How We Prepare Bees For Winter Part 1
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- Опубліковано 20 вер 2020
- A behind the scenes look at how we prepare our bees for winter,
including mite treatments, feeding, re-queening and more.
Effects of delayed acaricide treatment in honey bee colonies parasitized by Varroa jacobsoni and a late-season treatment threshold for the southeastern USA
January 1997Journal of Apicultural Research 36(3-4):125-132
www.researchgate.net/publicat... - Домашні улюбленці та дикі тварини
This is how I'm trying to get into beekeeping myself, I have no $ so I'm trying to locate some old equipment that I can buy from someone that doesn't want them anymore and I'll start from the bottom and I'll become successful just like you and lots of others out there
The dulcet tones of Bob Binnie teaching is one of my favorite things. Thank you.
New bees here.
Seems this world hasn’t changed much. Trying to get my hands on whatever equipment I can make work. I’ve spent many hours now cleaning up old frames and boxes. The quest for better equipment begins. Cheers
Always appreciate your videos, Bob. It’s a nice feeling to see I’m slowly learning. I gauge that by how closely I’m doing what you cover in your videos.
Thank you
Great video. Thanks.
Wow I am learning so much, thank you!
Nice looking bees
Great video. Thank you for the information!
Thanks for your videos You're the best .
Absolute artist you are Mr. Binnie!!
Thanks Bob! I picked up several pointers from this video.
Bob, real nice video, thank you for sharing.
Thanks for your great helpful video. THANKS!
Love the story about the old hive boxes.........
Love the old box story ,thats one for the book.
Thanks Bob always interesting!!!!
Thanks.
beautiful river
Bob, you must be my mentor in disguise. My mentor was a New Jersey pollinator. As winter survival went he taught the same thing. You have to get the mites under control in July / August as soon as the honey supers came off. The colonies have to be healthy and the mites reduced as much as possible to produce healthy bees in the fall for winter survival.
The three things he taught were.... 1. Health bees (minimal mites) going into fall. 2. Strong populations. 3. Sufficient food for overwintering.
One thing I learned over the years because we just don't have strong fall flows is to start feeding the bees in early August. And, in my area, any eggs laid September 1 will be the winter bee population. That's six weeks before our average October 15 frost date. Three weeks from the laid egg to emerging. Three weeks working in the hive as a nurse bee. Bees that don't fly will be the winter bees.
I'm loving your channel and it's reviewing what was was taught and learned.
You're spring splitting is something new to me and I'll be implementing that this coming 21 season.
As for the Apivar. I've tried it two different years and it didn't touch the mites. No more Apivar for me.
Great video Bob. Thanks for helping to educate us potentially new beekeepers!
Thanks for the video, I learned more in 30 mins than I have the last 10 years! The beekeeping year starting in August is gold!
Mr. Binnie I appreciate your videos. When you show the flowers and describe what they are and what the bees get from them is a huge help. My wife and I run G's Bees Apiary in Blairsville and your videos are very relevant to us. We say hi to you and Tommy when we see y'all in your store and we truly enjoy going there.
Thanks Jim.
Some really good points in your video , got some good notes from you , never stop learning , happy bee keeping . 👍
Hi, we are in Colorado Springs and we are first time Beekeepers. We just wanted to THANK YOU for making the Videos. We have learned so much from your videos. Thank you again. Keep up the good work sir.
Good video Bob! Got into my hives yesterday and treated for mites. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Best bee youTuber ever.
I really enjoy your videos. I am happy you can take the time to share your knowledge, it’s a treasure. Thank You.
I was watching this and I felt to sleep, great video
Bob, you don't make a lot of videos but there is always so much knowledge too absorb in each one. Thanks again, I keep learning from your experience.
Thanks Russell
Cannot thank you enough for the wealth of knowledge you are sharing. Totally agree with listen, learn, read, watch, talk to other beekeepers... take it all in and devise your own timelines and schedules based on local conditions to figure out what is best for your bees.
Came in to your store and bought 20 2 gal feed buckets for my colonies and have been doing everything including treatments with apivar right along the same timeline as you. I'm in the Mtns of Western North Carolina as well. Thanks Bob!
Thanks, say hi the next time you are in.
Well its just as I suspected... I'm about half caught up to where I should be lol. Great video, thank you.
