Emergency Feed ????????

[40 Acre Bees]

Well it has been one bad winter here in Nova Scotia and we have not had one suitable day yet this year to try and get some feed into our hives.  My wife just went and had a look at them and she cannot hear a thing with the stethoscope and no evidence of life at all.  Another 25 cm of snow on the way tomorrow night.  Is it logical to attempt an emergency feed tomorrow with a temperature hi of only 0 degrees Celsius?  We really are not sure what to do.  Any ideas?

[Papakeith]

If it is a matter of the hive surviving or not I would pop the cover and feed in an instant. 

[Jen]

   Me too! I think I would make up sugar cakes or fondant because it would be easier to lift the lid quickly and place it in other than pouring sugar

[Perry]

Make a shim and put your fondant on top of the inner cover hole, that way you aren't breaking the seal on the inner cover. I lost a nice colony (discovered yesterday) that was light in the fall and I was keeping alive with fondant (twice fed) but the weather and snow prevented me from getting there often enough and they starved out.

[riverbee]

40acre, not sure how good your steth is........?
anyway, with the steth or ear to the hive, you can gently tap the hive, they should be in the top by now. you might have to check/listen from either side or the back.  if you hear nothing at all with a tap to the sides of the hive, they are gone.

if you hear them buzz up when you tap the hive, it is possible to put some emergency feed on at 0 celsius (32 f). 

have you or can you heft or lift the back of the hive to get a feel for the weight? 

like perry said, don't pop the innercover. if your bees are alive, you can place some fondant on top. if you don't have a shim, build one quickly, if need be throw some dry sugar on top the innercover until you can get a shim built to accomodate a fondant or winter patty.

good luck, post back and let us know!

[tbonekel]

anyway, with the steth or ear to the hive, you can gently tap the hive, they should be in the top by now. you might have to check/listen from either side or the back.  if you hear nothing at all with a tap to the sides of the hive, they are gone.

if you hear them buzz up when you tap the hive, it is possible to put some emergency feed on at 0 celsius (32 f). 

I know my bees are alive but whenever I tap or knock on the sides, they give me the silent treatment. They probably think that if they don't say anything, I will go away. And, I usually do.

Good luck 40acre! I hope they are still alive and kicking!

[Jen]

If I tap on the hive and don't hear anything, then I knock repeatedly about 4/5 times, then I can hear them.

[riverbee]

?
one or two hard knocks with your knuckles, anybody home? no need to do it repeatedly. the bees will ramp it up even a teeny cluster barely hanging on.

[Perry]

I'm short of shims so I was thinking what I might do is just cut a 6" hole in the 1 1/2" styrofoam insulation between the inner cover and telescoping lid and just use the insulation as my shim.

[Bakersdozen]

Sounds cruel, but if it is above freezing, popping in some feed quickly is an option.  Better than starvation.  There probably isn't much brood in there if your concerned about chilled brood.

[40 Acre Bees]

Of course another 10 inches of snow last night, can't even get to the hives today......  When is this winter going to end.  We will keep you posted.

[Perry]

Me this morning.......................yet again!
At least it was just a foot and not the foot and a half possible.

[tbonekel]

Look on the bright side Perry.......No drought!

[Jen]

And there is that tbone! We were just crispy here in Calif last summer, bees had a hard time finding nectar

[riverbee]

"Look on the bright side Perry.......No drought!"

tbone and jen..... the flip side of too much moisture also affects blooms opposite of what a drought does. too much moisture will affect blooms just as much as drought does. 

40acre, sorry to hear you couldn't get to the hives, hang in there, post back when you can to give us an update.

[Bakersdozen]

Make a shim and put your fondant on top of the inner cover hole, that way you aren't breaking the seal on the inner cover. I lost a nice colony (discovered yesterday) that was light in the fall and I was keeping alive with fondant (twice fed) but the weather and snow prevented me from getting there often enough and they starved out.

I wish I had read Perry's answer before posting my previous response.  That is a good alternative that may or may not work, but worth trying.  One really would prefer 40 degrees or better before opening the lid.

[camero7]

I use migratory lids exclusively... I have often lifted the lids in below freezing weather to put sugar on the hives. Doesn't seem to bother them much. Remember, bees heat the cluster, not the hive. Just do it on a day when there isn't much wind.

[Papakeith]

   i'll pop the cover anytime I know that they are light.  I'm not pulling apart the cluster, just adding feed to the top. 

[40 Acre Bees]

 :'( Over 29 inches (74 cm) of snow last night and today.  Over  12 inches (30 cm) just this past Sunday.  We won't be able to find the bees until July.  We are quite worried about them. :'(