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Author Topic: location for split  (Read 6973 times)

Offline alflyguy

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location for split
« on: July 16, 2009, 10:46:19 pm »
When you do a split, is it necessary to move one of the newly created hives away to keep them from returning to the old hive/queen?

Offline Hethen57

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Re: location for split
« Reply #1 on: July 17, 2009, 02:35:17 am »
It's probably not necessary, but if you can take the split a couple of miles away, you won't lose the foragers to the old hive.  There are ways to get around it (move old queen, flip entrances, etc), but I just take my splits down to a friends house a few blocks away to get the new queen established and then bring them back and they have all worked great.  I know there are people on here who have done successful splits without leaving their property, so it just depends how you want to do it.
-Mike

Offline RayMarler

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Re: location for split
« Reply #2 on: July 17, 2009, 05:16:56 am »
I went through my 2 box hive and put the queen below the excluder, and in the top put the frames I wanted in my split. The next day I take the frames for my split out of the top box, it's covered in nurse bees as it's all eggs/larva and brood and open nectar with pollen frames, and make up the nuc. I set the nuc 6 or 7 feet away on a facing stand. I've got 6 nucs going now, one has virgin queen and rest in various stages of making a queen. Seems to work out well here.

Offline Hethen57

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Re: location for split
« Reply #3 on: July 17, 2009, 05:33:39 pm »
Ray, is there something significant about putting them on a stand facing the old hive to retain more bees in the split, or do you just figure that the nurse bees will eventually orient to the new location and not worry about it?  Also, wouldn't that mess up your orientation with respect to getting the morning sun?  I've always tried to have the hives get the morning sun on their porch, and as far North as I am, you can see them out foraging at 5am during the summer...it's pretty cool.
-Mike

Offline RayMarler

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Re: location for split
« Reply #4 on: July 17, 2009, 06:57:53 pm »
Hethen...

Not at all, I set them that way so I get 2 parallel rows facing each other giving me area all around it to work beehives from behind, and because it works out well in the front yard so close to my front porch  and entry walkway from the front gate. With the trees and foliage the way it is, the bees never fly towards or over the house the way I've got them arranged.

The nurse bees will all call this home as they've not flown yet and there is frame of sealed brood emerging to give fresh home force from any losses do to drifting back home of any older bees that might have been there.

Offline Hethen57

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Re: location for split
« Reply #5 on: July 20, 2009, 03:15:55 am »
Ray, how do you orient your rows with respect to the morning sun?  N/S or E/W?  Maybe is is not as big of a deal as I though...I am running out of room in my row and my need to do something like that.
-Mike
-Mike

Offline RayMarler

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Re: location for split
« Reply #6 on: July 20, 2009, 05:20:41 am »
So far, my yards have dictated which way my hives faced, not from my preferences or choice. Seems like most of the time they either face North or South. I think facing the direction where there is least amounts of prevailing winds, especially in winter, might be more weighty than facing morning sun. I've noticed that facing north or south, one side gets sun in morning and other gets it in evenings. The opening may not face the morning, but shining on the full side of a hive should help warm things up inside? At any rate, the hives I have here now face north or south, depending on which rails they are sitting on. This was determined to be so because of the level/slope of the ground and the length of the rows, and how well I could see the hives from the front porch!

Offline Hethen57

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Re: location for split
« Reply #7 on: July 20, 2009, 02:50:42 pm »
I'm in the same boat Ray...I'm so glad I didn't tuck them behind my barn or towards the back of my property...they are right where I can see them in my backyard.  I had no idea being close to the house would be so important, but feeding, managing and just watching them requires frequent trips out to have a closer look  :-D
-Mike

Offline trapperbob

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Re: location for split
« Reply #8 on: July 20, 2009, 06:22:22 pm »
One thing you can do is shake all the bees off the broodframe you will use for the split and put them in the box they will be liing in. Now put a queen excluder on the hive you removed the brood from and place the new box on top. Come back in 30 minutes to an hour and nurse bees will have moved up in the new box to take care of the brood remove the top box off and put it on the bottom board and put a top on all those nurse bees have not been outside yet so they will not leave and fly back to the old hive. So you have your split and young bees that will hang around. You will have to feed them but when the brood starts to hatch the older bees will be ready to forage.

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: location for split
« Reply #9 on: July 22, 2009, 10:07:17 pm »
I've done 2 splits this year, one sets in front of the hive it was split from and the other beside the hive it was spllit from, maybe 3 feet between hives.  I also have a swarm the same distance from the hive it swarmed out of, which is the last one I split so that hive has offshoots on each side, no problems.
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Offline luvin honey

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Re: location for split
« Reply #10 on: August 04, 2009, 04:57:30 pm »
When I split a month ago, the split went into a hive box 8" or so away from the mother hive. Hard to say if there was drift, but it was at least not enough to prevent them from building right back up.
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Offline hardwood

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Re: location for split
« Reply #11 on: August 26, 2009, 06:17:59 pm »
When I do a "walk-away split" I just make sure I give the split plenty of nurse bees, lots of brood (two or more frames) both capped and uncapped with eggs if  I'm wanting them to create a new queen, and some honey/pollen. You have to feed because the foragers will indeed return to the mother hive. I split one hive into four three months ago this way and all are doing well.

Best luck with it,
Scott
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Offline Michael Bush

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Re: location for split
« Reply #12 on: August 26, 2009, 07:54:55 pm »
Just allow for the drift.  Shake extra bees into the new hive.

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