Life of a beekeeper.
thanks for the vids ........cheers from small bee keeper in Alberta Canada
29:11 thanks for sharing this.
I have only been a beekeeper (and a hobby beekeeper at that) for about 10 years so I still love to pick up good seasonal tips from wherever, and in particular from those who have almost a lifetime of experience that they do not mind sharing. Besides treating and putting weight on the hives in preparation for winter I am always trying to boost my colonies through feeding sugar syrup and quality pollen substitute just when the bees are about to rear the winter bees - typically just around now where I live. Having as healthy and as strong a colony of bees, with all the resources they can chew through, to rear the winter bees makes sense to me, a bit like it does when queen rearing (starter/finisher). The challenge is to find just the right time to boost the colonies resources, and not make the mistake of backfilling the brood frames at the same time, so probably not very practical for commercial beekeepers who cannot pamper each colony in the same way, but otherwise a very good way to increase winter survival of your colonies.
I could watch your stuff all day. I'm in Northeast Indiana and have almost matched exactly what you are doing to get your colonies ready for winter. Thank you for affirming what I'm doing. You give me confidence to keep doing things a little different in my area.
Thanks 👍
Thanks for your educational videos. I am amazed at how much you know. I was at the pickens county bee meeting that you spoke at in June 2022. I believe it was on queen management. I really enjoyed it. Thanks for what you have done in the world of beekeeping.
Thanks for sharing the wisdom Bob. I have some honeybees and lost several gives a few years ago. I’m just getting back into it and planning to get more Nucs and build new hives. I have not used those strips before. There is nothing better than fresh honey. :)
Thanks for sharing and stay safe.
- Tom “Outdoors and Country Living”.
I’ve been ordered to follow your channel! Looking forward to catching up.
Interesting, ordered?
Bob Binnie at Blue Ridge Honey Company strictly told to watch!
This was great thanks so much for doing this every thing is just so beautiful there I still do not get notice when u do a video I do not know what has happened so I check every day and that is how I get to watch them Thanks again keep them coming they are wonderful and u are to for doing it God Bless You and your family
Thanks.
what a gorgeous river,im going to use my bee keeping as inroads to find deer hunting spots, as sprawl is taking over where I am nw Arkansas, this my 1st year 3 hives,Thank you
That sugar syrup bath is brilliant, 😎😎😎
Not sure if you’ll see this but thanks so much for the time you take to make these videos and the thought and caution you practice when giving advice. You inspired me greatly to practice beekeeping as you do and thank God I finally caught a swarm this year! Keep it up and thank you so much to you and your crew for these videos!
Thank you.
Hey Bob. I have been off on my hive management all year. Well see what happens through the winter!
Good luck.
bad fires around Medford this year. thanks for a great video. you have great info to share
Thanks, I spoke to an old friend from that area yesterday and he said Phoenix and Talent burned up. I used to have a lot of bee yards in that area.
@@bobbinnie9872 it's pretty bad in some parts, and other parts not touched.
I was driving through there the night of the fire after the worst of it had moved west, with guard rail posts burning like candles, and trees hanging over the freeway still burning.
And that was just after my native area, Napa County and surrounding, was getting done burning, with a lot of beekeepers and breeders burned out down there... It's been bad out here this year.
Well said Mr Binnie, I’m sorry to hear there’s some ignorant people out there. On the other hand education is the solution for this situations. Please continue with your wonderful videos. I’m learning lots from you. Next year I’m moving to 40 hives! I purchased the boxes and I will populate from my own splits.
Thanks, good luck.
Thanks for the videos! 1st year bee keeping going into winter with 3 hives fingers crossed 🤞
Good luck!
Hee, hee look at the wall thickness of those hives you guys have it soooo easy! Comment originates from Canada.
Great Video! Sure wish I had seen your videos years ago when I had Bees here in Central Pa. I bought a 5 acre lot in 1970 and only had 1 neighbor who was almost 80 yrs old and he had about 15 bee hives and I helped him run them and he had an accident flipped John Deer A and his son gave me his bees.The most I ever run was 26 in 2 spots. My daughters helped spin my Honey . The girls grew up and and I had to start working 12 hours. days and 8 on weekends so I slowly go out of bees. I am almost 80 now and I think I will try some Nuces this spring.
Bees bring a lot of joy and peace. Absolutely start again !
