New queen coming - requeen or split?

[gailmo]

I am a newbee and am wondering how to deal with a new queen I have coming next week........here is the situation:

I have one hive that is three years old...last year it swarmed, so the queen is entering her second year.  Last winter, I decided to order a new queen to replace the old queen....forgetting that she really was only in her first year because of the swarm leaving.  The hive made it through the winter and is doing very well.  It has lots of brood and the bees and the queen are thriving.

I have materials for another hive ready to go.....so I was thinking about splitting the "old" hive and using the new queen to establish the second hive.   So here are my questions:

1.  Should I just go ahead and pinch the old queen and use the new one in the established hive as I had anticipated?
or
2.  Should I set up the second hive, split off some of the brood and use the new queen to establish that hive?

If people think splitting the hive is the way to go------- then what procedure should I use to split the hive?  I have read online several ways of doing this...but I only have enough equipment for a second hive (no nucs....etc) so I think I need to pull frames from the first. 

[hardwood]

Isn't your spring flow about to start? Has it started already?

This would be an excellent time to split. I wouldn't off the old queen unless she has problems.

If you create a "false swarm" by taking the queen away with the split (say 2 frames of brood and some honey/pollen into a nuc) and requeen the hive a day later you will kill several birds with one stone. You may calm the spring swarm impulse and with even a slight break in egg laying you may realize a better harvest.

Scott

[JP]

Definitely split the hive by moving two to three frames of capped brood if you can afford to along with a honey frame or two and of course bees in the new set up along with your new queen.

It would help to move the new set up for a few days to another location so you don't lose bees back to the parent hive. You could then move them back.

I never requeen unless absolutely necessary.


...JP

[JP]

Or you could create a false swarm as Hardwood mentioned by moving the mated queen into a new set up with frames of bees, feed, capped brood into the new set up and giving the old parent hive the new queen.


...JP

[gailmo]

It was suggested that I move the new hive to a different location.  How far should this be from the old hive?   I am an urban bee keeper and my one hive is on the back deck.  I have a pad set up for the new hive about 30 yards away....    I would like to set the new hive on this pad and not have to move it later--but could do a set up on the other side of the house and move it if necessary. 

thanks...in advance!
Gail