Pollen

I had some questions from beekeepers about some colonies not building up. I think what many people are missing is the question Is there pollen in the hive?
A beekeeper stopped by and told me he fed some pollen patties last week and the bees were all over them. No pollen in a hive can make a queen stop laying. I had mostly dead outs in my colonies and there was ample pollen to start my colonies. I still had pollen patties on into late May but did not replenish any. There was still pollen in the colonies last time I checked. I would be checking for this if a colony was not building up.