Kelley wrote:
> Why are hives each fed with an individual feeder as opposed to having say
> a 5 gallon bucket of feed for every few hives hanging nearby. You could
> even have some hardware cloth of the proper size to keep bumble bees and
> birds from drinking it. It seems it would be a lot more efficient in both
> time & money to refill 1 5gallon bucket rather than 5 1 gallon buckets.
Tempting isn't it. Of course you _will_ feed *far* more than just
your own bees and the apiary will get _very_ exciting for a while
with thousands of bees everywhere! You would also feed the
strongest colonies at the expense of the weaker ones, which
probably most need the feed. I have been told that it also
increases the risks of robbing but personally I'm less convinced
about that. I always feed each colony directly.
Regards,
--
Gordon Scott [log in to unmask] Compuserve 100332,3310
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Basingstoke Beekeeper [log in to unmask]