Personally, I absolutely LOVE open feeding. I love it in Winter, I love it in Summer. In Winter I can feed without opening the hives (but we get mild winters where we get plenty of warm days). The hives fill their stores WAY WAY faster than internal feeding. I don't know why, but they do fill it faster than internal feeding. Also, messing with so many hives is so very convenient!!! While I'll feed feral bees, I don't care. I leave my open buckets of feed fairly close to the hives (vs. feral hives far away) and most importantly, my hives get most of the feed so...I'm cool with that! Love your Videos Jason! Thanks!
Great experiment Jason, I very much enjoyed your test and final info. I think I would find a different feeder design though, but the results are the interesting part.
Robbing is EASY to stop. Simply staple window screen across the entrance and make a vertical tunnel 2-3 bees wide that runs 2 inches from entrance. Insert stem and your bees learn to look for gap and climb stem to get in hive. Forces bees in apiary to stop robbing each other and focus on foraging. No more defensive mean bees. They are much calmer because they aren't constantly defending hive. 2 bees can defend the tunnel bottom entrance at the hive opening. The tunnel limits a large volume of bees from robbing. Bees aren't dying from fighting. If you need more access for heavy traffic, simply add upper entrance and vertical tunnel to honey super. Pollen will use bottom and nectar foragers will use upper entrance. Create more tunnels if needed. The tighter tunnel is WHY it works better. 2-3 bees wide, no bigger. Drones figure it out. Most nectar foragers will just unload food at the screen area to a reciever and take off to get more nectar. Your bees keep what they have so even a 2 frame nuc builds up fast. Yellow jackets aren't a problem when it's too cold for bees because they are confused by tunnel. Your winter robber woes are gone. Bees stay safely clustered together, unaware of any danger. Sumner dearth? No problem. Warm winter robbing woories no longer! Use an office stapler to attach fiberglass window screen. $7 roll at hardware store covers the whole apiary. A lot of hives. Build the tunnel with a screwdriver and staple the tunnel sides. No gaps along top edge of screen except where tunnel is. That is important. Entrance reducer goes on top of screen if you need draft protection. So line it up if you use one. In the summer, you will see less bearding. The airflow is increased. Slap a piece of window screen directly over your brood frames in spring. The bees propolis it heavily. Cut upper access entrances at corners & edges, NOT the center. Bees will use screen to control brood humidity while efficiently evaporating honey super through screened upper entrance. Brood area stays humid. Honey supper can be ventilated without effecting the brood area. Help your bees survive successfully. The propolis screens can be frozen in ziplock bags and used when installing a package, nuc, or split. Instant insulation with lovely bee smells. Or put in a 5 gallon bucket lined with brown paper grocery bags dipped in melted bees wax. 2 inch entrance near bottom and lots of ventilation holes for travel (tip- drill in small holes under the lips AFTER you apply brown paper with wax).
I did this last week as well..My reasoning was to keep robbing away from my hives...It was effective but as you say, a bit costly. Thanks for your informative videos.
I only have one hive now, going into fall, but I've ordered two packages for spring. I know dearth will hit in midsummer, and I'll have one strong colony and two relatively weak colonies. To keep the strong one from robbing the weak ones, would it make sense to open feed like this during dearth? If instead I put a feeder in/on the strong colony, will that satisfy them enough to keep them from robbing the weak ones?
I see no problems with open feeding as long as you set up the feeder t least 100 yards away from colonies. I've found if you open feed one day then add feeders to the inside of the colonies there is zero robbing. If you just open feed though there may be a little robbing but not much. You could use robbing screens.
That is how we do it, just on a bigger scale. It does work good when you dont have time to feed in frame feeders. It is a lot faster. We place our feed about 80 yards away and dont have a robbing problem either. Good video.
Thanks for this. Two questions. Why hay and not straw? Also, the insert towards the end showed bees feeding at a chicken waterer. I did something similar with an inverted bucket having small holes drilled all around the circumference. Bees piled on like your chicken waterer and many died in the mailstrom. But my bucket was only 30 yards from the colonies, maybe that was the problem. I like how calm the feeding appeared with your tubs holding hay put a good distance away. I only wish I had such a distance available to me, but I don't. Thanks, again.
