It Got Cold Before I Was Ready..... Can I Still Feed My Bees?

[@DooleyBFR]

100percent Agree bubby! God Bless you and your Bees!!!

[@JCsBees]

Thanks for stopping by! God bless!

[@icymountainhoney9940]

Thanks Jason for the information. Stay warm!!

[@JCsBees]

Will do!

[@86offroad]

Same here in Southern Ontario. 2 weekends ago it was 20'c/70'f. Yesterday 6" snow and 15'f this morning.

[@JCsBees]

The last 8-10 years the winters have been a mess. Seems like we get more rain than snow for winter anymore. I would prefer it to stay cold and get snow but instead we get a lot of mud.

[@honeybeerescue9482]

lady bug said it's too cold, you are on your own for this video

[@JCsBees]

Ladybug is in full heat so daddy isn't letting her outside for very long at a time. I don't want the neighbor dog to breed her. lol

[@keithspillman]

Really great info Jason and love your intro music!! You gonna make it to Hive Life this year? Take care and stay warm!!

[@houstonsheltonbees814]

I agree Keith, excellent music choice brother 👍 thanks, God bless

[@JCsBees]

Thanks Keith! No. I won't be attending the conference, my farm needs me to feed daily. It would be awesome to met everyone but having a working farm it's hard to get away. Hope you have a great time!

[@houstonsheltonbees814]

@@JCsBees I'm not going either brother.

[@JCsBees]

@@houstonsheltonbees814 It would be fun, expensive but fun. It would be awesome to met some of my followers and some of the people I follow but when it comes to my livestock I just don't trust others to have the care I do. Its no loss to them if something bad would happen. Why aren't you going?

[@houstonsheltonbees814]

@@JCsBees I can certainly understand that brother 👍 I really feel about the same way on this. I would love to go to meet everyone and see friends I haven't seen in a while. I even have a buddy who has a cabin down there and said I could use it anytime I wanted. I even have another close beekeeping brother who offered to split me on my ticket. But you still have to eat and have fuel there and back, and also have some funds for any possible mishaps or breakdowns. I can make excuses for going and not going, but it's really the expense for me. I just don't have the extra funds. Holidays and all. But my one main deciding factor is that the 6th is my daughter's birthday. I'd like to see if I can get you my phone number. Maybe send it through one of the guys that are close to you up there if that's ok?

[@mse1333]

Weather is funny, but the funniest is you saying weather is unpredictable but it happens every year😅

[@wittencreekbeez9384]

Good explanation of where the heat is inside a hive. Wind breaking is utilized here as well as provisional feeding with homemade fondant. 20 F this morning in SE Ohio. Enjoy your morning coffee ☕️ Jason!

[@rickriley7018]

Yes Sir, i believe you are correct from my observation and experience. Rick

[@SergeantMajorH]

Hooah! SNOW! Good morning. My bees fly at 40° - My new name for this mixed breed is #CarniBucks(TM). Dot? Or just remember to point up and left like Jason Travolta. lol

[@wittencreekbeez9384]

🧡 those #CarniBucks ! 💃

[@CastleHives]

Mother Nature basically said, hey Ohio you like it warm. . Watch this. Good info on what is actually heated Jason. I got lucky and got my insulated inners on with fondant the day before this cold hit.

[@JCsBees]

I'm gonna go on record here and make my winter prediction..... I think we are headed into another warmer than normal winter. I predict a lot of mud and very little snow (Maybe not where you are though lol). Get ready to ride the roller-coaster! lol Glad you were able to get the insulated top covers on. I seen your video they look nice!

[@CastleHives]

@@JCsBees Have I ever said I am not fond of roller coasters anymore. Winters like we had in the 70's and 80's would be nice. From what I read. LOL. . The insulated inners, I like them so far. We'll see how they do.

[@GEEZBEEZ]

No double guessing the weather. It hit record lows for this time of year in Oklahoma last week. Luckily I was done with winterizing. Take care and keep warm.

