they cannot digest and it is likely to cause dysentery.

[@luismaza79]

OMG! Thanks a lot. I will never do it!

[@gingerhancock5446]

I lost about 100 bees in about a week due to drowning using this milk carton method. I went back to a jar. I don't usually feed, except I got a new package of bees.

[@moebees3060]

I guess the bio floors are working well for you since you are still using them. Do you think the bees are healthier with the bio floor?

[@BarefootBeekeeper]

At present, I have no protocol for assessing the eco floor in terms of its comparative effectiveness on mite populations or bee health.

[@moebees3060]

Ok. I wasn't actually looking for data. More just your impression of how well they are working.

[@BarefootBeekeeper]

At the very least, they prevent problems with damp in winter and seem to mitigate overheating in summer.

[@moebees3060]

Thank you. They seem like a good idea.

[@luismaza79]

How they can help with overheating problems? Thanks a lot.

[@ABEEFRIENDLYCOMPANY]

What is the container called

[@BarefootBeekeeper]

Tetra Pak. Standard 1 litre retail container for juices and other liquids.

[@W1ldt1m]

Milk carton here in America.

[@moebees3060]

I guess you call it an eco floor but you probably know what I mean.

[@PopsShack]

And no drowned bees!

[@nicholasarrow2443]

Be careful if trying this - I got a lot of drowned bees, and several other commenters have said the same.

[@eduardwerner2665]

Is here someone who sell native black bees queen?

[@ClickinChicken]

it's hard starting bee keeping. one doesn't know nothing yet! good carpentry, stick to the rules, listen to experienced people.