# hive top feeders



## Chef Isaac (Jul 26, 2004)

Can anyone suggest a good place to purchase a hive top feeder if I wanted to try one.


Or plans on how to make one??


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## Toni Bee (Jun 14, 2005)

I really liked the one I got from Brushy Mountain:

http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/products.asp?pcode=688

The floating ladder thingums really worked, though sometimes I had to pry them loose if the girls decided to get into the bridge comb business (during times when I fed them infrequently they would start beuilding comb in the corners). 

It is good to have a plan in advance for pouring into the hive top feeders, as you can end up splashing pretty easily. By the end of the season I was keeping a bucket of clean water for my hands around, and was taking particular care to pour from a spouted container to keep encouragement for robbers to a minimum.

If this does not make sense, it's probably because this was my first year and there is more than likely a better way to do things!


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## Robert166 (Mar 12, 2005)

This is "not" a swipe a Brushy Mt. I order from them and will continue to do so, they are good people. The miller type feeders I have bought from them "4" of them have all leaked. Threw the joints and threw the wood itself. I tried painting, sealing the joints, and as last resort poured hot beeswax into the bottom and inside to seal it. That worked to some degree, but I got a lot of mold inside and water condensation under the top. If there is any kind of odd sized hole in the screen the girls WILL squeeze threw and you will have a lot of dead bees when you come back to refill. In the fall they are not real happy when I pull the top off and shake the girls out to clean the dead ones out. And I haven't even mentioned the AJs or the ants or the grandaddy long legs or the hornets or the flies whew! I say all this to tell you of the experiences I have had with them. These are the ones I bought.
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/products.asp?pcode=724

This is what I am going to try next.

http://go.netgrab.com/secure/kelleystore/asp/product.asp?product=219

I have used large gallon jars with holes in the lid over the inner cover. Worked OK but the girls kept getting in the way when I would refill. And they didn't take the feed as fast due to limited feed area. And sometimes the feed would spoil. Michael suggested just cutting additional holes in the inner cover itself and covering with screen, which is an alternative but the girls like to propolise the screen and seal it. So I think I will try doing both! Cutting some holes in the inner cover and adding the jar feeders with only one jar on the center feeder and the other can be for ventilation. Having more than one feeder jar on at a time allows more bees access to the feed and smaller jars make it easier to refill. Just prefill the jars and take the used back and throw in the dishwasher before the boss gets home. Whew! that was a lot of typing for me







Just hope it made sense.


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## Donna Marie Honeybee by the Sea (Jun 29, 2005)

Hi, like Toni I have the Brushy Mountain feeder with two wells and a central longitudinal opening for access. The wells have floating docks with slats. I used them in spring; when I installed my package and the only modification I have made was to put brass handles on to make lifting easier. In spring the bees stopped eating the syrup and there was a quite a bit left in the feeder. Without handles it was a little tricky removing. We made sure the handle screws did not puncture the walls of the wells. This type feeder has no screen, when you open the colony and remove the inner cover bees can fly out. I fill mine with gallon plastic water jugs that I have funnel filled with syrup and Honey B Healthy. Since I have only two colonies this works out nicely, no open containers to attract the wrong sort of attention, and I can easily give equal amountsso important when you have more than one child.I am happy to report I saw little to no 'drownings' with this floating dock system. Cheers Donna


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

My favorite, so far, is to buy the Brushy Mt. Hive top feeder (not the miller feeder), because the slot goes down the middle and the bees seem to find it better in moderately cold weather. I like the miller feeder because of the screened in area, but I also like the center slot. So I put a screen over the center leaving 3/8" for the bees to go over the top and down into the syrup on both sides of the center gap, so I can fill without facing bees and so the bees don't drown so much. None of my Brushy Mt feeders leaked. I don't remember for sure how many I have, probably six or seven of them. Maybe the shipper banged them around too much? Did you let Brushy Mt know? Maybe they can figure out how to improve it.


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## dickm (May 19, 2002)

I built 20 from the plans on this site and it was the best thing I ever did. If you are going to do it PM me for some modifications I made.