[@JCsBees]

I think what tricks a lot of people is knowing when the warm weather is gonna stop. They wait to the last minute then it's too late. I've done it, it's not hard to do. Glad you were ready! Take care and keep warm!!

[@shevlin2650]

Hi Jason, I have not gotten onto your channel in awhile. Good video. Hope you and your family have a Great Happy Thanksgiving. Keep warm brother. SML BEEs / SWVA.

[@JCsBees]

Hey Craig, Hope as is well! Nice to see you on my channel again. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

[@houstonsheltonbees814]

Spot on information brother 👍 nice job not taking out the note to self LoL.. I have a bunch of stuff like that I remake the whole video cause I'm talking to myself LoL.. I need to learn how to edit my stuff. Thanks man, good health and God bless 👍

[@JCsBees]

Glad you enjoyed the video. I try to add a little entertainment on top of the education, this week my note was the entertainment. lol Editing isn't fun but it's a must for me, I talk to myself too much or stumble on my words. If you want to learn to edit use KZbin to learn. God bless, buddy!

[@houstonsheltonbees814]

@@JCsBees thanks man 👍 I would need a editing for dummies video for sure LoL...

[@beesandtractors]

Great info as always Jason. Stay warm up there and have a good week!

[@JCsBees]

Thanks! You too!

[@BohemiaBees]

Another great video

[@JCsBees]

Thanks, Jason!!

[@dagandreassen3115]

Wow, surprised to see that you have snow now. Here we had just below freezing temperatures for 2 days and now it will climb up again. The weather conditions are so unpredictable this time of year. I don't think we will get snow here. Last time we had it more than a few hours is 5 year's ago. Total chaos all over the country. No train, public busses and only my wife and me on the roads because I always use winter tyre's on our car's even if it's not a law here. But I grew up with 5-10 ft of snow so it's normal for me to use it. I'm done with the winter feeding a while ago. All hives got a bag of 5 IBS of sugar dough.

[@thesunbuney5048]

Very helpful, thanks Jason

[@richardlearning3452]

Some how or other I missed this video. Good advice, I am one of them that is frighten to open my hive because it is to cold outside and I would let all the heat out. Thanks Jason for that info.

[@fabianweber619]

Ready or not it's here. Report cards come out in four months!

[@charlesoneill466]

Thanks

[@freddy-fq2fp]

Jason, Thanks for your videos. You helped me so much in my beekeeping journey. I also notice the lovely White Pine trees in the background, those needles are my favorite smoker fuel!

[@JCsBees]

I'm so glad the videos are helpful, Fred. That's great!! Yes, my property is wrapped with the white pines. Sure is pretty when they get snow on them. I also use the needles for my smoker fuel.

[@dcsblessedbees]

Called Winter😉😂gota always think ahead in beekeeping, that doesn't ever stop. Ty JC great info the quicker new keepers understand there are no absolutes with them crazy bees, Blessed Days...👍

[@paulahello7435]

Happy Thanksgiving Jason!

[@JCsBees]

Thanks!! Happy Thanksgiving, Paula!

[@sherryortiz227]

Thanks. I'm heading out in the next 2-3 days while it's up to low 50s to finish the hives I missed the day before this cold snap started. I have top bar hives and my long lang which I put all 3 of my lang hives in for winter. 10 frames on each end with 8 frame in the middle. Divider inside the LL to keep brood separate and their 2 supers each. Changes up my winterizing a bit but not too bad. Just keep them with even number of boxes for winter so the top fits flat. They'll probably be out of the top box so 3rd box can come off each along with any empty combs. I'll take out full capped honey combs to fill empty gaps and put the sugar bricks on. Dec 1st I should be able to finally extract the rest of the honey.

[@virgilcrites8906]

Thanks for the video. I’ve noticed mine seems to go through more food stores during warmer winters than colder ones. I’ve also noticed I have three or four hives from the same original queen that doesn’t take near as much honey as my others

[@donbearden1953]

Jason, thanks for another informative video. I’m in the south (AL) and normally have mid 60s quite often so I check on mine pretty often during the winter. It’s going to me sunshine and 67 this Wednesday so I bet you can’t guess what I’ll be doing… lol. Good luck with those winter bees!

