# How much sugar syrup will be used per week



## woodsy (Mar 3, 2013)

1st year newb is wondering how much sugar syrup will be consumed
by a package of bees per week for example. 1 qt. ? 2gts ? gallon ? Varies with season ?

Trying to figure out whether to top hive feed by qt., 1/2 gal jars or gallon baggie and 
whatever is more practical .
Thanks


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## mathesonequip (Jul 9, 2012)

you have it about right. it depends on even more stuff than you have listed. stuff like weather, honey flow, size of colony and race of bees. are they trying to build comb? ..then there is the big one, varriation among colonies... there is no right answer.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

> Trying to figure out whether to top hive feed by qt., 1/2 gal jars or gallon baggie and 
whatever is more practical.

Since you appear to be interested in building hives, you may also like to build a hive top Miller style feeder. Beesource offers plans:
http://www.beesource.com/build-it-yourself/miller-type-feeder/








This feeder will hold at least 2 gallons of syrup. Note that the majority of the feeder syrup area is not exposed to bees. The bees are screened into a small area that includes a screen ladder to keep them from drowning.

If you build your own boxes these are not hard to build.


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## woodsy (Mar 3, 2013)

Thanks, 
Starting with bare wire wax foundations here, bees coming in May
May graduate to that miller hive top feeder eventually.
I built a couple 1x3 frames yesterday to house the baggie feeder if i use them , depends on the temps i guess.
Looks like i will build a couple 1x10 frames for the 1/2 gal size jars too. Maybe cut two holes in each inner cover
and 1/8" wire over any openings .


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

Another very huge variable is weather, your local climate. And, in particular, what the weather is like on a daily basis. And, second, availability of forage - natural or cultivated.

If your days are over 70F, with nights near 50F, and pollen or pollen sub is available to the bees, they will soon start raising lots of brood. If that happens, the continued availability of suitable quantities of nectar/pollen are essential or the brood and even the adult population could quickly crash. How much nectar/sugar syrup, pollen or pollen-sub, will vary greatly, entirely depending on a great many variables that change dynamically. Until a flow begins, the feeding must continue, or it could be very gradually reduced. Otherwise you could risk losing the colonies affected.


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

Radar! Is there some way of reading the small print without letting yahoo own my computer? I am not skilled and everytime I do something like install a free program my computer gets the clap. I already have STD's myself=SLOW THINKING DISEASE.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

> Radar! Is there some way of reading the small print without letting yahoo own my computer

Ha! My recommendation is that you not use Yahoo for *anything *unless you are a member of one/some Yahoo Groups (and want to participate, and then you have no choice). 

However, assuming your question is more limited, and related to the plans I linked to above,  Yahoo is not involved. The plans are PDF files, and you can get a *free *reader from _Adobe_, the official publisher, here:
http://get.adobe.com/reader/
There is a link to to Adobe on the main page for Beesource plans, also. The reader linked above will allow you to read any .PDF files from any site. 

The link above is quite safe. But always use the _Adobe _site to get more copies of the reader. Sometimes the bad guys might seem to offer alternate download sites, but you really don't know what you are getting that way.

Once you have completed the Adobe PDF Reader install, clicking the download link in any of the Beesource plan pages will download the plans to your PC/browser, and allow you to open the file. Once opened, the images can easily be zoomed, printed, etc.

To clear up any possible confusion, in my original post above, there are really two things I posted. One is the link to the Beesource Plans page. The other is a .GIF file that is the image that you see. The GIF image file is really just a teaser, and does not represent the quality of the actual plans. You may be able to enlarge the .GIF file, but that is the way to _madness_. :lookout: Install Adobe Reader, go to the Beesource plans page, download the plan PDF file, and do it properly.


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

As mentioned above, the rate of feeding is definitely affected by the temps. Also, once they find real nectar they often turn away from syrup. For me, with temps above 50 in the feeder and with a new package of bees on foundation, they'll go through a gallon pail every other day or more often.


