You are apparently using a Kreg trak and stop kit for your crosscut pieces but I don’t see this model for a table saw, only a sliding arm saw (model number KMS8000). Is this what you used on your table saw?
How about a honey plugged hive going into December and them swarming? I have 5 colonies that are booming with full honey supers. Weather has been warm here in Northern California but keep having to give Queen room by adding more frames also tons of bee bread as well in 10 frame deeps
being honey bound is an easy fix, remove all brood box frames and extract honey and nectar from them. You could also not stress it much. my bees have already pretty much stopped laying for the year here, not sure about your area. When it gets this close to winter, i usually just let em go into winter with what they have, and i also add candy boards to all hives.
they go on after the final winter inspection which for me in Zone 9 is around the middle of November. This date can fluctuate so dont quote me on it. suffice it to say that the best day is the very last day that it is 55 degrees or higher, as bees dont come out of the hive below this temperature.
Thank you for your video. Well done and informative. We are new beekeepers of just 2 months. I made moisture quilts for our hives last week (looking forward to your video on them to see if I need to change anything) and candy boards are next! Why is 3-inch height so critical that you ripped just 1/2-inch off the boards? Also, when do you install the candy boards? Is it okay to put them on earlier than they are needed so when it gets really cold I don't have to open the hives? I have seen some candy boards with a 3/8"-1/2"bee escape hole. You do not include one. Can they cause problems or other disadvantages?
its never a good idea to put food on any hive unless there is a need. For instance, the reason you don't put sugar on during a nectar flow is that the bees will see a source of food in the hive and stop bringing any in, concentrating on harvesting the syrup and ignoring the resource they have outside the hive (nectar). This means when your syrup is gone and the nectar flow is gone you will be feeding them all winter. Same for candy boards. They should be put on in winter, after all nectar flows are done. In our area this means around the end of November. When average daily temps are staying at or below 50 f. Adjust this date for your local area, just watch the average daily temps. Bees will not take sugar until its an emergency, they prefer the full super of honey you left them to overwinter on (you did leave them a full super right?) so they don't go for sugar until thats gone anyway. So when you put it on doesn't matter much as long as its after all the nectar flows have stopped. Regarding the escape hole. Your inner hive cover goes above the candy baord, so the bees still have a top entrance. The chimenys i include give the bees easy access to the area above the sugar candy and therefore easy access to the inner hive cover entrance.
Thank you! Your guidance on feeding vs. nectar flow and the temperature guide are helpful. I understand better. We've had a good freeze, but warmed back up to the upper 50s, so I will watch the temps. Yes, they have a full super of honey; I'm just nervous because we're new and didn't want them to starve for our ignorance. I like the idea of the chimneys. Thanks again!
I use a candy board on EVERY hive, even ones going into winter with a full honey super. To me, I look at it this way...Once you buy or build the candy board you are looking at about a $6 investment per hive to buy the sugar......So for $6 you are potentially not going to spend $130 for a package, $150 for a nuc to replace those bees that starved out. To me, that's just cheap insurance!
Thank you. I did build & add candy boards to all hives in early December, and I am so happy I did - definitely cheap insurance yes!! We had about 2 weeks of subzero temps, and when it temporarily warmed up in the low 50s this week I quickly peeked in on them and all three had at least half of the candy gone. I will watch carefully into spring that they do not run out.
Just make some fondant and add it to the feeders, ive got a recipe for it on my website here: www.funnybugbees.com/bee-food-recipes/feeding-bees-fondant-bee-candy
good call. To keep videos short i tend to skip easy steps which are more common sense. However, to answer the question i use a 30" metal brake i got from harbor freight to make all bends in hardware cloth, sheet metal for outer-covers, etc. I simply scribe the line on the mesh for the inside dimension of the frame then bend it on those lines using my metal brake.
Also, Jack i should have mentioned before I got the metal brake...I scribed a line with a sharpee marker and a straight edge, then used the edge of my table saw to put that line on and then just bent it down. works great.
You are apparently using a Kreg trak and stop kit for your crosscut pieces but I don’t see this model for a table saw, only a sliding arm saw (model number KMS8000). Is this what you used on your table saw?
