When should I start feeding my bees in the spring?

It's April 11th in Alberta.  The real question is, 'when is spring'?

The weather has broken for sure.  We've had some warmth.  Your bees that have survived the long winter should be up in the top box of your two-box hive.  If you have an upper entrance, you should have observed some activity by now.

The queen will have begun to lay and now is the time to begin feeding pollen patties and a thin sugar syrup.

Feed your bees with an inverted pail through the center hole in your inner cover.  Try to avoid opening the hive up for too long if you use a frame feeder. Use a 2:1 water to sugar solution.  You shouldn't be feeding the bees to keep them from starving, there should be plenty of stores still if your hive was provisioned adequately last fall.  This syrup is to simulate a 'flow'  and designed to stimulate the Queens to increase egg-laying.

In addition place two or three 1 lb pollen patties close to the centre of the cluster.  Keep feeding until the bees stop taking it.  Do not allow it to run out.  You mustn't have a break in supply.  Sometimes the bees will take this right up to Dandelions flowering.