# April splits



## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

I have 3 splits going right now.
One has a virgin queen, she be mated and laying any time now. 
One has capped queen cell.
One has queen cells not capped yet.


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## liljake83 (Jul 2, 2013)

Just did 7 new splits gave a mated queen to each all looking good


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## high rate of speed (Jan 4, 2008)

Just 1500 this week seem to be doing just fine. Starting on round 2.


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## Ishi (Sep 27, 2005)

I made 5 splits last Fri with queen cells all cells hatched will see if they mate in about 2 weeks if I can keep my nose out of them.Things are starting to dry up so nectar will stop.


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## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

600 yesterday. 200 tomorrow. Thinking they will be fine. More to go.

Jean-Marc


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

Ur behind, made splits 3-4 weeks ago....


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## high rate of speed (Jan 4, 2008)

Next 5 weeks in Cali will be long and expensive. Can't wait for the rain on Sunday. HAPPY EASTER.


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## Tenbears (May 15, 2012)

Funny you should mention that. I was just about to grab the snow shovel and dig them out so I could do splits today. NOT! 

Some people have all the luck! :banana:


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## BeeGhost (May 7, 2011)

Ive made twenty splits so far, 12 with my own queens, 5 with purchased cordovan queens from Houtmans out of Oroville and three walk aways that have laying queens now. I tell you what, this has been a great year so far, only had one virgin that didn't make it back from mating flights!! Will make more splits in about a month.


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## GageFamilyBeekeeping (Mar 10, 2011)

Do you queen them all or are yours walkaway


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## GageFamilyBeekeeping (Mar 10, 2011)

do you queen them all or just walk away


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## BeeGhost (May 7, 2011)

GageFamilyBeekeeping said:


> do you queen them all or just walk away


I try to either put in mated queens or ripe cells, but I just did another 4 walk aways this last Sunday as the hives were strong double deeps packed with brood/eggs. They have multiple queen cells that I may cut out a few to make even more splits! If you do walk aways just make sure there is a lot of capped brood/eggs and larva since it will be almost two months before the new queen lays eggs and her offspring emerge!!


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## high rate of speed (Jan 4, 2008)

30 days.


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## Swiftwisdom (Dec 9, 2013)

jean-marc said:


> 600 yesterday. 200 tomorrow. Thinking they will be fine. More to go.
> 
> Jean-Marc



Jean-Marc; how long doest it take you to do 600 splits in one day? Do you install mated queens in them? How many brood frams do you use? Do you feed immediately and do you also give pollen patty? How many worked does it take to do a days work like that? Sorry for all questions out of no where; just can't imagine how one can do all that...I have 30 increases I did a month ago and I was so spent by the end of the day that I stall get tired just thinking about out. Thank you in advance.


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## crocodilu911 (Apr 17, 2015)

the most we ever made was 800 /day. 6 man crew. you just push them out with bee go, then set your plit up with brood and food, plsce queen excluder then your set up boxes, and you are done. come collect in the morning or during that night, take off mother hive, place on pallet, give mother hive extra box, and go unload in another yard. 2 days later go introduce, and feed, and then come check to make sure she is out in 3 days then come back with feed and to check in 1 week, just to make sure she is out, and laying. you can also wait 2 weeks, and do all the checking and feeding then.
the most i made with just one helper, and that was with searching for the queens, was 160/day. 
once you do this long enough Swiftwisdom, you learn to be efective, quick and not hurt so much at the end of the day )) right Jean-Mark?



Swiftwisdom said:


> Jean-Marc; how long doest it take you to do 600 splits in one day? Do you install mated queens in them? How many brood frams do you use? Do you feed immediately and do you also give pollen patty? How many worked does it take to do a days work like that? Sorry for all questions out of no where; just can't imagine how one can do all that...I have 30 increases I did a month ago and I was so spent by the end of the day that I stall get tired just thinking about out. Thank you in advance.


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## Swiftwisdom (Dec 9, 2013)

@ crocodilu911: I appreciate the thorough details reply...sounds very resonable and doable..I will implement and see how it's goes next time. Also, thanks for the encouraging words...good to know I'm not alone feeling pain...labor of love. Lol.




crocodilu911 said:


> the most we ever made was 800 /day. 6 man crew. you just push them out with bee go, then set your plit up with brood and food, plsce queen excluder then your set up boxes, and you are done. come collect in the morning or during that night, take off mother hive, place on pallet, give mother hive extra box, and go unload in another yard. 2 days later go introduce, and feed, and then come check to make sure she is out in 3 days then come back with feed and to check in 1 week, just to make sure she is out, and laying. you can also wait 2 weeks, and do all the checking and feeding then.
> the most i made with just one helper, and that was with searching for the queens, was 160/day.
> once you do this long enough Swiftwisdom, you learn to be efective, quick and not hurt so much at the end of the day )) right Jean-Mark?


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## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

high rate of speed said:


> 30 days.


