# Hive Splitting



## Carl F (Aug 6, 2008)

There is a lot of information in the forum about doing splits if you do a search. Not much to it... You just need the additional equipment and a place for a second hive. They will make a new queen so you don't have to buy one although some would advise you to do just that. If you purchase, you know more about the genetics and the break in the brood cycle can be very short if you time it right.


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

Hard to say what the "best" way is. You could always do a simple split. Divide up the hive into two boxes. Move the entrances so that they don't face the direction you originally had them in. Come back at some point and look for eggs or queen cells to let you know which hive is queenright and which isn't. If you're good, you may find the queen while making the split. If you're thrifty, you can let the hive without a queen make their own. Keep an eye on them to make sure they're doing it right. If not, add a store bought queen. I'm doing one of those splits right now. Booming hive that really needed space. I didn't need another hive but what the heck. This time of year is probably a good time to do it like that. 

If you don't want to make an even split, you could just grab a couple of frames of brood, a frame of eggs or mixed brood and some frames of pollen / honey and put them in a nuc. Add some extra bees for insurance and either add a store bought queen or let them make their own. Make sure you don't accidentally toss your original queen in the nuc when you do the split. You may not be making an even split from your old hive but you'll be giving them space. I did this very early this year with an offsite hive that built up quick in the spring. That nuc has now graduated into a 10 frame hive and is nearly ready for another box.


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

I've had really good luck this year doing "asymmetric" splits - put the old queen, two - three frames of emerging brood + a shake of nurse bees, and a couple of frames of stores into a hive body with a dummy frame to tighten up the space for them - and a really small entrance. 

The old queen keeps on laying and the small hive builds up fast while the bigger original hive -in the original location - has plenty of resources to raise a good queen - and they keep on making honey while they don't have brood to feed. 

The new hive with the old queen won't forage much for a few days because all the foragers stay with the original hive, but it's ok because they consume some of the stores and it gives the queen room to lay. I probably wouldn't do it like that if there isn't a flow on though.

By the time the old hive requeens itself the new one has filled the whole brood box. I've gotten some really nice fat queens like this.


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