# Feeder? Frame feeder?



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Every hive body we keep bees in has a frame feeder. Ideally they will have some sort of cap and ladder system to keep out comb but we leave them open and just use a long scoop out of angle iron to clean out the comb each fall. Feeding, then, with a pump takes about 5 seconds per hive.


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## dphillipm (Mar 27, 2013)

Is there any way to design the inner cover so that you don't have to remove it to fill the frame feeder?


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

dphillipm said:


> Is there any way to design the inner cover so that you don't have to remove it to fill the frame feeder?


Short answer NOPE. The system we all do now works good. I guess you could invent something but, the big guys are not going to change when it only takes a minute or quicker per hive.


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## Beetrucker74 (Oct 10, 2010)

We run around 10,000 hives use jars and buckets. Internal feeders are prime breeding ground for SHB.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

I use Mann Lake's cap & ladder feeders. I keep them all on the right hand side of the hive and only in the bottom brood box. While we have SHB here, I've not found those feeders t/b a breeding ground. A NY beekeeper (over 4k hives) who overwinters his hives here in SC also uses them with no SHB problem in the feeders. Maybe we're just lucky.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

We haven't experienced shb problems with inside feeders either. Typically they will fill up with drone comb and/or honey by the end of the season. Of course shb are much worse in some climates than others. For us they are a minor pest at worst. We always keep our feeders on th "inside" of the pallet so that you slide the lid away from the hive next to it when you open it to feed. Let me be clear, from a good beekeeping perspective there is no better way to feed than inverted pails or jars the problem is that they are one more thing to have to transport each time you relocate your hives. for us, though, it's an efficiency thing, one person can easily feed a yard of 40 in about 10 minutes.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

jim lyon said:


> We haven't experienced shb problems with inside feeders either. Typically they will fill up with drone comb and/or honey by the end of the season.


If you use the cap & ladder feeders, they don't fill with comb or honey.....of course they are more expensive...


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

When feeding syrup and only syrup I don't take the cover off all the way. I only move it over far enough to expose the feeder. Unless I need to dump water out of it. My covers don't fit as well as they should. My feeders aren't capped.

Jim and others, do your capped feeders ever get water in them? Mann Lake told me that they built the cap and ladder system so beekeepers could fill feeders and handle/load hives and not have syrup sloshing out of the feeders.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

We have used some in the past. My concerns are that they don't "nest" for storage, they are a bit more difficult to fill (in some situations wejust angle the lid over an inch or two), also they may harbor hiding areas for shb and aren't easy to clean out if they fill with rainwater. I do know at least one large operation that uses them with some success. When we are cleaning feeders in the fall I think they sound like a great idea.


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## WilliamsHoneyBees (Feb 17, 2010)

I saw somewhere here on beesource (may be one of you guys) pictures of a frame feeder where they put window screen like this (wwwww) in it to use as a ladder and to keep burr comb from forming. Your thoughts.

Thanks!


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

sqkcrk said:


> When feeding syrup and only syrup I don't take the cover off all the way. I only move it over far enough to expose the feeder.
> Jim and others, do your capped feeders ever get water in them? Mann Lake told me that they built the cap and ladder system so beekeepers could fill feeders and handle/load hives and not have syrup sloshing out of the feeders.


Mark.....no, they don't collect water in them. Also, I'm guessing that when you're loading hives, the feeders w/b empty. But in any event, they don't slosh as they are covered (well maybe they they would slosh some if they were full when you were moving them)....... That's all CK uses in his...


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

feeding bees is one of my least favorite jobs. I have used every feeder available and they all have their problems but each type of feeder provides that advantage which leads to into a beekeepers preference.
I feed by pails, and open feeding. I keep everything external. Every spring I figure I should have some frame feeders in place but when I did use them I found them to be more work to remove them before the flows. Otherwise the the space is wasted with comb. They will also fill with water and can be a mess if not kept up. 
If I run my hives around the country like these migratory guys, I definitely could see the advantage of having an on board feeder in place.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

Ian said:


> Every spring I figure I should have some frame feeders in place but when I did use them I found them to be more work to remove them before the flows. Otherwise the the space is wasted with comb. They will also fill with water and can be a mess if not kept up.


I have not found those problems with the covered Mann Lake... cap & ladder feeders. I don't remove ....ever....


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

ya those covered feeders look slick,


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## Beeslave (Feb 6, 2009)

Occasionally I find a cap/ladder feeder with water in it. The bees like to propolize the ladders so to fill I pull a ladder out to make filling quicker. If it is propolized when I remove it a few quick smacks with the hive tool breaks enough of for the bees to be able to feed.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

I learned that if you leave the ladders out in the sun they become brittle and fall apart. I got some when I ordered my feeders but didn't use them. So they laid out in the sun for the Summer.


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## Jed (Feb 23, 2013)

jim lyon said:


> Every hive body we keep bees in has a frame feeder. Ideally they will have some sort of cap and ladder system to keep out comb but we leave them open and just use a long scoop out of angle iron to clean out the comb each fall. Feeding, then, with a pump takes about 5 seconds per hive.


i do the exact same thing lol
works great


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## Ted (Feb 20, 2000)

What about fondant fast and cheap


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## WilliamsHoneyBees (Feb 17, 2010)

Fondant is over 1.00 a pound here. Nothing cheap about it. Lol


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## Ted (Feb 20, 2000)

pm me i know a place you can get a deal on it


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## WilliamsHoneyBees (Feb 17, 2010)

Thanks for everyone's feedback.


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