# Expand or Split??



## Pinchecharlie (May 14, 2014)

Not from Kentucky but you probably could add a medium and get honey if...there's s fall flow? I think people your way split into August, so you could probably or you could pull nucs from it and knock them back that way. Up to you I guess. I like honey but I would see what the locals say before you do anything . depends on if you want more colonies too I suppose? Honey is fun!


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## Trooper (Jun 5, 2016)

Considering splitting the hive I think. Would like to increase my colonies. Just want to make sure I would have time to build them up before winter.


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## Pinchecharlie (May 14, 2014)

Count brood then order queens and build double 4 or 5 frame nucs to overwinter? Probably 4 nucs in there ? Iam starting to think the Palmer nuc thing is the management skill to have . You could probably pull a nuc from a nuc by fall where you live it's so mild?


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## jagjohn2000 (Mar 10, 2016)

I'm in the same boat. Bought a nuc. Swarmed. Caught and life got in the way. The swarm exploded on weekend trip, already had swarm cells. So the swarm swarmed again, but I didn't find them. Now I have added two med. Supers and unsure if I add another or try to nuc or split. Sigh. First year is so confusing.


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## ForestHillHoney (May 13, 2016)

First year should be spent building up comb. Brood boxes and honey supers. I think it a bit too aggressive to split nucs, then again I'm in a northern area and my season is shorter.


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## Pinchecharlie (May 14, 2014)

If the season allows and there is flow they will pound out the comb and the honey. I wouldn't be afraid of a medium of foundation. Better yet run 9 or 8 frames. The worse that happens is they fill four or five frames and they are still ready for winter. The whole first year things just dependent on circumstance. I drew comb and harvested 150+ pounds off 5 frame nucs last year and have a 3 deep 4 medium high hive that was a built nuc this spring and our season is very short. So if the weathers alls well or you don't mind feeding then give it the onion either way. Worse thing is crowding them and watching them swarm and maybe lose the colony all together. You can always combine and nuc in the fall. When is your fall , November? I wish I would have been a bit more "mad scientist" my first two years . You only get experience from doing things. As long as you have some good ideas of "why you could or should" the "how " part is spelled out in length and detail all over this site as well as one million others. Didn't draw or fill the whole super? Pull it and they didn't swarm and you have that as a good start for spring or a donor frame or two of honey .Palmer winters 4 frames in deep snow and nucs his "non producers" in July. Every new hive you create will be a "first year" hive , even when you've been at it 25 years. Might ge a medium of honey and that's fun!


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## jagjohn2000 (Mar 10, 2016)

They are pulling comb and capping honey faster that my wallet likes even after swarms from crowding! I started with 1 NUC and now I have two deep brood. 2 med brood and two honey supers pulled comb and filling. Four frames capped honey. I sure can't complain. Think i may add one more med each just so they have space.


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## Daniel Y (Sep 12, 2011)

At this point I am splitting. Swarms that I captured in May are being robbed of individual frames of brood now and then to make up more nucs. We left two strong colonies to produce honey. one made some the other did not build up fast enough. They will start being split up between now and July 15th. after that all nucs will be managed to build up for winter. I would like to see them all at a deep and medium 10 frame size by the end of October. We will see how it goes.


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## beestudent (Jun 10, 2015)

On the honey side of things, here in lower MI, is there a significant flow other than goldenrod? (Couldn't smell anything but last year...) I have 2 hives halfway into their second deep, and was hoping to get some honey. If necessary, I have a plan to make some nuc's, and if I have extra brood frames than what I plan, can I incorporate them into these? One frame of brood may not be much, but hey, the old saying goes "the more the merrier" so, with or without the extra brood, do you think they'll make any honey? In another 2-3 weeks they should be packed doubles.


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