I used hay vs straw because that's what I had. I am a firm believer in using what you have vs spending more $$. I am very familiar with the inverted bucket feeder and I would say your issue is the distance away. Do you have a neighbor that would let you place the feeders there? That would sure be nice. Or maybe use smaller buckets and place them over the inner cover hole, then set another box over bucket with a lid. That will greatly help. Good luck my friend!
So something came up on open feeding & feeding. I realized that I would have to time shutting off the feed just right with the right mix of when the nectar flow slows and when the time of the year is for the population to naturally go down also. If I didn't do this right then it would cause extra draw on resources. Well at least that's my worry. Like an example; if I fed them so much they had huge numbers and then no food and long winter they'd eat more than if I were to slow down the feed and slow the population a little but not have the population drop too much? Well anyway how to make sure you time this right to just have the population exactly right w timing of feed, and when to shut off feed as you are getting ready for winter? Where we are we also had extra drought issues this year. so more worry on that too, as the nectar flow wasn't that great.
This is wonderfully helpful and the information is highly valuable. Thank you Jason, your videos are enjoyable and have helped me quite a bit with my own colonies. Thank you, Jason.
Another great video jason. Every time i mention open feeding a lot of beekeepers freak out. Bus as you say at the end in an emergency situation when time is short and the bees need some feed to keep them going it works and there is no robbing when the feed is a distance away.
They do tend to freak out! lol It's funny that your getting the same response. I do not open feed much but I will use it when needed. Thanks for watching, Bee Man!
Great video. I only do open feeding to minimize robbing. It’s all in the math. Average weight gain was 5.5lb * 10 hives 55lb gain. A loss of 20lb. So if time is money you only losted 12.5lb of sugar. About $6 of sugar. How long does it take to feed 10 individual hives and disturbing the hives? You will have more time to do other things. Time is money to.
+Terry Scully Good points. Free time is very limited, so making sure the hives are too weight is the most important factor here to me. We all have our ways of breaking things down, if it work for you that is great! Thanks for watching
Jason, I still like open feeding, but often opt to direct feed my colonies individually. But I like that feral bees also get a bit of attention. I for one like having colonies in the woods or even in neglected buildings if they don't interfere with a homeowner's use for his own property. And I like catching these feral swarms come spring! If they survive from year to year there may be some beneficial genetics for my yard....Rick
Individual feeders gets your small colonies wiped out to robbing. I found I can open feed in my front yard at about 30-50 feet but there is a 6 foot fence and a few trees in the way and that seems to separate them from the fact it is close and has kept the robbing from starting. In hive feeding has been a disaster for me. I had one split wiped out, they missed the queen but left only 50-100 bees, another got their queen killed and dropped to under 50 bees and another left barely survivable. Smaller colonies and nucs cannot stand to a full hive. Feeding all at the same time did little to stop the robbing.
Your bees goes to other BK's EAT's TO! IT all works out, they know where to go! I WANT EM TO KNOW THERE WELCOME HERE. Give your bees some PURE LIQUID EXTRACTS, > Like Vanilla, Anise, Mint, Orange, Rum ect 2 drops per gallon all that needed Make them Alert, and Healthy and yes some goes into the honey MMM ITS AWESOME Apple, Maple , Peach, cherry, Apricot, Orange honey, Rum, vanilla, berry, Mint Honey is a little weird tasting but good for the bees
Personally, I absolutely LOVE open feeding.
I love it in Winter, I love it in Summer.
In Winter I can feed without opening the hives (but we get mild winters where we get plenty of warm days).
The hives fill their stores WAY WAY faster than internal feeding.
I don't know why, but they do fill it faster than internal feeding.
Also, messing with so many hives is so very convenient!!!
While I'll feed feral bees, I don't care. I leave my open buckets of feed fairly close to the hives (vs. feral hives far away) and most importantly, my hives get most of the feed so...I'm cool with that!