This is the exact product I am using: amzn.to/2ITFoXk
How about a honey plugged hive going into December and them swarming? I have 5 colonies that are booming with full honey supers. Weather has been warm here in Northern California but keep having to give Queen room by adding more frames also tons of bee bread as well in 10 frame deeps
being honey bound is an easy fix, remove all brood box frames and extract honey and nectar from them. You could also not stress it much. my bees have already pretty much stopped laying for the year here, not sure about your area. When it gets this close to winter, i usually just let em go into winter with what they have, and i also add candy boards to all hives.
Very good idea, when do u put ur sugar board on befor winter, Stl MO
Thanks
they go on after the final winter inspection which for me in Zone 9 is around the middle of November. This date can fluctuate so dont quote me on it. suffice it to say that the best day is the very last day that it is 55 degrees or higher, as bees dont come out of the hive below this temperature.
Thank you for your video. Well done and informative. We are new beekeepers of just 2 months. I made moisture quilts for our hives last week (looking forward to your video on them to see if I need to change anything) and candy boards are next! Why is 3-inch height so critical that you ripped just 1/2-inch off the boards? Also, when do you install the candy boards? Is it okay to put them on earlier than they are needed so when it gets really cold I don't have to open the hives? I have seen some candy boards with a 3/8"-1/2"bee escape hole. You do not include one. Can they cause problems or other disadvantages?
its never a good idea to put food on any hive unless there is a need. For instance, the reason you don't put sugar on during a nectar flow is that the bees will see a source of food in the hive and stop bringing any in, concentrating on harvesting the syrup and ignoring the resource they have outside the hive (nectar). This means when your syrup is gone and the nectar flow is gone you will be feeding them all winter. Same for candy boards. They should be put on in winter, after all nectar flows are done. In our area this means around the end of November. When average daily temps are staying at or below 50 f. Adjust this date for your local area, just watch the average daily temps. Bees will not take sugar until its an emergency, they prefer the full super of honey you left them to overwinter on (you did leave them a full super right?) so they don't go for sugar until thats gone anyway. So when you put it on doesn't matter much as long as its after all the nectar flows have stopped. Regarding the escape hole. Your inner hive cover goes above the candy baord, so the bees still have a top entrance.
The chimenys i include give the bees easy access to the area above the sugar candy and therefore easy access to the inner hive cover entrance.
Thank you! Your guidance on feeding vs. nectar flow and the temperature guide are helpful. I understand better. We've had a good freeze, but warmed back up to the upper 50s, so I will watch the temps. Yes, they have a full super of honey; I'm just nervous because we're new and didn't want them to starve for our ignorance. I like the idea of the chimneys. Thanks again!
I use a candy board on EVERY hive, even ones going into winter with a full honey super. To me, I look at it this way...Once you buy or build the candy board you are looking at about a $6 investment per hive to buy the sugar......So for $6 you are potentially not going to spend $130 for a package, $150 for a nuc to replace those bees that starved out. To me, that's just cheap insurance!
Thank you. I did build & add candy boards to all hives in early December, and I am so happy I did - definitely cheap insurance yes!! We had about 2 weeks of subzero temps, and when it temporarily warmed up in the low 50s this week I quickly peeked in on them and all three had at least half of the candy gone. I will watch carefully into spring that they do not run out.
Just make some fondant and add it to the feeders, ive got a recipe for it on my website here: www.funnybugbees.com/bee-food-recipes/feeding-bees-fondant-bee-candy
You should have shown how you folded the hardware cloth to fit so perfectly in your frame, instead of jumping ahead and skipping that step entirely!
good call. To keep videos short i tend to skip easy steps which are more common sense. However, to answer the question i use a 30" metal brake i got from harbor freight to make all bends in hardware cloth, sheet metal for outer-covers, etc. I simply scribe the line on the mesh for the inside dimension of the frame then bend it on those lines using my metal brake.
Also, Jack i should have mentioned before I got the metal brake...I scribed a line with a sharpee marker and a straight edge, then used the edge of my table saw to put that line on and then just bent it down. works great.