My daughter just came back from Tennessee an brought me some Sourwood honey an I have never tasted any. It's a smooth honey with a unusual aftertaste which I personally find very pleasing...an a treat from Michigan Ohio honey... She picked it up at some Savannah B company definitely very delicious honey..(edit ) an I found the laying worker fix, a amazing fix way way better than just dumping the bees on the ground as I was told to do!!
Olá Bob, tenho aprendido muito com os seus vídeos. Obrigado.
WOW Bob that equipment reminds me of my first equipment also . I still have a few boxes from when I started out in 1968. All my equipment came from Sears and Roe buck an it all was Cedar an still looks fair condition . I still use one deep an two medium boxes . An yes that was the good old days
Great vid Bob Who is that Tommy he sure is a artist.
I live in ohio. I pretty much just started raising and caring for bees. I have seven now. I started this yr from two bee packages and now i have 7 from those two. But to be honest this isnt my first yr. I failed the last two yrs i had two diffent hives both yrs but i learned why its good to have multiple hives. Of i can make it through this winter i feel like a major step in my growth and a satisfying feat to get at least half of those 7 through the winter. But the unrealistic sides wants all to get through. But if i can make it through winter i will be in a better position next spring. Thank u for the video and the info
Thanks and good luck.
those crickets!
In germany the beekeeping calender starts in August as well. It's crazy, isn't it? This advice served me well though too. Thanks for underlining it.
It would be crazy if you lived south of the equator.
Just discovered your channel. Amazing info and great teacher. I have ony 1 sugestion. Can you translate to metric system onscreen? Onle people from the US understand pounds.
thx
Those guys in Manitoba(canada) they use a lot of Ultrabee when they get them ready for winter.
Hope u pulled your fly rod out for that lovely stream at the end.
First Nice
Wow, your method of combining a laying worker hive is much easier and faster than shaking them out. I had to do it twice this year and it’s a royal pain in the butt! 😏
Hi Bob,
I have been watching all of your videos and really appreciate the knowledge sharing. I am in my first year of keeping bees. I started with 2 nucs. I put each one in a 10 frame deep, 5 nuc frames and 5 empty foundation frames. 2 colonies going at this point. I mixed up some honey bee healthy and started feeding them a 1:1 via a top frame feeder. They exploded and filled out to 80% within about 4 months I guess. I added another 10 frame deep on top of each colony, adding I think 2 brood frames to the top boxes. I have beetle control in place using the beetle traps. The top frames are now near 90% filled out. I understood that if during inspection I do not see bees that look weak or ill or have damaged wings then mites are not an issue. I recently learned that this is not a reliable indicator and I should do a Alcohol test to be accurate. It is Dec here in Apopka, Florida now and I am concerned because I did not treat them in August like you suggested in another video. In your opinion, is it ok to break open the hives now and put the strips in there? Some say not to open them because the bees have them sealed up for the winter. Or should I leave them alone until February or March?
It sounds like you did well your first year. It's fun to watch bees grow like that. If you haven't treated I think that over-rides any concern about opening them up. I would recommend treating now. The problem with waiting for signs of problems as an indicator for a heavy mite load is like a human waiting for signs of disease to show them they have been doing something wrong.
Hello Bob on this video where you were telling that great story about the older box with the holes in it . On the airflow you were saying that we really do not need that so my question is I am running screen bottom board and I think I have heard you say you do not run screen bottoms . I have been told to leave them open so on the honey flow do you think I would be better off to keep them closed or switchboard to solid bottom board. #2 questions I do not think I have ever saw you run top inter cover but on the honey flow is it better or worse to use that top inter cover for bees getting in and out faster on the honey flow do the bees can make faster trips. I do use queen excluders and like them very much . Also I keep my hives off the ground around 18” . Just a thought on this . Thanks for all your great help and video’s you do .
Great video! Absolutely packing with quality information. You got a subscriber out of me! 👍
Are there trout in the river? Great videos as always!
Yes, but don't tell anyone.
Just discovered your channel and I feel so blessed. You are an excellent teacher sir! You mentioned about a gentleman in Canada, what is the name of his channel. We are from BC, Canada and would love to learn how Canadian beekeepers do things to prepare for winter. We are sooo new to this. Thank you.
"A Canadian Beekeepers Blog" ua-cam.com/channels/kQVs6-xm3mVNdwW4Zt8McQ.html Thanks.