Love your Videos Jason! Thanks!
Great experiment Jason, I very much enjoyed your test and final info. I think I would find a different feeder design though, but the results are the interesting part.
Robbing is EASY to stop. Simply staple window screen across the entrance and make a vertical tunnel 2-3 bees wide that runs 2 inches from entrance. Insert stem and your bees learn to look for gap and climb stem to get in hive. Forces bees in apiary to stop robbing each other and focus on foraging. No more defensive mean bees. They are much calmer because they aren't constantly defending hive. 2 bees can defend the tunnel bottom entrance at the hive opening. The tunnel limits a large volume of bees from robbing. Bees aren't dying from fighting. If you need more access for heavy traffic, simply add upper entrance and vertical tunnel to honey super. Pollen will use bottom and nectar foragers will use upper entrance. Create more tunnels if needed. The tighter tunnel is WHY it works better. 2-3 bees wide, no bigger. Drones figure it out. Most nectar foragers will just unload food at the screen area to a reciever and take off to get more nectar. Your bees keep what they have so even a 2 frame nuc builds up fast. Yellow jackets aren't a problem when it's too cold for bees because they are confused by tunnel. Your winter robber woes are gone. Bees stay safely clustered together, unaware of any danger. Sumner dearth? No problem. Warm winter robbing woories no longer! Use an office stapler to attach fiberglass window screen. $7 roll at hardware store covers the whole apiary. A lot of hives. Build the tunnel with a screwdriver and staple the tunnel sides. No gaps along top edge of screen except where tunnel is. That is important. Entrance reducer goes on top of screen if you need draft protection. So line it up if you use one. In the summer, you will see less bearding. The airflow is increased. Slap a piece of window screen directly over your brood frames in spring. The bees propolis it heavily. Cut upper access entrances at corners & edges, NOT the center. Bees will use screen to control brood humidity while efficiently evaporating honey super through screened upper entrance. Brood area stays humid. Honey supper can be ventilated without effecting the brood area. Help your bees survive successfully. The propolis screens can be frozen in ziplock bags and used when installing a package, nuc, or split. Instant insulation with lovely bee smells. Or put in a 5 gallon bucket lined with brown paper grocery bags dipped in melted bees wax. 2 inch entrance near bottom and lots of ventilation holes for travel (tip- drill in small holes under the lips AFTER you apply brown paper with wax).
The only problem I have with this method is that the lighter colonies are never the ones that put on the weight.
B&K's Bees That is a very true statement.
Open feeding helps increase feral bees in your area. Set bait hives near food source and catch feral swarms. Sell the swarms.
Use the skinny foam cupboard liners from dollar store. It floats. Bees land and drink from webbing. No dead bees.
Great experiment Jason! Very good information. Thanks for doing this and posting the results.
I did this last week as well..My reasoning was to keep robbing away from my hives...It was effective but as you say, a bit costly. Thanks for your informative videos.
I only have one hive now, going into fall, but I've ordered two packages for spring. I know dearth will hit in midsummer, and I'll have one strong colony and two relatively weak colonies. To keep the strong one from robbing the weak ones, would it make sense to open feed like this during dearth? If instead I put a feeder in/on the strong colony, will that satisfy them enough to keep them from robbing the weak ones?
I see no problems with open feeding as long as you set up the feeder t least 100 yards away from colonies. I've found if you open feed one day then add feeders to the inside of the colonies there is zero robbing. If you just open feed though there may be a little robbing but not much. You could use robbing screens.
@@JCsBees -- Great. Thank you!
That is how we do it, just on a bigger scale. It does work good when you dont have time to feed in frame feeders. It is a lot faster. We place our feed about 80 yards away and dont have a robbing problem either. Good video.
Thanks for this. Two questions. Why hay and not straw? Also, the insert towards the end showed bees feeding at a chicken waterer. I did something similar with an inverted bucket having small holes drilled all around the circumference. Bees piled on like your chicken waterer and many died in the mailstrom. But my bucket was only 30 yards from the colonies, maybe that was the problem. I like how calm the feeding appeared with your tubs holding hay put a good distance away. I only wish I had such a distance available to me, but I don't. Thanks, again.
