Peter says:
<I would never suggest or recommend barrel feeding. I think the colonies
tend to benefit unevenly from such a plan. If there are very light colonies
in the yard they should be dealt with. Also, why waste syrup on the heavy
ones? If the purpose is to stimulate them, I still think the benefit of
feeding directly outweighs the extra effort. In life, some things are worth
doing well.>
I'll go a step further - DO NOT OPEN FEED unless you really like
challenging the immune systems and hygenic behavior of all of your colonies. That's
a sure way of spreading every pest and disease. And, if you say - Yeh,
but my bees are healthy and the equipment and bees get mingled anyway - DO
YOU KNOW whether any other bees within a minimum of 2 miles of your apiary
are healthy, free of problems?
When we looked at operations with CCD, where we saw waves moving through
holding yards, odds were the beekeeper was open feeding. Save a few bucks
on salaries and materials, suffer the economic consequences of sick bees -
false economy.
Look at this another way - a yard of 30 strong colonies could easily have
120000 bees. That's the equivalent of a small city. About the number of
people living in and within 40 miles of my home, Missoula.
So, if I were to go to every restaurant and soup kitchens that I could
find and pour leftover beverages in a barrel, then mix it all up (I'd even
filter it to get rid of the gross looking stuff), chill, and then distribute it
in glasses - would you drink it? You'd be exposed to EVERYTHING
contagious that anyone sampled from the community had.
Or, make it simpler, just go to a day car and make up a mix from all of
the kids, then drink it. If you won't, then why do you think your bees are
any different?
Jerry
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