Quote Originally Posted by marion.orca View Post
I'm certainly not of the opinion " feed and be damned ", far from it, more of the opinion " better safe than sorry " and with the forecast we've had on this coast, I'd rather keep them as healthy as I can. As for hefting to assess the weight -[ I've heard of it, but never done it as yet ] I do only have a brood box as a first year beginner. I'm sure that with more years experience, the hefting will be something I will hopefully recognise as second nature, but for me to heft anything at the moment wouldn't give me any indication whatsoever, as I've nothing to compare it with. So in readiness for the weather the hive is strapped together, contact feeder full and all strapped down to the ground.
DR - I do like the idea of the panel pins as opposed to the mouseguard which is most probably something I will do when I expand [ before a new hive is full of bees !]
Thanks for all your opinions and help, always appreciated.
I have heard of examples where the bees take all the feed given to them until they have no room whatsoever....

You can heft now. (Apart from being strapped to the ground!). Simply lift up the back of the hive and try to remember how heavy it feels. If you know how much stores there is in the hive you've had a first go at hefting. What you have done is to calibrate yourself with the feel of a partially hive. When it's full of stores in a few weeks, have another lift. Hefting is just a method to get a 'feel' for the amount of stores in the hive.

Hefting is much easier if all the hives are the same. I have 5 WBC's - from light-weight cedar to rediculously heavy marine ply [which HAS to go!]; Nationals of cedar, soft wood and ply in variable proportions and roofs of a wide range of materials too, one new polyhive plus some 8 frame Nationals, a couple of polynucs and some wooden 5 frame nucs (one with a super) so hefting is nigh on impossible!
I must be crackers and would dearly like to standardise!