In this instructional video, Laurence Edwards demonstrates a fast, simple technique for feeding fondant to bees housed in Payne's poly nucs during winter. He explains the problem with the standard feeder placement—being offset from the cluster—making it hard for bees to access fondant when temperatures drop. Edwards recommends first checking hive weight to confirm a need for supplemental feeding, then using a 14 × 12 cm eke to create a slot that allows a slab of fondant to sit directly on top of the winter cluster. He shows how to cut and position the fondant, optionally cover it with a piece of insulation board to retain heat, and emphasizes that only a modest amount is needed for a nuc. The video is set in mid‑January in North Wales, highlighting the urgency of ensuring colonies have enough food for the remaining three winter months. Edwards also points viewers to another video that covers four alternative fondant‑feeding methods for full hives.
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In this video, I'm going to show you a really quick, simple method to feed your bees fondant in your Payne's poly nuc. Now, the problem that I have with Payne's poly nucs is that the feeders are offset over to the side. It does annoy me a little bit. It means if you put fondant down into that gap and the weather gets cold, the bees can't always find it. Whenever I'm feeding fondant, I like to put it in direct contact with the top of the frames on that winter cluster. And as it stands, you just can't do that in the Payne's Poly Nuc. Now I know you like cheap beekeeping hacks, and there's probably a cheap beekeeping hack out there to do this, but I had to go away and buy some 14 by 12 ekes for these anyway. And I just think it definitely makes it so much easier when it comes to feeding fondant. So I'll go and get my eke, I'll go and get my fondant, I'll open up these bees, and I'll get them set up for winter feeding. Before you just go and randomly set up these feeders, putting the fondant on, You only need to feed if you've got an issue with weight. Lift up the beehive. That one there, it is dangerously light. We're in the middle of January at the moment. You've got 3 months left of winter really in North Wales. I'm not gonna risk it. I'm gonna get my feeders on. I'm gonna get the fondant on there as well. Make sure that the colonies have got enough food to get them through. So here's my cluster of bees. You can see a little bit of stores down there, but they're definitely light. Nice cluster here. All I'm gonna do is I'm gonna take a 14 by 12 eke, Line the feeders up like that, and then you've got a perfect slot in there just to lay your fondant. Open up your fondant like that, section it off however you want. You don't need a huge slab for a nuc. This here, I've got some Honeybee Pro, just opened it up, and then all you wanna do is just place that directly down onto your cluster of bees. Then if you've got some insulation board to hand, cut it in a no-nonsense beekeeping fashion and just place that on top there just to make sure you're keeping all of that heated. And it's as simple as that. Really quick way to feed them. It's a very useful add-on to have if you're using the Payne's Polynucs. If you wanna see 4 different ways to feed your full beehive fondant, check out this video right here.