But who's counting?:lpf: I have held off for splits & grafting, & with the latest weather here it's proving wise. However, going to start cranking them out early next week, based upon weather forecast & build up.


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## steve62 (Jun 28, 2009)

I am a newbie, this is the first year my bees have made it through the winter! I have two hives. Both are booming. I am in Northern BC and there is still ice on the lake. I am going to split both hives. Both hives have two deeps and one smaller honey supers.

So I am thinking of taking one large super off each hive adding a empty super in it's place. Placing another super with the super I remove and just walk away and see what happens.

Question, how far from the donner hive do I need to place the split?


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## crocodilu911 (Apr 17, 2015)

i would take the deep super away, with the old queen and the shallow super and take them at least 2 miles away, or place in dark basement for 48-72h then replace in the yard. 

leave in the doner hive spot, the new split, that way they collect whatever bees are outside, and you can add a second box to that one ( see if it has enought bees for a deep or a shalow) 
with your cold conditions thre, i would not spread it to much. i mean do not give it too much empty space, since it is hard for them to heat up. 

if you do not have queens or cells, after you made your split, go back 4 days later, and kill most of the cells, leave only 2-3. you can also leave them beee  and see what goes on. 
good luck with your project.




steve62 said:


> I am a newbie, this is the first year my bees have made it through the winter! I have two hives. Both are booming. I am in Northern BC and there is still ice on the lake. I am going to split both hives. Both hives have two deeps and one smaller honey supers.
> 
> So I am thinking of taking one large super off each hive adding a empty super in it's place. Placing another super with the super I remove and just walk away and see what happens.
> 
> Question, how far from the donner hive do I need to place the split?


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## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

Swiftwisdom:

It took from about 9 am to 3 pm to do that. Selected colonies that were to be "exploded" were already there. Brood chambers were being prepared by 3 guys. I think 10 others were splitting. It worked out to 2 brood frames per increase. They went into singles . About 2 brood and 2 frames of bees. We did not look for queens. They were installed 3 days later. Everything was fed Caspian solution and pollen patties. 9 parts pollen 1 part soya 10 parts sugar about 3.5 parts water. Fed again on day 4 when queens were installed.

Crocodillu: We are always swamped at this time of year. I am working in the field recently again. I try and stay sidelined because of herniated discs. It is foolish for me to try and lift 20 pounds. I hurt within 30 seconds. But I can do queen checks and remove and or add brood. I still hurt :0

Jean-Marc


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## camero7 (Sep 21, 2009)

> I am working in the field recently again. I try and stay sidelined because of herniated discs. It is foolish for me to try and lift 20 pounds. I hurt within 30 seconds. But I can do queen checks and remove and or add brood. I still hurt :0


I have the same problem. What are you going to do. I've tried having nerves burnt and cortisone injections, no help.


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## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

Hire out. Never lift boxes. Easy when operating the forklift and only at the home yard. Spinal decompression, massage, yoga asanas, maintain a lean and relatively fit body. Mostly let the crew do the work but things are happening here really fast. We have not had a spring like this since 2004. Like this year it was early and we have a good flow. We had produced 50-60 drums of honey before we sent the bees out to Alberta on Canola pollination. We could have a repeat, the maple flow has been really good. Colonies are changing daily. It is so nice to see.

Jean-Marc


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## camero7 (Sep 21, 2009)

Thanks, glad you're have such a great spring. Hope it stays that way all year.


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## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

The weather man is predicting 9 days in a row of rain starting this afternoon. That will put the brake on things for awhile.

Jean-Marc


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## chillardbee (May 26, 2005)

So the weather man says JM, but who knows. The maples, dandilions, and wild cherries have done the job and we still have the blueberries for the next week or two and the raspberries are right around the corner. 

I've made 120 nucs so far and another 280 yet to go. those are just for sale. later on I will divide my hives 3 ways (360 nucs) and give them cells and use these for my increase.


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## Brian Suchan (Apr 6, 2005)

Wow i cant imagine, when i think of b.c. what comes to my mind is revelstoke and snowmobiling. You guys must be a world away from what im thinkin of!!


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## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

Yes a world apart. We are in a temperate rain forest but when it is sunny during spring time at maple and dandelion flow bees can just explode. Bees will avoid dandelion and go for maple. The pollen and nectar off those trees is like nothing else. Unfortunately it usually rains here and washes it all away, but not this year. If the bees were good at the start of the maples then unless divided somehow, they would be in swarm stage now. Average hives become very good and poor hives come to life and there hope of making some summer honey with them. It truly is remarkable. I am always astounded at this event.

Jean-Marc


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

-9 here last night ... 
April splits on the prairie is like rolling a dice. I find May to be much more predictable here.


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## Allen Martens (Jan 13, 2007)

Jean-Marc,
I am intrigued by the length of time you leave between making the splits and installing the queens. Normally I install the queen in the evening of the day I make the spits. Do you get rid of the any queen cells that might be developing or do you just install the queen? Are you checking for eggs on day 4 to make sure a queen is not being added to a queen right nuc. Do you find the nucs loose bees if they are queen less for 3 days?