[@richmiller6284]

I had shims and feed on by Halloween this year. A little earlier than normal, for me.

[@1whatever100]

Thanks for the info on winter feeding, it helps a lot.

[@TennesseeMountainBees]

Awesome informative video Jason! Thanks for the feeding advice and that it's not too late! Very interesting what you've learned by using broodminder. Thanks for sharing brother!

[@JCsBees]

Thanks! The BroodMinder has taught me a lot about temps inside our hives over winter. So many people act like heat comes pouring out when you open a hive over winter and that's never been my experience. It would be nice though to open a hive and my fingers and face warmed up but that's never happened. lol They only heat the cluster.

[@christopherroop4937]

Winter came in fast and cold this year, West Central Indiana. Thanks for your videos ✌🏼🐝

[@JCsBees]

Yes it did. Now the question is will it stay or will mud finish the season off?

[@christopherroop4937]

@@JCsBees mud

[@JCsBees]

@@christopherroop4937 I totally agree. I told my wife everyday that was my prediction. Lol

[@karenwaitley9515]

It's 25 here this morning, brrrrrr. Wrapped up the hive, quite a few dead bee's laying around top and bottom, they had it blocked off with dead bees on the bottom was a bit concerned so I popped the top just to ckeck for food, plenty active bee's and food, also checked the bottom sliding board under screen and seen alot of mites. Most I've seen all year. Should I just keep entrance open or dig deeper to check for bigger issues. 🤔 As always great video.

[@JCsBees]

I wouldn't suggest breaking boxes apart this late in the season. I would add the entrance reducer and just keep an eye on the landing board.

[@beemanrunning977]

Would you recommend blocking the notch in my inner covers and blocking the opening in the center of the inner cover in winter to help prevent condensation? I use telescoping covers. Thanks Jason!

[@homeselfmade6286]

Question that I have not found an answer to so far: Seeing that the bees do not heat up the hive but the cluster, could one not put an empty box on top of the hive for easy access to place winter feed on top of the frames in the box below? Reason why I ask is, I could make shims, but do I need to when a empty box is on its own a huge "shim" in this regard. Would you do it? If not why?

[@JCsBees]

Great question! I have used empty supers as my shims many times over the years and they worked just fine. I started using shims after I realized how much an upper entrance was and didn't want all of my supers to have holes drilled in them.

[@homeselfmade6286]

@@JCsBees Thanks! That gives me the courage to do just that then. Here in Germany the locals do not use upper entrances much, if ever. As I'm as a beginner beekeeper I'm also open (pun kinda intended) to that. Thanks again for the reply. Much appreciated.

[@CoastalGardening]

👍👍

[@asgreen21]

0:40 : Mother nature is very unpredictable... this happens every year. 😂

[@JCsBees]

The warm weather prolonging summer is what tricks people. They think I've got a couple week then BAM it gets cold. That was what I was trying to say!

[@sarahbelle2140]

Hi Jason, new beekeeper here. We've been noticing 5-8 dead bees on the entrance of our hive almost everyday - is this concerning? We didn't take any honey from them this year since it was our first year and we recently put out a pollen pattie for them as well.

[@JCsBees]

Hello Sarah, This is a great question, I should do a video on this topic. What your seeing is completely normal. Your seeing the summer bees die off. This happens as the temps start to drop. This is why I suggest treating for mites in August, so your winter bees are healthy and can overwinter successful. As the summer bees die off the winter cluster will get smaller but that is normal. No worries!

[@sarahbelle2140]

Thank you Jason! This is reassuring! I did happen to see a few flying around today, I assume for a cleansing flight. Thanks again, many blessings!

[@temijinkahn511]

@@JCsBees New beekeeper as well. Saw the same. My hive is elevated. I had twenty yellow jackets patrolling under my hive and ganging up on the dying bees below the hive. I was concerned they would come into the hive but they were content with what they were doing. Learning something new about my girls and how nature interacts with them and vice versa.

