# Summer splits?



## Steves1967 (May 16, 2012)

So I have about twenty of my hives that are nice and strong here in northwest oregon. I am curious if I can split in late July or early august and still feed up to a colony that might make it through winter?


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## zhiv9 (Aug 3, 2012)

I am not sure what your climate is like, but there are a lot variables. Do you have drawn comb or will they have to draw a lot of foundation? Are you splitting with mated queens? Are they singles or doubles now? Do you plan to overwinter as singles or doubles? Do you plan to treat for mites?


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## HAROLDD (Sep 7, 2011)

Adam makes good points. I, probably wouldn't try here without mated queens, drawn comb and be prepared for heavy feeding.


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## Stonewall (Aug 27, 2013)

Can you split hives over the next few weeks? Sure. With drawn comb, or without. With a mated queen or without. Clearly if one were to use only foundation and required them to make their own queen, the chance of failure would increase, but still very doable.

Granted, I'm in Dixie, but I do split through early september, if I need the hives.

I just placed queens in 7 new hives this morning and plan on starting 20 more about the first of August. When a new hive is started, it is like a baby and must be cared for and provided what it needs to prosper.


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## zhiv9 (Aug 3, 2012)

Stonewall said:


> Granted, I'm in Dixie, but I do split through early september, if I need the hives.


This is where it is so regional. We usually get a hard frost around the end of September leaving us with no forage until the first pollen day sometime in mid-April.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I plan to do walk-away splits day after tomorrow.


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## orthoman (Feb 23, 2013)

I live in coastal Nor. Cal -- not too far from Oregon border. I am planning on making a couple of nucs today and adding queens and, splitting without queens to see if they will raise their own queens. I also plan on feeding them. My hope is to over winter these nucs. Weather here is good and there should be adequate number of drones for mating.


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