Can you split a 1st year package?

[contactme_11]

2 of the new packages I bought this year are growing like crazy, queens are laying really well. Almost filled out 2 brood boxes each. I'm trying to expand things so I'm contemplating splitting 1 of them. Thing is I've never split a 1st year package before, so is this a bad idea? We still have a strong flow on and it's still early in the season. Thoughts?

[MustbeeNuts]

sure you can, infact I think many do. I have six spits now from new packages. they are doing great, I planned on doin it form the get go. I ordered queens ahead of time and scheduled my spit for the growth month. May is the usual big build up month. now that is for an already established hive however they go busters this time of year. I had two meds, full of brood and eggs. I spit the top one off of each one giving 3 full frames of brood to each. and two honey frames. and then five empty foundation frames. In two days the queen was release, they are pulling the remaining frames, brood is hatching. filling up more frames. its been a week and a half and I will have to add second mediums this weekend. Go for it!! But I would obtain a queen for them if possible. it'll take a month for a queen to be raised, better to queen them and there off to the races. JMHO

I should say I was told to use from other hives. if there all from the same hive the pheromone from the first queen could be a deterent to them accepting a new one. I did have that problem on one spit. but they took a second queen fine two days later. Just needed to figure out they were queenless I guess. But those three frames were from the same hive, the rest were assorted mixed.

[Pond Creek Farm]

How did you mix frames of bees from different hives and keep them fro fighting?

[Brian D. Bray]

How did you mix frames of bees from different hives and keep them fro fighting?

Confusion.  The more hives you can pull frames from to group into a new hive the better.  Frames from 2 hives will most likely fight to some extent, but frames from 3 or more hives is better. 

Do not include a queen on any of the frames though.