Too late for syrup — a honey horseshoe saves the colony

Sometimes the apiary is only just back from pollination and the feeding window has closed. Or a colony took two litres of the six you planned and then stopped. The season has moved on — but if you have honey frames in the store, the colony can still be saved. A honey horseshoe is feed frames set so that they embrace the widest hungry gap in the nest. The books do not recommend it, and I am not hiding that. But when the choice is between "not by the rules" and "this colony will not make it to spring", we take the first. Three conditions: you need the frames, you need to check the forecast, and you need one more warm day so the bees can reform. There will still be a small die-off at the edges from hunger — that is the honest price of the decision. ⏱ Chapters 00:00 — Who this is for: too late to feed 00:33 — Like the honey wedge, but a bigger colony 00:43 — The plan: two frames into the widest gap 00:53 — Checking the stores, frame by frame 01:17 — "The books don't recommend this" — why we do it anyway 01:42 — What a critical store looks like 02:05 — The frames that go into the horseshoe 02:45 — Putting the nest back together 03:34 — Building the horseshoe: which frame goes where 04:02 — From the store — and the wax moth got to it 04:35 — What the colony ends up with — and what the forecast says 04:54 — Spring: candy, or a box of honey frames 05:15 — A small die-off at the edges — the honest price 05:36 — The conditions that make this work Voice-over in this video is AI-generated. The content, footage and expertise are the author's own. #beekeeping #bees #winterprep #honeyframes #feeding #apiary #beekeeper #beehive #overwintering #honey