Feeding the Colony
We’ve had the bees for almost 4 weeks and they have eaten almost all the food we had given them. Its amazing how often we have to prepare the sugar water solution when feeding the colony. Philip mixed up a new batch of sugar water to fill the feeder. He got a little smoke going to calm the bees. I’m amazed at how he remains so calm while they are swarming all over!
What is in the Sugar Solution Used When Feeding the Colony?
The sugar water is a simple solution of one part water to one part sugar. We started off using raw sugar but read some articles that that is not the best sugar to use for the bees. Its also a lot more expensive. Now we use regular white sugar to make the solution that the bees use to create honeycomb.
Types of Feeders
This hive has an inhive feeder used for feeding the colony. Its a simple black box, that has an opening that allows the bees to get the solution. This feeder came with or hive package, but we have found we are not fond of it at all. Often the bees will drown in the food we provide for them. We’ve tried to put sticks in the opening so that the bees would have a means of escape, but still we are losing bees. Philip is researching other types of feeding systems that would eliminate this problem.
How We Got Into Beekeeping
Did you miss finding out how we got into beekeeping. Read more here.
About the Author: Barbra-Sue Kowalski grew up on a small hobby farm. She was always drawn to farm life, however, she was stuck in an urban life far from her roots. Barbra-Sue was a single mom for 13 years, raising her 3 children on her own. She met Philip in 2018 and they married in 2021. Between the two of them, they have 5 grown children and 6 grandchildren. These empty nesters are following their dreams! As they both turn 50, they are building their off-grid homestead to live the life that they dream about. Learn more about Philip and Barbra-Sue here. Contact them here. To leave a comment on this post, please scroll down.