Excellent video, Bob. I have a pre-winter question for you. I did a pre-winter inspection of all of my 12 hives this weekend. All of the hives have uncapped nectar (in addition to honey) as well as pollen stores. I know that there is goldenrod in profusion along a year round creek nearby.(we are in an area with hot, dry summers and the goldenrod is limited to wet areas and cooler, higher elevations. Here on the valley floor we average about 16 inches of rain a year, and this summer has been particularly dry). Populations ranged from strong to moderate, and stores from heavy to light.
One of my objectives was to determine if the hives were queenright. One hive was obviously queenless with several capped queens cells (good luck with that, there are no drones in any of them). The last time I checked this hive was a couple of weeks ago, and it had what looked to me like a virgin queen. Fortunately I found that another hive had two queens coexisting quite happily, so I knocked down the queen cells and moved one Queen over.
After that long preamble: I am not the world’s best queen spotter. All eleven of the other hives were very consistent with respect to brood. There was a scattering of older capped brood, no larvae or eggs. I found queens in 5 of the hives but not the others. I am considering whether I need to combine some hives.
None of the hives in which I did not find queens had queen cells or cups or any of the typical signs of queenlessness.
This has me wondering if the consistency of brood pattern between the hives in which I found queens and those I did not indicates that the lack of brood might be a seasonal thing and I may have simply missed the queens.
Do you have any experience that might shed some light on this? Stu
PS: I say this every time I leave you a comment. You live in some pretty country.
Hi Stu. Some colonies will slow brood production dramatically if they have no pollen in the comb and none coming in which in some cases is seasonal. From the weather conditions you described that's the first thing I would check for. That's why we feed thin syrup, and if needed pollen supplement, in August, to keep them stimulated. You may need to combine colonies that fail to rear brood soon with those that do. Good luck.
What a wealth of information. Thank you so much for sharing Mr. Binnie
I watched it twice and definetly plan on rewatching next July.
I use Formic Acid for my late summer treatments with good success but have noticed that most of the folks who I follow on youtube are using something else (primarily Apivar).
Formic Acid does seem a little hard on the colonies I'm wondering if that's why folks aren't using it as much anymore.
Id love to get any input from you as to why you chose Apivar.
Thank you again for all the great info sir.
I used it last year and I killed one queen on a smaller hive. Lost brood in my other hive for 2 days. It just seems like a rough treatment. Apivar has no smell to confuse the Q's pheromones', is easy to apply and is a lot cheaper. I gave my leftover Formic pro to a friend and hope I never have to use it again. For Bob, it's too hot in August and the cost of treating counts up when you have over a thousand hives.
UA-cam must be spying on me because I was just talking about your light sugar ratio the other day (I mis-remembered and said I thought it was .75 parts sugar to 1 part water), but low and behold out of random, UA-cam plays your video and of course I watched it (You're Bob Binnie), but now I see the ratio is 1 part sugar to 1.5 parts water. Thanks as always for sharing!
We're fairly certain that my wife's cell phone is always listening.
عمل رائع وجميل هل تؤثر التغذية على جودة العسل
Hey Bob, what if U were to bale that goldenrod and that H-sunflower patch? I don't think the bees never get all the pollen before winter. When they go off bale it. Then collect w/a shaker device...
Hi Bob, Thanks for another great video. I appreciate you for taking the time to produce this information. I have a question regarding your target hive weight going into winter. How did you determine this weight? Is backfilling a concern in October? Thanks again for all you do.
We just guess when we heft them up. By Mid October we don't worry about having to much.
@@bobbinnie9872 thanks
I just found your channel and subscribed to it. I am a second year beekeeper here in West Virginia. And I have a lot to learn I have 12 hives going into this winter. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Tenacity is the key to success for a new beekeeper.
Hello Bob, still interested in one of your Timing Boxes with your signature on it? 😀 Have a question from Northern California we don’t get snow. But how much honey do you like to see in your top boxes on double deeps?
Hi Bob I always enjoy your videos and I watched this one again. I am debating how I will get my bees ( 30 Colony’s) ready for winter in Ohio, as they are still hammering away on 12 acres of Sweet White Clover I planted, which should bloom through September. They are still drawing out frames. Do I take off all the supers now and let them max out the 2 deeps (backfill Brood Nest) or do I need to keep a super on. I don’t want to winter with a super on. Thanks in advance.
