# Feed a Healthy hive in October?



## BeeTheBee (Mar 27, 2015)

Healthy hive going into cold and winter. No more nectar is being gathered. Should I 2:1 syrup feed just to give the workers something to live on so they don't eat the honey they stored for winter?


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## Duncan151 (Aug 3, 2013)

What size bars/combs are you running, how many capped frames of honey do they currently have, how many frames of brood? More information is needed in order to make a better guess.


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## ruthiesbees (Aug 27, 2013)

you might look at a sugar brick instead. Gives them something to "do" while they wait for winter. Mine consume it in about 30 days so I don't give it to them before December. Unless they have plenty of unfilled comb, the syrup is just a lot for them to ripen and dry before winter sets in.


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## mailmam (May 8, 2014)

I am feeding hummingbirds at home, the hives are 1/4 mile away, across the field, suddenly they were mobbing all the hummingbird feeders and driving the birds away. I decided they must be hungry so I started feeding them 1:1 sugar water which they consumed a quart in a day, I replaced it with 1/2 gallon jars hoping to hold them for a few days.


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

Why are you keeping the hummingbirds over the winter there?
I thought they go to a warmer region during the dead of winter?
If by your feeding that they stay then the snows will get to them for sure.
Not even sure if they hibernate during the winter time.
I use Lauri's sugar bricks on the top bars for emergency feeding during the cold winter months.


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## DavidZ (Apr 9, 2016)

you are supposed to stop feeding hummingbirds Sept 15 at the latest.
They migrate to South America starting the 1st Sept, at this point the ones left here will die due to the cold.


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## BeeTheBee (Mar 27, 2015)

standard les crowder design. 16" across 10" deep about 38 bars across 4 feet of hive. capped honey I'd say at least 7. Brood about the same. The last foot of hive space has some nice drawn comb with nectar.


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## Duncan151 (Aug 3, 2013)

I like to have a minimum of 2 frames of honey for each frame of bees. More would be better. I struggle with wintering, and every year has been something different. Last winter was relatively mild, and I had one hive go through 22 frames of honey, and another go through 6, both had about 6 frames of bees going into October. The rest of the hives, that made it, where some where in between those two extremes. My hives are pretty close to your dimensions, though I had two this summer that were much bigger, and they seem to be doing better overall!! Might be some more building and upgrading in my future! LOL


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## mailmam (May 8, 2014)

beepro said:


> Why are you keeping the hummingbirds over the winter there?
> I thought they go to a warmer region during the dead of winter?
> If by your feeding that they stay then the snows will get to them for sure.
> Not even sure if they hibernate during the winter time.
> I use Lauri's sugar bricks on the top bars for emergency feeding during the cold winter months.


It is far from winter here, it was 85 degrees on Sat! I have found that hummingbirds will leave when their internal clock tells them, not when people think they should.


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## mailmam (May 8, 2014)

DavidZ said:


> you are supposed to stop feeding hummingbirds Sept 15 at the latest.
> They migrate to South America starting the 1st Sept, at this point the ones left here will die due to the cold.


Am I supposed to cut all my flowers down also? They are all over the flower beds, I feed them so I can watch and photograph them, they leave when it's time, I don't think they have read that they have to be gone by Sept 15.


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

Tell that to my good o' neighbor then.
Some hives will not touch those artificial stuffs for whatever reason I don't know.
Maybe the Autumn flow is still on now.


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

Tell that to my good o' neighbor then.
Some hives will not touch those artificial stuffs for whatever reason I don't know.
Maybe the Autumn flow is still on now.


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## Kamon A. Reynolds (Apr 15, 2012)

Don't feed unless it's necessary it cost money and feeding can be counterproductive. In the spring if you have too much pollen or too much honey it will limit the cell space for the queen to lay in. This will do two things, reduce your honey crop, and strongly encourage your bees to swarm earlier than normal. Your colonies need to have enough to last until your honey flow starts and a little extra. It has been proven that the bees raise brood in response to their food Reserves. Too little and they will starve if there's not quite enough they will reduce their population so as not to starve. Too much and you have a lower honey yeild due to backfilled brood nest and potential swarms.

good luck


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

I disagree that feeding is counterproductive.
Oldtimer here posted that his hives grow more bees in the Spring time with feeding.
Feeding has its purpose when done right at the proper timing. For example, don't overfeed
that they filled up in the empty cells until you have enough winter bees. Use Lauri's sugar bricks to
feed them when they brood up during the early Spring time. In many instances feeding will keep the
hives from starvation. If done right it is encouraging to the bees to build up better. When they do not
have enough stores for the winter then you have to bring them up to weight by feeding. Without the extra
stores they will starved to death in the fluctuating unstable Spring weather when they are brooding up say around
Feb. to April. I've noticed that the cap honey will be used to feed the early broods too. The commercial operation
will feed them before tucking them in for the winter. OT already tried it and said it works for him though he was
reluctant to do it before. Now he knows and we all knew too. Feeding works at the right timing!


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