# Does feeding a newly hived swarm help keep them put?



## rv10flyer (Feb 25, 2015)

I do both.


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## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

Other have said they just top off their tank and swarm again.

A frame of open brood locks them in. I never had a swarm leave when it was given open brood.

I give them open nectar and pollen frames if I have them. I feed them after their settled in, it help with build up.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

To answer your question, yes AND no. 
Yes it may help to secure them and no it may cause robbing and send them into the wild blue yonder.
It's been my experience to hive the swarm directly into a hive with drawn comb and leave then alone for two weeks. I haven't had one leave yet.


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

It probably helps, and probably does little if any harm. I do both and it's usually successful.


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr (Feb 27, 2010)

I am with Mr Beeman on this one.

If you put a couple of drawn out brood combs (ready for the queen to lay in), and a couple of frames of foundation, against one wall of the deep super, I have never found it necessary to feed or put open brood in the box. After about 5 days, open and fill with frames, but, still don't disturbe the original 4 frames for another week..

If you have your box set up, and you leave them alone for 5 to 7 days, rarely will they drop any comb, because, the queen will start laying in the brood comb, and, they will start drawing on the two frames of foundation. I believe it it very important to keep on hand, good, drawn, brood comb, ready for the queen to start laying in. I can't remember a swarm leaving in many years, and I don't feed or give them open brood.

I also agree with DavidLaFerney, I doubt that it does any harm, but, I just don't find it necessary. I have always believed that you only feed if you need to feed. (desperate situations). I don't want to create welfare bees. I know there are those who believe in feed, feed, feed, but, I am not one of them. Let them work for themselves.

cchoganjr


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## Norcalkyle (Apr 23, 2015)

As always, you guys are a ton of help. When I drove up to my apiary yesterday and saw the swarm I did not panic and feel like I handled the situation well considering it was my first swarm. This site has been a very valuable resource for me to guide me through the unexpected things, and I am continued to be suprised at how many people are willing to share their knowledge and spend time helping beginners.


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

Cleo C. Hogan Jr said:


> ... the queen will start laying in the brood comb...


That's the key - if the queen starts laying they will stay. I don't usually chase swarms (I put too much time into splitting and queen rearing) but this has been such a swarmy year I've caught several despite myself. 

One nice fat prime swarm I just hived into a box full of foundation and left it sitting where I found the swarm - a few days later it had almost a box of comb drawn and no doubt eggs all over the place.

Another small swarm that I speculated might have a virgin queen (it did) would have been much more likely to leave if I hadn't given them a frame of brood - they stayed and have already grown into a nice starter hive with a prolific new queen.

Yet another one was reported to me by a neighbor and had already built a couple of combs in the open - but with no eggs apparent. So this dry virgin swarm got a frame of brood and a quart of syrup - by the time I inspected it 10 days or so later that queen was laying nicely on 4-5 frames of new comb.

Those all had different needs - the dry swarm really needed feeding IMO, the virgin swarms are more likely to stay if you give them brood, the prime swarm just needed a box with the right size and smell.

If you aren't quite sure what you are getting, or you don't want to take any chances give them a frame of brood and a little feed to get them started - it might not be necessary, but it won't hurt anything. 

Since I'm not really a swarm hunter any nice brood comb I have is in hives right now, but maybe in the future I'll keep a box of brood comb in reserve just in case - it would be a lot easier than scrounging for a frame of young brood while you are dealing with a swarm. Thanks for the tips Cleo.


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

I've been lucky, this year has been more of a move in type of year... didn't have to do a thing, just leave extra boxes out at all my yards and the swarms are moving in. I've never had one leave, I just try to make sure they have some drawn comb and will drop in a frame of brood for the dinks to help them out.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

David LaFerney said:


> Another small swarm that I speculated might have a virgin queen (it did) would have been much more likely to leave if I hadn't given them a frame of brood - they stayed and have already grown into a nice starter hive with a prolific new queen.
> 
> .



that is a valuable little nugget buried in there, sometimes when a virgin queen leaves for her mating flight if within a day or two of being hived the colony will follow her and sometimes they just don't come back. If I suspect at all that the queen is a virgin, and I find her on the install, I'll cage her for 3 days, this gives them enough time to start building which usually results in them being committed to the box.


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## Ryan M (Jan 16, 2013)

In my experience, yes, feeding helps keep them around. However, I trap the queen inside with excluders and do open feeding with sugar water & pollen patties in a dry birdbath near the hive. I have found that feeding them in the hive attracts too many other pests, and by open feeding the workers leave the hive, but don't have to go too far, and get acquainted with their new yard.


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## crmauch (Mar 3, 2016)

Well, if you're just starting out w/out bees, what would you do on a swarm capture? (i.e. having brood or even drawn comb isn't an option.)

How do you tell if a swarm is "dry"?


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

crmauch said:


> Well, if you're just starting out w/out bees, what would you do on a swarm capture? (i.e. having brood or even drawn comb isn't an option.)
> 
> How do you tell if a swarm is "dry"?



a good way to tell if they have been there for any length of time is they start drawing comb in the place where they landed, also, pissy swarms typically mean they have been there for awhile as well.


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

If you are starting with nothing but foundation then use what you have and hope for the best. You might want to fasten them in until almost dark so they are likely to stay at least until the next morning. It will still work a fair amt of the time.


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