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## Jerry Kinder (Jan 16, 2009)

My mentor told me that if you feed your bees, you get lazy bees. But we are here in California where the flowers are always in bloom. I would say feed them till they get their comb built and then let them forage. In the winter, move south....lol. Remember, they are bugs that have a longer history of taking care of themselves than we have. Best of luck with your new hive. Jerry


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## Aerindel (Apr 14, 2012)

When its warm mine will easily consume a quart a day per hive.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>Varies with season?

Varies with temperature, from one hive to the next, from one climate to the next, from one day to the next. I find when I don't feed them they don't use any... 

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


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## woodsy (Mar 3, 2013)

So anywhere from none to a gallon every other day per hive.

Was curious as to how often the feed needed to be checked on. Frequently seems to be the answer.

Michael, i ordered your practical beekeeper Vol 1 from amazon and was it on the doorstep
2 days later (amazon prime, free shipping) . I've been noticing all your free contributions here so decided to help support your cause


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## johng (Nov 24, 2009)

I installed 10 packages about two weeks ago and most have already took about 3gallons each. We still have a couple more weeks before we start to get a reliable flow. So they will probably get another couple gallons.


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## billcrook39 (Mar 27, 2013)

The link to the PDF for the Miller type Feeder will not open, is it a bad link or my version of Acrobat Reader? After reading about it sounds like something I would like to build. 
Thanks, 
Bill



Rader Sidetrack said:


> > Trying to figure out whether to top hive feed by qt., 1/2 gal jars or gallon baggie and
> whatever is more practical.
> 
> Since you appear to be interested in building hives, you may also like to build a hive top Miller style feeder. Beesource offers plans:
> ...


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

billcrook39 said:


> The link to the PDF for the Miller type Feeder will not open, is it a bad link or my version of Acrobat Reader?l


The link I posted is to the Beesource page where the plans are. My link is not broken, I just tested it again.

Once you get to the plan page, DO NOT click on the image! It is just an image. Below the image and caption is a line that says "Miller Type Feeder Plans – 1 page PDF file". Click on the underlined link. If you have issues opening this PDF file, follow the link in post #7 to the Adobe Reader download and re-install Adobe Reader.


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## mathesonequip (Jul 9, 2012)

you can build the miller feeders yourself, i have tried a few different feeders.... the plastic frame type, pretty good, but in a strong hungry hive you will get some drowning use the wood bar and suspended ladder for sure, it is not great for nucs, cost is low... .. boardman type invites robbing especially on a week hive, ants like it too.... top cover with screen and mason jar is fine except it is best in nice weather and limited by jar size good for small hives.... the brown plastic top feeder insert i do not like too many drowned bees...MY FAVORITE is the mann lake top feeder no drowning problem, easy to clean and deep enough to hold feed when the hive is not quite level,the black plastic seems to hold heat better in cool weather.


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## topdog17 (Apr 6, 2009)

Johng wrote "installed 10 packages about two weeks ago and most have already took about 3gallons each. We still have a couple more weeks before we start to get a reliable flow. So they will probably get another couple gallons."

Were they on foundation or foundation less frames and how much comb have they built?


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## JStinson (Mar 30, 2013)

I stopped feeding my bees today. We have things blooming here in middle GA and the bees are beginning to fill cells where brood once was. Only one hive has capped syrup, but they all have it stored uncapped. 

They still need to draw out some more comb, but it seems like they fill it with syrup as soon as they do.

Losing my mind trying to find a straight answer to this. Michael seems to have the most logical solution I've seen, "if things are blooming, stop feeding." 

Should I keep feeding or did I do the right thing?


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

You already know my opinion. If you keep feeding until they stop taking it, they will stop taking it right after they swarm...


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## JStinson (Mar 30, 2013)

Thank you sir. I'll leave the syrup off.


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