Years ago, as a smaller beekeeper with a background in animal nutrition, I too, tried to reinvent the wheel with respect to protein alternatives.  If you can work the math, it's not that hard.  But buying small increments of ingredients was not cost effective.  However, as a small beekeeper subsidizing my operation through my real job, costs were not that important and I was having fun experimenting.
   
  As my hive numbers increased and my hobby started becoming economically sustainable, my available time became the real issue.  I just didn't have the time to mess around with making my own protein supplements.
   
  And I had to find a time my wife was going to be away for an extended period of time so I could get the kitchen cleaned up before her return.
   
  Beekeeping is also becoming increasingly complicated.  We're discovering more information on critical micronutrients and amino acids that unlock the digestibility of other nutrients.  Every day we learn more about nutritional stress and how it interacts with disease.
   
  A couple of years ago I decided it was time to bite the bullet, pay the shipping charges, put my trust in the hands of the experts and buy a commercially-prepared protein alternative.  I only have so much time and energy (both of which seem to be shrinking every year) and I need to focus on other aspects of my expanding business.  
   
  I run between 100 and 150 hives depending on the time of year and still hold a full-time "real" job.  As a factor of time management, I had to delegate/out-source my protein needs.
   
  I went through a similar series of gyrations with respect to equipment only to return to the conventions of the 10-frame Langstroth.  If you're interested, I put my experiences into a manuscript I've titled, "Beekeeping With Twenty-five Hives."  Contact me off-list for the details.
   
  Grant
  Jackson, MO  
   
  

 

       
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