# "Must Feed"



## kwclr (Feb 2, 2016)

Newbee here, with high hopes of my treatment-free future. I have two 8 frame deeps setup and ready in my urban backyard, with small-cell wax foundation ready to go. I have two 4-5 frames nucs on order from a treatment free source here in Arkansas. They are "3rd generation" (meaning the beekeepers) Russian/Feral mixed genetics small-cell bees that have not been treated in many years (according to seller). I heard of him through Solomon Parker's recommendation. 


Anyway, I've got "bee-fever" and with the beautiful spring weather we're now having here in Arkansas (everything's in bloom) I'm very anxious to pick-up my nucs and get started. I contacted my supplier today to see if they had any nucs ready for pick-up a few weeks early. They said that they could accommodate me, but I "must feed" until the honey flow starts (don't know when that is? thought it must be now when there are flowers everywhere!) I don't want to feed sugar and have no honey of my own, since I'm new. So perhaps its smarter to wait a month and pick up the nucs as originally scheduled and planned. 


Thanks for your expertise!


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## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

Flowers blooming does not necessarily mean/= nectar flow. Someone in your area would know when the first flow starts. If you do not want to feed sugar water, and your supplier is recommending it for early pick up, don't pick them up early.


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## Richard P (Feb 12, 2016)

I too am a newbee, and others will come in with alot more experience than me, but yes feed 1 to 1 sugar. I would do this on the nuce even if you get em in a month. Any new hive I make, be it a swarm, split withnew queen, of a package or nuc, I will sugar them for 1-2 weeks when I receive em, then let em fend for them selves. As I said, you will here from better folks in here. But thats my 2 cents... Best of luck..........


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## Chuck Jachens (Feb 22, 2016)

I too am a must feed for a new installation. The hives needs resources to build comb and raise brood. Any resource shortage at the beginning and the bees will suffer setbacks that will follow them through the season. I feed protein patties in addition to 1:1 sugar water.


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

Ask Sol.


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

kwclr, i would follow closely any and all recommendations made by the successful tf supplier. wait until the nucs are 'ready' if that's what they suggest you do.


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## Riverderwent (May 23, 2013)

kwclr said:


> They said that they could accommodate me, but I "must feed" until the honey flow starts (don't know when that is? thought it must be now when there are flowers everywhere!) I don't want to feed sugar and have no honey of my own, since I'm new. So perhaps its smarter to wait a month and pick up the nucs as originally scheduled and planned.


Get the bees now. It will give you a serious jump start. Dutch clover is blooming in Conway north of you now. Would it matter whether you or they would be feeding anyway? If there is no honey/condensed syrup in the hive, then watch closely and feed if needed. Their advice is more valid for previous years. This season is unusual.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

why are you opposed to feeding? I'm TF and I hate feeding, but young colonies starting out there is no reason not to and a million reasons why you should. Once established i tend to let them fend for themselves unless I screw up and split at the wrong time, but i'm getting to the point I can rob honey from other colonies to feed the splits without using sugar water. You will get there too, but don't starve them trying to.


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## BuckeyeBeek (Apr 16, 2013)

Harley Craig said:


> why are you opposed to feeding? I'm TF and I hate feeding, but young colonies starting out there is no reason not to and a million reasons why you should. Once established i tend to let them fend for themselves unless I screw up and split at the wrong time, but i'm getting to the point I can rob honey from other colonies to feed the splits without using sugar water. You will get there too, but don't starve them trying to.


Sound advice. Faced with the choice of a temporary feeding (to get them through a tough time) vs losing the entire colony to starvation, better to give them a chance to fight another day


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## wfarler (Jul 9, 2003)

Think of what you are trying to do as a goal not a set of strict rules. If you don't feed when they need it they will not build up like they should. If they build up you will be buying 2 NUCs next spring to cover your winter losses and you still won't have honey.

Whatever you do don't feed store bought honey as that is the fastest way to introduce spore of foulbrood and who knows what else.

Getting started you have to do what they need and then when they are strong they can accommodate what you think you need.


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

Not feeding is just plain dumb if they need it.... then again, they should come with a frame of honey that should last them a fair amount of time if anything is blooming.


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## kwclr (Feb 2, 2016)

Thanks for all the great advice. Here's my NewBee update:
I drove about an hour from my town in central Arkansas and picked up two 4 frame nucs from Terry Frost in Dardenelle Arkansas. He has about 500 hives and his father introduced him to be keeping so he's been doing it his whole life. He does not use any treatments. He uses Italian queens bred with a feral line of small cell bees that he has found to be very calm. He generally does not use much protective clothing.

He told me that as much as he hates to have to feed bees that these early nucs would need some help getting started.

Yesterday afternoon on a beautiful 70° day I took the two nucs and installed them into my too deep 8 frame hive bodies. Added three small cell wax foundation frames. I'm totally new at this so the experience was a little nerve-racking. I never identified either Queen just because of my lack of experience. I put sugar syrup into a frame feeder in both hives, with about a gallon of syrup and he told me I may need to refill it once but that should be all I have to do.

The bees seemed a little temperamental for the next couple of hours and after understandably stinging one of my curious dogs, Continued to buzz me and some friends on our deck 60-70 feet away and got tangled in a couple of our hair (including my wife who is not a fan of my beekeeping yet), but luckily no stings. They were quiet by dusk (all inside the hive, so I assume the queens were in each hive), and even at 7:30 this morning we're getting a slow start (about 50°) and I'm anxious to see how they're doing this afternoon when I return home from work. I would say that at least yesterday they were nowhere near as calm as Terry had promised but I assume this is because of all of the stress on them with the installation into brand new hives.

Thanks for listening.


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## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

JRG13 said:


> Not feeding is just plain dumb if they need it.... then again, they should come with a frame of honey that should last them a fair amount of time if anything is blooming.


Agreed, yet some say the same about not treating:shhhh:
kWclr,, what did the frames look like, in terms of honey, brood, eggs, larvae, & amount of bees?


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

kwclr said:


> they were nowhere near as calm as Terry had promised.


Could be under a little robbing pressure. With nucs it's safest to let them settle into their new home for a day or two before feeding syrup. 

Putting in syrup at the same time as installing them is risking attracting robbers before the bees can organise themselves and sort what entrances need guarding etc. Bees flying can be aggressive when robbing is happening. 

Doesn't apply to packages, they have no stores at all and need to be fed immediately.


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