# Our first split



## RD35 (May 20, 2014)

Okay, I'll try to keep this short! We have a hive that fared very well through the winter. It was a new package install May 01, 2014. Two deep 10-frame boxes. Upon inspection found bees thick on all 20 frames with lots of capped brood in both boxes and lots of honey in the top box. We reversed the boxes to try to avoid a swarm, but I am afraid it is only a matter of time before they fly away. 
So here is our plan, based on what we have read and learned on this forum to date.
1) Place a new hive directly beside the old hive (bottom board and an empty deep box)
2) Open up existing hive, find the frame with the queen, and place it in the center of the new deep box along with her nurse bees. (say position 5)
3) Pull two additional brood frames with nurse bees and place them either side of the queen frame. (positions 4 and 6)
4) Place a frame of stored honey either side of those. (positions 3 and 7)
5) Place an empty drawn frame either side of those. (positions 2 and 8)
6) place empty frames outside of those (undrawn new foundation frames)
7) place top box onto lower box.
8) put an empty drawn brood frame in position 5 top
9) fill remaining top box with empty undrawn frames, install feeder and close up the hive

Now, time to re-assemble the existing box
1)Move the remaining brood frames together in the lower box with a couple of frames of honey making sure there are brood frames with plenty of open brood of all stages present for the bees to rear a queen.
2) Install upper box with a couple of drawn brood frames above the lower brood, a couple frames of honey and the remaining new undrawn frames.

Sorry for the long post, but please tell us if this approach sounds reasonable for doing our first split. Thanks!


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

You don't reverse when both boxes have bees..... Why don't you just give them another box? Not all hives swarm you know if you give them plenty of room. I'd also put the split in the old location, give them all the foragers and lighten the load on the main hive while they requeen.


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## Shutrbug (Feb 8, 2015)

JRG13 said:


> ... I'd also put the split in the old location, give them all the foragers and lighten the load on the main hive while they requeen.


To make sure I follow this.. Is the split in the old location too, or do you move it some distance away? I'm about to attempt my first split as well!


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## johng (Nov 24, 2009)

Shrtubug, if you leave the split in the same yard put it where the old hive was. That way it will catch the foragers. Now if you want to move the split to another yard that will work to. My favorite way to split an established hive is to move the queen and two frames of brood one of honey into a hive body and set it right where the old hive was sitting. Then let the established hive raise the new queen.


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## Ian G (Jul 29, 2014)

Good luck with the split! I'm farther north than you so I'll be attempting my first split in a few more weeks.


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## SouthTexasJohn (Mar 16, 2015)

Time for me to get a new note pad.


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## RD35 (May 20, 2014)

Thanks all for your replies. We would like to move one hive about 75 yards away. Not sure yet just how to do that, but thinking we will do the split, leave the new hive in the current location, move the established hive to the new location 75 yds away, and try to force a reorientation to placing obstacles such as tree limbs and some plywood in front of both hives to mask them. This will be interesting. If this is the wrong approach, I hope somebody will jump in and tell us!


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## DirtyLittleSecret (Sep 10, 2014)

Reorientation is really simple. Just gently cover the front entrance with a limb/leaves and they'll figure it out.


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## Shutrbug (Feb 8, 2015)

Both my split and my original will basically be in the same place. I have a spot 25 yards away where they can go temporarily, but I would have to move them back as soon as I could.

Rd35 - you have an advantage knowing where the Queen is! My queen is very good at hiding, so I haven't found her on any of my hive inspections yet. I would prefer to do like johng suggests and move her with some brood and honey to a new box and let the established hive raise a new one. But if I can't locate her, is a walkaway split an option? I know she's laying because of the brood and larvae. If I put half of the brood and honey in each box, then the Queenless box will raise a new one, right?

To help them all orient, I have painted one of my package hives Orange and one Blue to match my existing White established hive. I want to split the white one, and I have a new white setup ready. I've been told that if I split and have them next to each other then the foragers would have to pick one and they will divide themselves up fairly equally (favoring the Queen some). Some in my club suggested moving both some distance away so all of them would have to reorient. Using Michael Bush's moving method I could split and move 25 yds and then move back later I suppose. Which would be better, assuming that I can't locate her?


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

Bees won't re-orient on a short move like that. You will need to keep one hive in the original location.


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