Ok, i have four hives this year all of them are in two deep brood boxes now. I am interested in making splits and doubling the amount of hives i have. My question is, would it be ok to go ahead and do it now or should i wait until spring to do it? Regardless of when i do it, should i go ahead and add a second deep on top of the new splits and feed so that the bees can start building out the second supers?
I am probably not qualified to answer this, but I think that I would make them up now. Last year I made a couple up in September. Larry
What about adding the second deep super now also and feeding?
Split the double deeps into singles. If you are buying queens, you will have to find your 2 that you have, or use excluders to find which of the 2 boxes she is laying in. If you are not buying queens, make sure you have eggs or day old larvae in each box so they can make 2 new queens for you. Feed now, but you have to reduce the entrance to keep the robbing down. Now is the time of the year you will loose a hive to robbing. They need the food to make queens since there is nothing blooming out except sourwood if you got some rain.
Thanks Allen. Do you think i should go ahead and add the second deep to each of the new hives as well?
Or is it better to just keep the bees in single deeps in our area?
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I would add the second deep if they needed it but not if they don't. The boxes that have to make a queen probably won't need one this winter but they will need one early in the spring. I personally only want a second box if they can fill it full by winter. Your chances are better in GA. than here in MO.
Last year I started a nuc in August I think, got them in a full size box full of sugar by winter. Added a box in early spring, started a nuc from them when the blackberries bloomed, started another when I moved that one in a full sized box, started another two weeks ago and have taken 60-80 lbs of honey so far. I didn't think that was too bad for cow pasture country. The top deep still weighs 80 lb or so.
If you have 10 frames drawn out, then yes, I would add that second box.
What would be the latest this year that i should attempt to do the splits?
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I'm in mo and I would be comfortable splitting a hive with a box full of drawn comb, stores, etc as late as drones were flying. And that only as long as I was letting them raise their own queen( actually drones would have to be flying 30 days after you split ) If you were buying a queen I wouldn't know why you couldn't split anytime you can buy a queen and the bees haven't went into their winter cluster.
I'll more than likely start my last nuc of the year before the first of August. I'll do it with 6 frames of bees, let them raise their own queen, feed the tar out of them and have them in a full size box by winter.
If all goes well, if not I'm not out anything.