At 03:25 AM 7/19/96 +0000, you wrote:
>Will you please send me address  of source of the baggy feeder.!!
>
>How many do you use per hive? AT what point do you put them? about the=
 brood
>chamber? above the  honey supers? VArious? How much liquid do they hold?
>
Hi Tom
 
I have been using Baggie for a full season now and I will never go back to
anything else.  There are no drowned bees and so far no robbing. =20
 
The Baggie feeder is simply a small super,(2 =BD" to 3") placed on top of=
 the
hive.  I have found that an empty shallow super works just as well.  Into
this are placed  Zip lock bags filled with syrup. Care must be taken to
insure that the bags are not overfilled and that they are completely sealed.
I use only heavy duty freezer bags.  Quart bags will hold approximately 1 =
=BD
pints, gallon bags hold 2 =BD to 3 quarts of syrup. The bags can be placed
directly on top of the frames or on top of a queen excluder.  Small 2 to 3
inch slits are cut in the bag to give the bees access to the syrup.  These
are cut crosswise of the hive if the hive is leaning forward.  A small
amount of the syrup is squeezed out and allowed to run down onto the bees so
that the bees know it is up there. =20
 
The bees readily accept this feeder and in fact when bags are being
replaced, I have bees climbing on the bags before I get them set down
properly and start removing the syrup as soon as the slits are cut.  I
recently removed a swarm of bees from a dead tree in a lady=92s yard and=
 ended
up with about 2 gallons of honey that was contaminated with sawdust and
other debris.  I decided to feed it back to this colony and used a baggie
feeder placed on top of drawn combs.  They immediately removed this honey
from the feeder, put it in the super and sealed it.  They were getting
enough nectar to draw combs and did not need the honey.
 
The baggie feeder is a little tricky to use the first time but it is well
worth the persistence it may take to get used to it.  It is by far the best
method I have ever used to feed bees.  =20
 
Original baggie feeders are available from Brushy Mountain Bee Farm (800)
233-7929
 
Frank Humphrey
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