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I've been keeping this blog for all of my beekeeping years and I am beginning my 19th year of beekeeping in April 2024. Now there are more than 1300 posts on this blog. Please use the search bar below to search the blog for other posts on a subject in which you are interested. You can also click on the "label" at the end of a post and all posts with that label will show up. At the very bottom of this page is a list of all the labels I've used.

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I began this blog to chronicle my beekeeping experiences. I have read lots of beekeeping books, but nothing takes the place of either hands-on experience with an experienced beekeeper or good pictures of the process. I want people to have a clearer picture of what to expect in their beekeeping so I post pictures and write about my beekeeping saga here.Master Beekeeper Enjoy with me as I learn and grow as a beekeeper.

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Thursday, October 14, 2010

Feeding Topsy on Tuesday

I fed Topsy on Tuesday. They are really going through the food. I found both interior Boardman feeders empty. I'll need to think about this hive as winter approaches. They are only occupying 10 bars of the 40 in the hive.

I'll need to move the follower board close to bar 10 to make the space smaller for winter. I'll also have to rethink feeding. Currently the feeders are far down the hive from the combs in unused space. I don't know how to locate feed close to the used bars for winter feeding.




You can see in the comb below that the bees are back-filling comb that has been used for brood raising with honey as the cells become available.



They are doing the same in this comb.



I have a ways to go to learn how better to handle the top bar hive. I still squash bees even using the scissor method of lowering the top bar. However, I find this a very calm hive and often wear open-toed sandals and just a jacket and veil when I am working with them.


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2 comments:

  1. Regarding feeding a TBH, I saw a fellow use a follower board with a few holes in it at the bottom. Then the feeder jar (Boardman like you have it) was on the other side of the follower. That way the bees had a sort of back entrance which only goes to the feed jar (since it is covered by bars like usual).

    Just a thought - Steven
    http://stevensbees.blogspot.com

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  2. Anonymous12:17 AM

    Hello Linda,
    I've started 2 TBHs this year and also found that "scissoring" the bars back into place tended to trap bees between the bars. Then I saw a Youtube video by McCartney (Outofabluesky)from Texas. He puts the bar back by closing one end first and then slowly closing the other so that the angle between the bars gradually goes to zero. This way you can monitor any bee that is still between the bars and wait for it to vacate. At the closed end the bars are too close for any newcomer bees to get between the bars. I've found that this little trick stopped a lot of squishing.
    Cheers, Axel in Vancouver

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