Why not make honey and draw frames out if you can except now is the time to treat for mites.
You don't use news paper to combine two hives? Love your videos. Helps me a lot.
No need with sugar syrup mess.
Well our first cool snap tonight here in Alabama, 10/16/2021. I currently have no bees, but I’m trying to feed for enjoyment but I am not seeing a single bee right now. I’m using 2-1 formula with special oils from Mann lake with no success!
I had a neighbor across the alley and down a couple of doors, that had a huge stand of goldenrod in his back and side yards--and you could hear the bees buzzing from my front yard. They loved his yard this time of year! Sadly, he passed away this summer, his children wanted to sell the old house, so they fixed up, painted the outside and weed-whacked the yard, mowing down all that goldenrod. I know they needed to do that to sell the house, but it makes me sad not to see all those glorious golden blooms, and that the bees will have to find their autumn food somewhere else.
Chapter 9 Hints and Tricks
Hi Bob great videos ,I am Australian Bee keeper in the state of Queensland just wondering I see you use 3/8 and 3/4 entrance on you bottom boards just wondering when you change flip over, and in what conditions . cheers Mark
Hi Mark. We always use 3/8. If we need more ventilation we crack the lid slightly. If you saw a 3/4 we made a mistake, we rarely do that.
Hi Bob, thanks for this insightful video. Why do you prefer Apivar instead of a thymol based treatment? Cheers, Johan 🇳🇱
Hi Johan. I have used thymol based products with success and watch for opportunities to use them. It can be very hot here around the first of August so it makes it tricky. Apivar is a one trip solution which is attractive when considering time and labor and this is a very busy time for us. So I guess you could say convenience.
Sir, can You tell me about 1 box vs 2 boxes LR hives for winter.
Queen is in upper box.
I prefer 2 boxes with 9 frames up and 9 frames down with some extra space from both sides.
But I am in doubt about because bees are in the shape of an ellipse downwards (winter) and consume fewer frames of honey ( etc. 5 instead 8-9). Very fast they reach up to the top of the frame and that can result in death of the colony.
I appreciate your opinion, thanks in advance
Bob the lid in your cover, is that just a jar lid with holes? I understand it’s for feeding but what do you do if not feeding to keep rain out? Can you elaborate on that a little
The hole is 71mm which is perfect for any jar with a standard 70G lid which fits regular quarts and five pound honey jars. The hole doesn't need to be that big otherwise. We simply insert a one piece 70G lid, which fits snug, when not feeding.
Hello Bob thank you for another well informed video, one question if you don't mind, you said you were in the yard 2 weeks ago and I think you placed the apivar strips in then, forgive me if I'm wrong, but do you not leave them in for the recommended 6 weeks.
Thanks in advance for your comment.
Regards Michael
It's ok I see 5 and a half weeks 👌😊
Hi Michael. I'd have to look at the video again to make sure, but I was referring to the second visit since the strips were put in.
Whoops, I just saw your second comment.
Hey bob,
Can you please show how your bucket feeders work and get them from
Thanks Randy
Hi Randy. I actually hope to make that my next video.
Bob Binnie at Blue Ridge Honey Company
Ok bob I just ran across your add In American bee journal for queens you still selling queens I’d like to have some ?
im really torn with those colonies with over tolerance in Aug to use Apivar or Apiguard....Texas in August is typically 90F plus. thanks Bob.
Good luck with your decision!
Thanks so much Bob......im in Texas. In Oct and Nov do you think there would be much comb building going on?
It depends on where you are in Texas. Down south it would be more likely.
@@bobbinnie9872 Central Texas ...i dont think they build much comb this time of year
I didn't see you mention anything about Hive beetles. I noticed an uptick in Hive beetles this year. What are you do in the fall to get rid of the hive beetles? I also use frame feeders and they've been getting in there turning into vinegar. Do you have the same issue?
Thankfully we don' have an extreme hive beetle problem and don't have take extra measures. I have noticed keeping colonies in full sun helps. We always see more in the shade.
Bob
I’ve been keeping bees for 63 years and your videos make me realize how little I know. Thanks. One question. What criteria do you use for using bucket top feeders vs cap and ladder in hive frame feeders in late summer, or anytime?
We use frame feeders for gaining weight and buckets for gaining weight and building colonies. The buckets meter syrup out over time which would be good for drawing foundation and stimulating brood production.
