# Early splits



## SmokeEater2 (May 10, 2011)

You're right, This is a great time of year for a bee keeper! By the time spring weather comes around I'm as anxious to get to work as the girls are.  I've added supers to mine and the bees are working like mad. I'm getting to split a couple of my hives too,Just as soon as the high winds take a break for a day or so.


----------



## CaBees (Nov 9, 2011)

After you put your supers on do you all stay out of the hives? Or do you take the super off to get to the bottom to see what is going on?

Also, do you wait until the hive is almost full before putting on a super? Or around 75% full? thanks!


----------



## hoodswoods (May 15, 2009)

I think it is all driven by multiple factors - some hives I will double their space in one setting, others I wait for that overload sign or try to pump up their volume with brood and egg frames then ween them along, weather and stores. At this time of year, I want to be sure that brooding is #1 before supering. Once I start supering for honey, I don't do a lot of brood management, here in the south with a lot of pests, I try not to give them more than they can defend. - 75% would work for me on a strong hive.


----------



## BugBoy (Mar 16, 2011)

This is a great post, I had an opportunity to inspect my hive briefly today thanks to the great weather. I removed two frames in the upper box to check for brood and honey stores, couldn't see any signs of brood, 30% honey store, but I did notice the huge number of bees! At least a hundred or two on each frame... so I'm wondering, should I make a split? This is my first overwintered hive.


----------



## Adrian Quiney WI (Sep 14, 2007)

Bugboy, wait until May and reassess. It is too early for us Midwesterners to contemplate a split. Right now winter is still here. In a couple of months time you'll have a better idea.


----------



## BugBoy (Mar 16, 2011)

Adrian Quiney WI said:


> Right now winter is still here. In a couple of months time you'll have a better idea.


Good call. Thanks for the advice! Looking forward to this year. *anxious*


----------



## avesterfelt (Jan 31, 2012)

Ca, I will take the supers off id I need to get in the brood boxes; however if I don’t see any problems up top, I just stay out. As far as when I put them on, I agree that it depends on qty of brood. I want a good working force before I put on the supers and of course a good flow, so it takes some watching to find out when the right time is. I would not let them go past 75% since a good queen can fill that up in just days with brood.

Bugboy, I second what Adrian said; it is too early for you to be doing a split. I have family up there and they don’t typically do anything till May. I would not normally do anything until the end of this month; however the bees were telling me to split now, so I did. Still too early for you.


----------