I used hay vs straw because that's what I had. I am a firm believer in using what you have vs spending more $$. I am very familiar with the inverted bucket feeder and I would say your issue is the distance away. Do you have a neighbor that would let you place the feeders there? That would sure be nice. Or maybe use smaller buckets and place them over the inner cover hole, then set another box over bucket with a lid. That will greatly help. Good luck my friend!
So something came up on open feeding & feeding.
I realized that I would have to time shutting off the feed just right with the right mix of when the nectar flow slows and when the time of the year is for the population to naturally go down also. If I didn't do this right then it would cause extra draw on resources. Well at least that's my worry. Like an example; if I fed them so much they had huge numbers and then no food and long winter they'd eat more than if I were to slow down the feed and slow the population a little but not have the population drop too much?
Well anyway how to make sure you time this right to just have the population exactly right w timing of feed, and when to shut off feed as you are getting ready for winter?
Where we are we also had extra drought issues this year. so more worry on that too, as the nectar flow wasn't that great.
Very interesting. Like your java go attitude Jason
This is wonderfully helpful and the information is highly valuable. Thank you Jason, your videos are enjoyable and have helped me quite a bit with my own colonies.
Thank you, Jason.
you have great video!!!!!!!!well done for greece!!!!!!!👌👌👌👌
Another great video jason. Every time i mention open feeding a lot of beekeepers freak out.
Bus as you say at the end in an emergency situation when time is short and the bees need some feed to keep them going it works and there is no robbing when the feed is a distance away.
They do tend to freak out! lol It's funny that your getting the same response. I do not open feed much but I will use it when needed. Thanks for watching, Bee Man!
Great video. I only do open feeding to minimize robbing. It’s all in the math. Average weight gain was 5.5lb * 10 hives 55lb gain. A loss of 20lb. So if time is money you only losted 12.5lb of sugar. About $6 of sugar. How long does it take to feed 10 individual hives and disturbing the hives? You will have more time to do other things. Time is money to.
+Terry Scully Good points. Free time is very limited, so making sure the hives are too weight is the most important factor here to me. We all have our ways of breaking things down, if it work for you that is great! Thanks for watching
Fabulous video!!!
Thanks!
Jason, I still like open feeding, but often opt to direct feed my colonies individually. But I like that feral bees also get a bit of attention. I for one like having colonies in the woods or even in neglected buildings if they don't interfere with a homeowner's use for his own property. And I like catching these feral swarms come spring! If they survive from year to year there may be some beneficial genetics for my yard....Rick
Many of the genetic in my bee yard have come from feral colonies so I have to agree they are great to have around.
Individual feeders gets your small colonies wiped out to robbing. I found I can open feed in my front yard at about 30-50 feet but there is a 6 foot fence and a few trees in the way and that seems to separate them from the fact it is close and has kept the robbing from starting.
In hive feeding has been a disaster for me. I had one split wiped out, they missed the queen but left only 50-100 bees, another got their queen killed and dropped to under 50 bees and another left barely survivable. Smaller colonies and nucs cannot stand to a full hive. Feeding all at the same time did little to stop the robbing.
Your bees goes to other BK's EAT's TO! IT all works out, they know where to go! I WANT EM TO KNOW THERE WELCOME HERE. Give your bees some PURE LIQUID EXTRACTS, > Like Vanilla, Anise, Mint, Orange, Rum ect 2 drops per gallon all that needed Make them Alert, and Healthy and yes some goes into the honey MMM ITS AWESOME Apple, Maple , Peach, cherry, Apricot, Orange honey, Rum, vanilla, berry, Mint Honey is a little weird tasting but good for the bees
I do NOT fed with extracts for 1 simple reason....They cause robbing. The smell is so strong every bee in the county smells it.
TRUE! keep robing away from the hives, an out at the feeders, it not bad there. Cause there not defending any thing