Dickm


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## Kieck (Dec 2, 2005)

I like the looks of the Brushy Mountain feeders, but I have no experience with them myself. The floats appeal to me; they look like a better method than others out there.

I use the Mann Lake hive top feeders. At the time I was ordering them, I wanted the plastic basins to prevent leaking. The screen access slots can plug up with dead bees, but I've never had one leak.

[ December 14, 2005, 10:43 AM: Message edited by: Jon Kieckhefer ]


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## notaclue (Jun 30, 2005)

I currently have the poly top feeder I got from Better Bee. I have very little trouble with drownings and when I refill it I take my time and after a few seconds the bees have retreated to the top and wait till I'm done. I do like this one. I believe Mann Lake may sell these also, but I can't swear to it.

I'm getting ready to build a couple Miller type Feeders and some designs I am curious about that I have come up with.


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## BaldyLocks (Apr 22, 2005)

I have some miller feeders I got from some place (who knows where) that were messed up with regard bee space. The bees could not crawl on the top bars of the frames directly under the miller-type feeder. Anyhow, I soon discovered that shb could easily fit into that space and it quickly became a problem. So, my point is, watch out for bee space, esp is shb is a problem in your area


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## John F (Dec 9, 2005)

I saw the picture above of the feeder that uses jars sat in a hole and on some sort of screen. I assume that you could use regular quart canning jars and poke a few holes in the lid. How many holes? How far can a bee reach? I guess this question needs some explaining. I imagine the screen is too small for bees to crawl through so they have to stick their tongues through the screen, across a small gap, and into the holes in the lid.

I guess I need a little explaination of the screen as well. It looks bigger than screendoor screen.

Thanks,

John


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>I saw the picture above of the feeder that uses jars sat in a hole and on some sort of screen.

I put those in my inner covers but You can buy feeders that set on the inner cover from Walter T. Kelly that work similar.

>I assume that you could use regular quart canning jars and poke a few holes in the lid.

Basically, yes. I tend to use the mayonaise jar lids because they are flatter than the canning jar lids. Then when they sit on the #8 hardware cloth it's an easy reach for them. You can also buy lids with the holes already in them from Brushy Mt.

>How many holes?

I usually cover the hole lid with holes spaced about 1/4" apart or so. But youc an get by with only a few. It just slows down them taking it. For winter stores, I like them to really suck it down. For spring stimulation fewer holes might be adequate.

>How far can a bee reach?


I don't know for sure, but their tongue is about 6mm long total. I'm not sure how far out that protrudes, but that is a pretty good reach. I do try to minimize the distance they have to reach.

>I guess this question needs some explaining. I imagine the screen is too small for bees to crawl through

Correct.

> so they have to stick their tongues through the screen, across a small gap, and into the holes in the lid.

Correct.

>I guess I need a little explaination of the screen as well. It looks bigger than screendoor screen.

It is #8 hardware cloth (8 wires to the inch). #7 could work as long as the wires are straight, but they will squeeze through if a wire is bent (also the right size to screen pollen letting it fall through while filtering bee parts etc). The worker bees can squeeze through #6 (while loosing all their pollen), pass while losing some pollen through #5 and all of them, drones, queen and workers can pass through #4 but the mice can't.


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## Barbee (Jul 26, 2005)

I have Mann Lake top feeders with the plastic inserts. I really like them for filling and being able to check without opening the hive, but I swear bees are chewing holes in them. One developed a hold about the size of a pencil eraser and the second looked liked it was worn thin and then it cracked. One also had the wire mesh loose and if it ran dry, the feeder filled up with bees squeezing through between the wire mesh and it's groove. They never seemed to figure out how to get back through so I ended up with dead bees. 

I'm hoping to figure out the whys of my troubles and correct them. I'd like to stay with this type feeder. I did not like the side feeders at all.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I have a bunch of frame feeders and needed more feeders, so I used them again this fall. I cut floats for all of them. I still don't like the plastic ones a lot, but they do much better with a float. A latter made of #8 hardware cloth is nice too.


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