# What do you find to be the most efficient feeder?



## hex0rz (Jan 14, 2014)

I realize this is not a cut and dry issue, but for you commercial keepers, what are you deciding on as being the most efficient way of feeding syrup to your bees when needed?

I was watching a youtube vid and was shocked at the amount of dead bees with open feeding with 55 gal drums. I'm definitely curious as to how one would go about feeding hundreds to thousands of hives efficiently. 

Now, I also realize, efficiency does not mean there is low mortality. Have you found the happy medium for feeding and not killing bees in the process? I hear and read about the downfalls of open feeding and wonder what it means for a commercial keeper given the fact your possibly feeding more hives than yours, the pests/predators to doing it and also the potential of disease, etc.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

If you are talking about labor efficiency then open feeding is going to feed the most hives in the shortest time but you may feed some neighboring bees as well and if there is a high concentration of bees you may well drown some bees as well. I prefer inside feeders. I have personally fed as many as a thousand hives in a day alone in large holding yards with inside feeders and a syrup pump. Of course in cooler conditions you still risk drowning a few bees with inside feeders as well. The very best way to feed bees without risk of drowning and in cooler conditions will always be inverted pails sitting directly on the cluster.


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## My-smokepole (Apr 14, 2008)

Jim ? For you what type of set up was that I can guess but I don't want to make a fool of myself.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Set up? The hives are on standard 4 way pallets with inside feeders on the"inside" of each hive so you only need to slide the lid over a few inches to expose the feeder. We have a couple of trash pumps and a gear pump with pressure bypass. The gear pump is the favorite as it will handle thicker syrup better and will do so at lower engine rpms's. Honda GX motors rock.


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## hex0rz (Jan 14, 2014)

I have a personal preference of using the inverted pail. But taking into consideration, someone with hundreds to thousands of hives, seems labor intensive. Especially since you have to cover the pail with boxes, etc. to close it in to the hive. On my hives, It takes 3 mediums to cover my buckets I use.

Are those internal frame feeders really that effective at feeding? I never hear a single good thing about them..

If you open feed as a method, what if anything do you use to keep them from drowning? Small pebbles, marbles, straw, grass, etc.? I'm wondering if there is something that could be useful in providing a capillary effect to wick it from the bottom of something so they can feed off of that instead of the direct source? But then on the same hand, would accomplishing this only wick the water from it and not the sugar, too?


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

.....in cooler conditions will always be inverted pails sitting directly on the cluster. 

I agree, and we usually have cooler conditions. We do not cover the pail. It sits on the innercover, with the telescoping roof temporarily leaned against the back of the hive.. 

Crazy Roland


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

hex0rz said:


> Are those internal frame feeders really that effective at feeding? I never hear a single good thing about them..


Really? Who have you been talking to? They hold 10 lbs. of feed, you can fill them in a matter of seconds, bees will lick them clean overnight and I rarely see any dead bees in them.


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## RAK (May 2, 2010)

I use only internal frame feeders same as Jim described. Can't imagine doing it any other way. I also run a gear pump with a honda gx and can't agree on it any more than Jim. Never had any issues. Drowning not a problem unless your feeding when its very cold. It's definitely too cold to be feeding in Sandpoint right now.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

This one is basically free (a little scrap lumber and some #8 hardware cloth) and I don't have to open the hive to feed and I can stack nucs and feed them all without opening or unstacking...

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfeeding.htm#BottomBoardFeeder


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## dsegrest (May 15, 2014)

hex0rz said:


> I have a personal preference of using the inverted pail. But taking into consideration, someone with hundreds to thousands of hives, seems labor intensive. Especially since you have to cover the pail with boxes, etc. to close it in to the hive. On my hives, It takes 3 mediums to cover my buckets I use.
> 
> Are those internal frame feeders really that effective at feeding? I never hear a single good thing about them..
> 
> If you open feed as a method, what if anything do you use to keep them from drowning? Small pebbles, marbles, straw, grass, etc.? I'm wondering if there is something that could be useful in providing a capillary effect to wick it from the bottom of something so they can feed off of that instead of the direct source? But then on the same hand, would accomplishing this only wick the water from it and not the sugar, too?


Im a newbie but I used Mannlake top feeders for the last 2 years and some frame feeders this year. I will continue using the frame feeders and phase out the top feeders. The top feeders are a little easier but the frame feeders don't promote robbing quite as much.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

dsegrest said:


> I will continue using the frame feeders and phase out the top feeders. The top feeders are a little easier but the frame feeders don't promote robbing quite as much.


Never had a problem with the top feeders and robbing......they're fine if you want to get a lot of feed in the hive quickly. Don't know why you're having a problem with robbing utilizing them.......


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

No matter how you choose to feed it must be done neatly particularly in a dearth. Any type of feeding will increase the danger of robbing, some just pose a greater risk than others. Feeding changes the personality of bees for a day or so, once the scent of feed is in the air robbers will be probing every entrance and crack of every hive in the yard looking for weak poorly defended hives.


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## dsegrest (May 15, 2014)

snl said:


> Never had a problem with the top feeders and robbing......they're fine if you want to get a lot of feed in the hive quickly. Don't know why you're having a problem with robbing utilizing them.......


Not having a big problem, but there is some robbing. There seems to be absolutely no robbing with the frame feeders. An added benefit is that I can look at the tops of the frames without removing the feeder.


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## BeeGhost (May 7, 2011)

I went to frame feeders last year and havnt looked back since!! I use the cap and ladder system and have very few dead bees. I also like the fact that I can just shift the top over and fill the feeder without popping the whole top off. They also take up less room in the shed when not in use!!


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