bucket feeders

[Jen]

I love these bucket feeders but cannot remember what company I got them from?

[Bakersdozen]

https://www.betterbee.com/feeders/fp0-one-gallon-feeder-pail.asp
https://www.kelleybees.com/2-gallon-bucket-feeder.html
https://capitalbeesupply.com/products/feeder-pail-1-gal-w-stainless-screen-2/
https://www.blueskybeesupply.com/pail-feeder-664/

I love them too.  I sure wished I had more this fall.  It's annoying and inefficient to pull buckets, wash them, and then fill them so that you can put them back on.  They are on my wish list for next year.

[Jen]

Thanks Baker! Me too, I usually run 2-3 hives. But being a mentor now, hives just make their way into my apiary. I've got 6 now.

Frankly, I cracked up when I saw the 2 gallon bucket feeder That Is A Lot Of Syrup! Plus very heavy to navigate onto the top of a hive. But understandable if I'm going to be gone for awhile or cannot tend to the hives for awhile.

I have found that the 1 gallon suits me just fine.

[Zweefer]

You get hives when you mentor?  My hive count always seems to go down....


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[RAST]

 Jen, larger quantities don't work well for me due to mold in the syrup. I can add bleach or essential oils to slow it, but it dosent stop it. That being said, the mold has to get bad before the bees won't take it.

[Bakersdozen]

Jen, larger quantities don't work well for me due to mold in the syrup. I can add bleach or essential oils to slow it, but it dosent stop it. That being said, the mold has to get bad before the bees won't take it.

Larger quantities don't work for me either.  I have heard you should add a tablespoon of vinegar, apple cider or white, to a gallon of sugar syrup.  That came from a reliable source.  I might try that in the spring.                                         

[iddee]

I have never seen a 2 gallon bucket that you couldn't just put 1 gallon in and stop. What kind of 2 gallon buckets do you have that you can only fill completely?

[Jen]

Hi Mr. Wizard Why buy a two gallon bucket to only put one gallon of syrup in it? What a pain in the booty! Why not just buy a gallon bucket and put a gallon of syrup in it?

I haven't used my 3 feeder pails in a few seasons, but I do remember the mold, it wasn't too bad tho.

Hey Zweefer, this year I gained two hives from cut outs. Another hive was a foster that was being robbed, it vacationed in my apiary during the summer. And then if I have queens left over in the queen bank, I make nucs for them to winter in.

I'm planning on splitting and selling them this winter. Or even sell them as a full hive.

[iddee]

I wouldn't buy buckets larger than I wanted, but I also wouldn't buy one gallon buckets if I already had two gallon ones. That would be a waste of money.

[Bakersdozen]

My one gallon buckets won't even fit on a nuc.  I use jars with perforated lids inside an extra 5 frame box on top.  I would possibly consider a 2 gallon bucket if I had some remote hives that were hard to get to.  The better option would be to select a location with consistent nectar sources.

[RAST]

Jen's need to make Queens requires feeding the cell starter, Packing a cell starter w/nurse bees is a must for any quantity of queens and a 5 frame nuc requires less bees than a 10 frame starter hive, thus the need for a feeder that will work on a nuc. Some woodworking may be required :-).

[Jen]

Baker, I do almost all of my feeding the same as you, with jars of syrup and perforated lids.

So this means your lids and inner covers have a hole drilled in the top?

[Bakersdozen]

Jen, this is similar to what I use for an inner cover.  I like the notches on the edges.  A few of my inner covers don't have them.  My nuc box inner covers look similar.
I don't have any wood working equipment and I buy all my equipment and assemble it myself.

[Jen]

Yep! all of my inner covers are notched. If I purchase inner covers that don't have the notch, it's pretty easy to put a notch in.