@@bobbinnie9872 thanks Bob. That helps. Btw, I’m not too far from you in Greenville sc
@@donw1864 I'm driving through Greenville tomorrow on my way to Charleston.
1 to 1 syrup means a gallon of syrup and a gallon of water is mixed, correct?
Yes. Also, sugar and water weigh close to the same so weight can be used too.
Beekeeping in Transylvania....just wach somme of my videos...al the best
Bob if you dont mind sharing , where do you get your buckets? Do you use screens on lids or drilled holes? 1 more question does the black buckets loose their vacuum, being hotter then the white buckets. I purchased 60 buckets and the rim pulled off most of them with just a few times taking lid off to refill. Sorry to be a bother. Thank you for what you do and the information you provide.
Hi Robert. I'm going to address feeding and buckets in my next video.
@Rex Roberton I've never done the measurements precisely but I believe there is about 5 pounds of solids and 5 pounds of water in 1 to 1, at least that's how we mix it. What it turns into depends on how much of that energy the bees use up "curing" it. If there was zero waste (which there is not) it would probably turn into around 6.5 or 7 pounds finished. The fluid content being 50% which weighs approximately 5 pounds would turn into 2 pounds if it were 20% equaling 7 pounds with the 5 pounds of solids. Again, I have never done precise measurements and I could be wrong.
Hi Bob! As you mentioned in the video, your colonies go in winter from 6 to 10 frames. Asking about those on 6, do you take off the frames that are not covered by the bees, or you just leave them as they are? Thank you
I leave the extra frames, which are food.
Do you use thymol in sugar syrup ?
I have not tried that yet but I am looking in to it.
Do you add anything to your syrup? I make a homemade Honey Be Healthy and always seem to build up mold in my syrup.
We add one or two cups of bleach to 250 gallons of syrup.
Hello Bob, still interested in one of your timing boxes 📦, How many frames of honey do you like to see in the top box of a double deep? Pollen still coming in, and I get a decent fall flow. I’m in Northern California out near the Delta, thank you Sir
Hi Scott. We like to see our top deep completely full and the bottom 1/2 to 2/3 for winter.
We'll be making some timing boxes this winter, perhaps check with our store in December. 706 782 6722. Thanks.
@@bobbinnie9872 Hope you are doing well. We are cooking out here in California. Will call in December, I really want to get out there one of these days to visit your operation.
Thank You Sir.
Hey Bob I keep bee's in southern Oregon
I used to live in Wimer, near Rogue River. They tell me it's changed a lot since I was there in the 80's
@@bobbinnie9872 it's grown up so much they ruined it by growing so much weed out there now the ground water isn't that good anymore
How do you decide when to leave as a single or double? I guess I’m asking how many brood frames are too many for a single and how many frames of honey for a single? I’m always worried I’ll push them to swarm when heavy feeding singles.
Your worries are legitimate. With singles it's more about timing than anything. If singles with an excluder peak to soon there's a good chance of swarming. If you are going to make them a double anyway I would put the second box on way before the bottom is full, perhaps when they are working on frame 6 or 7. Your question deserves more than a two sentence answer. I'm going to make a video on singles vs doubles soon that may help.
@@bobbinnie9872 thank you Bob, that would be a great video! Last year I put a second deep box on, but they filled it with honey instead of brood. Could you please talk about that in the video too, as to how to get them to put brood in it? I had asked another UA-cam guy about moving a frame or two into the second deep to get them to move up, but I was told not to move frames because the bees know what they’re doing. So confusing to new beekeepers to know what is right. I respect your 40+ years of knowledge and certainly wish I had found you earlier last year. Thank you again Bob!!
Tell Seth that if you push those strips down until that point is pointing straight up wedging the point between the two frames it stays in place instead of just hanging on them with that point just pointing to the side and the top of the strip inch and a half above the frame push it all the way down until that point is pointing straight up next to the strip is how it's actually supposed to be with that point just pointing over to the side I've seen the bees push it down to the side
Hi Bob, You're videos are an excellent resource and fun to watch since I am originally from WNC and reminds me of home. When you mentioned a single was at 62 lbs and too light, do you feel your wintering target weight will drop as your outfit genetics change to Caucasian?
For me it would not. One of the reasons I try to put on a lot of weight is so I don't have to worry about feeding in the spring.