Hi, I recently bought a feeder but it does not fit underneath the roof, does anyone know of any feeders that I could get in England which would fit underneath the roof of the hive,
also, I am a bit confused at what time should I take off my flow super and at what time should I put one a new box for the bees to expand, I am relatively new to beekeeping.
Thx
Hugo
I’m not familiar enough with beekeeping in England to provide meaningful advice on flows and timings specific to you. But there others that will be around the corner from you and give you some indication.
I can say that there are a few types of feeders that will fit under the roof to feed through the cover board hole. This ranges from inverted containers with small holes in the lid to complex bought feeders. The best I have found is the round rapid feeders. The small ones fit under the lid, you can check and refill with out disturbing bees and put on/off by sliding off and replacing with a cover.
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Thank you yes I bought a round rapid one it is just too big, sorry to be annoying but do you have the link or size of the small one because I am struggling to know what would be the best size.
Thank you
Hugo
You could build a box or add another deepbox and use mason jars with tiny holes for syrup to drip. That’s what’s been working great for me
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You could make a shim to give the height so that the one you bought fits under the roof. I made one out of 40mm pine (see the photo)
I use the 500ml feeders. Like this one https://www.thorne.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=4903
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You have 3 hives. How long have you been beekeeping?
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sorry yes that is a bit confusing, those are my hives but kept on my land and cared for by my Gardner, I recently bought a flow hive so I also could get into the hobby.
Sorry,
Hugo
thank you for the link do those ones you sent me fit under the roof without any help.
thank you,
Hugo
sounds like a plan I will look into that.
thank you,
Hugo
Ah, that explains it. With regard to the feeder, as mentioned by others, you’ll need to place an eke above the crownboard to create some depth to fit the feeder. You can either make one yourself or get one from any of the bee equipment suppliers. As to when to add the super, it all depends on our weather, and if there is a nectar flow on. At the moment, here in Sussex my bees are bringing in lots of pollen and nectar for brood raising, and if the weather stays good, I expect to place a super sometime this week. Have you inspected your hive recently, and if so, how full of bees was it? If they are well established, why are you thinking of feeding them at the moment?
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Thanks Gary,
they are reasonably well established I am going to check on them today, I was only looking for the feeder as I am just thinking ahead to towards winter time just in case, don’t worry I am not feeding them anytime soon.
Thank you.
Hugo
Yes it certainly does help to plan ahead with bees 
Let me know how you get on with your inspection.
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sorry forgot to ask how high is your shim/how tall did you make it.
Hugo
just inspected the bees, they look very good still got a fair amount of space left though, I was wondering there is a little bit of space as when we bought the nuc we put the frames in and added ours and there is some space the bees have built out a bit, how do I stop this, or correct it.
Thank you,
Hugo
How many frames do you have in there, and are they tightly pushed together?
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8 frames in there, yes at first but then I lightly spread them out, is there meant to be a lot of space.
Thank you.
Hugo
I’m assuming you have the 10 frame Flow Hive, that would mean that there would be space with just the 8 frames. Simply put another 2 frames in with foundation and that will stop them building cross comb. The brood box frames should all be tight against each other so that the bee space is the correct size.
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I have the 8 frames didn’t the 10 frames just come out though.
Thank you,
Hugo
Yes there is a 10 frame available now. Not sure how you are getting extra space! Where are they building comb out to, and and do you have comb guides on the new frames?
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yes I do they aren’t building it out in weird shapes hey are just making it very thick in some areas.
Thank you,
Hugo.