[@toysintheclosetshop5443]

I have a question about feeding bees in the winter. Last night was 9 degrees. Today it's sunny and 52 degrees. Bees are flying everywhere. This is a common situation here. Can/should I feed bees sugar syrup outside the hive on warm days. I feed sugar syrup outside the hive in the summertime and fall. I'm using poly hives if that makes a difference.

[@JCsBees]

Your weather sounds like mine here in Ohio. lol Offering syrup in a 2:1 mixture would not hurt anything at all. Good luck!!

[@bradgoliphant]

Hey Jason, my hives are tucked away but have a question. I have an 8 pack of Hive Alive Fondant and really like it. But should I be allowing the bees to initially eat their own honey, prior to start feeding them the Hive Alive fondant like in January?

[@ME_MeAndMyBees]

Brad... Check out Fred Dunns last Q&A (last week I think.) Might be Fri 25th, not sure... Anyhow, He did a Full Bit on Hive Alive Fondant use. When and How... Interesting ! Sssh. He also has a Discount from Hive Alive too re USA ! I'm just across the Irish Sea, so our Hive Alive... Hasn't far to travel re Scotland ! 😉 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 Happy Beekeeping 2022. 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 Here today it's still in the 10C (50Fs) so did my OA Treatment... While crazy Nature thinks it Spring !?! Some flowers are thinking its April again.... Yet its the last few Days of November. Go figure ! 🙃

[@bradgoliphant]

@@ME_MeAndMyBees Thank you MMB. Grateful. Yea, Frederick is a friend and I asked him the same question. Ends up he is a huge fan of Hive Alive, as am I. Thanks--I'll check it out. All the best.

[@ME_MeAndMyBees]

Fondant use : You use Hive Alive / or any Fondant* to Feed Bees in the Winter (or during a Food Gap. (Derth) To get Fat Bodied Bees. To get the Hive through tough Weather, Cold, non Nectar flying times, eg Rain ! If Bees need a good Feed, to keep them going through a tough spell of Weather, eg Winter. Add the Fondant to the Top of the Hive, in its Pack. Upturned Fondant Container, or even Self Cut Slabs (from eg a Mega Box of Fondant: Just wrap these in some tightly folded Greaseproof Paper !) Add your Insulation above. May require a Shim use, or an Empty Super, or Deep Box. Some add strips of Wood across the Frames : Giving the Bees some 'Bee Space' to crawl about easily. 😉 Cut a Small Hole in provided Fondant, to allow Bees access to get in, in to eat it. Yet allowing it to not dry out, or, become gooey sticky mess. (Keep the Empty Fondant Containers, clean, and Fill again and again.) Simples. 👍 Tip: If you have a Horizontal Hive, a Hive, with no upper space, then you can take an Empty Frame, and 'Wire' some type of Fondant within it. Or, I've even added a Container of Fondant tipped on End, and Placed off the Floor up against the Wall. Best to do this in the Months up to Winter, while Bees are still active... they will find it. 👍 If the Hive has good levels of Stores (Capped Honey) they may eat the Fondant first, as Bees love pure Carbohydrates (Sugar) over their own Honey ! As Winter progresses, add new Fondant as necessary. As Spring or Derth ends, the Bees will go back to eating their Stores once more : eg for Brood Rearing etc. Or, if they don't: the Beek can remove that Unused Capped Honey and extract it. Yum ! Or feed it to a Split, a Nuc etc. Win, win ! Hope this helps. 😎 Tip: You can feed Bees any true* Sugar Fondant even the stuff in the Baking Aisle ! (However it must be Fondant 'without' stabilising Corn Starch* in it, Bees can't eat this ! It upsets their Stomachs. (So check 'Bakers Fondant Packs' list of Ingredients* !)

[@jmeilhan]

Not correct title : You Was not Ready when it Got Cold

[@johniac7078]

Good stuff.