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## Swiftwisdom (Dec 9, 2013)

jean-marc said:


> Swiftwisdom:
> 
> It took from about 9 am to 3 pm to do that. Selected colonies that were to be "exploded" were already there. Brood chambers were being prepared by 3 guys. I think 10 others were splitting. It worked out to 2 brood frames per increase. They went into singles . About 2 brood and 2 frames of bees. We did not look for queens. They were installed 3 days later. Everything was fed Caspian solution and pollen patties. 9 parts pollen 1 part soya 10 parts sugar about 3.5 parts water. Fed again on day 4 when queens were installed.
> 
> ...


Just amazing Jean-Marc...no doubt hired help would be necessary. So, just to be clear, 2 brood frames and 2 frames of bees makes 4 frames in total; yes? Various stages of brood I presurne? I realize the advantage of think syrup, but pollen also? Even though natural pollen count is high? Thanks again.! Peace.


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## Swiftwisdom (Dec 9, 2013)

Allen Martens said:


> Jean-Marc,
> I am intrigued by the length of time you leave between making the splits and installing the queens. Normally I install the queen in the evening of the day I make the spits. Do you get rid of the any queen cells that might be developing or do you just install the queen? Are you checking for eggs on day 4 to make sure a queen is not being added to a queen right nuc. Do you find the nucs loose bees if they are queen less for 3 days?


Allen, I was wondering the same thing...thanks for asking..

Jean-Marc; I'm also curious to know wheather your grafting your own queens or do you also outsource your queens? When i was first starting out, I was letting my best colonies build up to like 4 levels high and then breaking them down into nucs. I would take the queen and split her out on two frames of soild capped brood and just feed very light syrup; the rest would be divided up to roads their own queens, being fed well al the way through. Now l find that trying to raise my own queens is too time consuming, especially when demand for nucs is crazy. This year I was planning to take it a step further and have double the nucs over wintering for next year. This year, in Florida, people were putting up money for nucs as early as January but the big boys and even larger Sideliners couldn't deliver on the nucs until just a couple weeks ago at best..I was kicking myself for not have stock ready in January/February. i would have made an early killing. Lesson learned. Therefore, this time, I'm work towards next year right now! Naturally, I want to fill orders as they come, but without a doubt I want to make every increae I can in anticipation of next year. I'm just always worried not to get in over my head. So many people have been getting into beekeeping over the past 5 years....I just keep telling myself that 90% of them either will quit or realy scale back down to hobbyist/back-yarder. Anyway, hope to catch up with you all again later. Peace.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

I install queens 3 days later also. That way there is no need to find the queen


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## dsegrest (May 15, 2014)

I put 3 queen cells in a castle and it is boiling over with bees coming out of all sections. Saturday (tomorrow) is my 3 week date for looking. It is supposed to rain so I may have to wait a day or 2. Will post results.


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## Allen Martens (Jan 13, 2007)

Ian said:


> I install queens 3 days later also. That way there is no need to find the queen


Ian, I assume you are coming back to look for eggs later to determine which part of the split is queen less. I have done many splits this way and if that is how Jean-Marc is splitting, then I get it. I am interested to know it these splits are remaining queen less for 3 days and separated from the mother colony.

Mostly we now shake if we are splitting and either come back to pick up the split or smoke up bees.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

Ya I use to do that too but now I simply stripmy splits and go through with a quick spot check on everything looking for emergency cells while counting brood frames to equalize hives and dropping in queens into queenless units. It's fast , we can prepare a couple hundred hives for split in a day and follow queen checking equalizing and inserting cells in a day. You way involves more work on the front end, my way involved work spread over two seperate days. I like my method as it had allowed me to bring unskilled work in to help with the work load.


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## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

Swiftwisdom: 4 frames indeed. If hives are exploded then they get what they get. If we are cherry picking brood from multiple hives, then it is mostly 2 frames of capped brood. Need some larvae to keep them from drifting too much. Also best to install them in a yard that has no bees. Otherwise bees can drift towards the open brood of queen right colonies. 

We feed a lot of pollen because it can rain here. The pollen helps the bees increase their protein reserves (vitellogenin). Queen acceptance increases. All week it has rained. Calling for more next week.

Jean-Marc


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## dgl1948 (Oct 5, 2005)

We winter outside in two deeps. For splits we shake bees off two frames of brood, put an excluder on and move the two frames onto a 3rd super above the excluder. We then add two more frames. Next day four frames and bees that have moved up to onto these frames in the 3rd super are put in nucs. Day after that queens are added to nucs.


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## biggraham610 (Jun 26, 2013)

dgl1948 said:


> We winter outside in two deeps. For splits we shake bees off two frames of brood, put an excluder on and move the two frames onto a 3rd super above the excluder. We then add two more frames. Next day four frames and bees that have moved up to onto these frames in the 3rd super are put in nucs. Day after that queens are added to nucs.



I like that approach. G


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