Author Topic: When to Make Splits, Nucs etc? (Read 7409 times)

PhilK · « **on:** June 22, 2016, 07:30:18 pm »

G'day,

At the moment we have two hives with supers on them, and three hives that started in autumn so are only brood boxes. We'd like to expand our number of hives - we will be buying more nucs, and splitting existing hives (the strong ones!)

Obviously it's cold at the moment and it's the 'down season', but what sort of time of year should we be thinking about setting up new colonies and doing splits etc?

Cheers

BeeMaster2 · « **Reply #1 on:** June 22, 2016, 09:01:08 pm »

Phil,
This is a good time to get your equipment ready. Figure out how many hives you want next year and start building or purchase them and put them together.
In the spring, when the flow starts, it time to make your splits.

PhilK · « **Reply #2 on:** June 23, 2016, 12:40:14 am »

Yep that's what I'm doing Jim, just after some location specific advice for when that might be. I know it's pretty early here in Brisbane like around August possibly?

yantabulla · « **Reply #3 on:** June 23, 2016, 05:17:13 am »

Phil, depending on conditions I can expect a swarm anytime from the start of August in the Coffs area. That's when I am starting to look at increasing my numbers. Jim must have plenty of time on his hands to answer every post on this forum.

Wombat2 · « **Reply #4 on:** June 23, 2016, 05:23:09 am »

When night time temperature is consistently above 19*c start by removing all honey and pollen stores out of the brood box. As brood develops and is capped lift 2-3 frames a week up into the first honey super ( places in the middleto keep warm) through to October when you will have plenty of brood and nurse bees to do your splits. - that's my plan anyway.

Wombat2 · « **Reply #5 on:** June 23, 2016, 05:26:49 am »

Quote from: yantabulla on June 23, 2016, 05:17:13 am

Phil, depending on conditions I can expect a swarm anytime from the start of August in the Coffs area. That's when I am starting to look at increasing my numbers. Jim must have plenty of time on his hands to answer every post on this forum.

Swarming will start when the queen runs out of room in the brood box hence my idea to free up space for the queen to lay and keep a close eye on the numbers

PhilK · « **Reply #6 on:** June 24, 2016, 05:34:00 am »

OK Wombat good advice.. sounds like that would increase the numbers of bees too, to help with the spring flow.

BeeMaster2 · « **Reply #7 on:** June 24, 2016, 12:44:16 pm »

Quote from: yantabulla on June 23, 2016, 05:17:13 am

Jim must have plenty of time on his hands to answer every post on this forum.

Nah,
It is just that with an I-phone on my hip I can read/answer threads any time of day or night.
Jim

Wombat2 · « **Reply #8 on:** June 25, 2016, 08:36:03 am »

Quote from: PhilK on June 24, 2016, 05:34:00 am

OK Wombat good advice.. sounds like that would increase the numbers of bees too, to help with the spring flow.

More Bees - More Honey

west end apiary · « **Reply #9 on:** July 21, 2016, 09:11:16 am »

dear Phil,

I checked my hives yesterday and thought I would tell you how I went.

I got into all 13 of my hives which range from 4 frame nucs to double eight frame hives.

In those hives I found honey on the bottom and brood on the top and it was all relatively tight, I reversed those hives to move the brood to the bottom.

I also found drones and drone cells that were hatching, so I took a risk and did a split.

It is a five frame coates nuc, with a frame of honey, one of honey and pollen, two frames with capped brood and one frame of open brood with range of eggs and open brood. I moved one of my big hives that was cranky and put the nuc in its place in the hope to collect the flight bees and then I shook in some bees from the lids of a couple of hives. Also I did some on the spot queen rearing techniques of cutting out the bottom of the cells with my hive tool. Hopefully I will get lots of queen cells and can split some more hives to get to 20 hive before august.

I will check this hive on saturday week and update you how I have gone. if it has worked than I might let it raise another round of queens to make more splits with. I am hoping to sell a number of nucs this season.

am keen to hear if any one has anything else to this.

cheers,
West End
.

PhilK · « **Reply #10 on:** July 21, 2016, 09:09:57 pm »

Thanks mate - your name wouldn't happen to be Nick, by chance?

We have three hives at West End we'll be checking on Wednesday and two in Paddington. Really keen to do some splits but equipment building is going slower than I'd like!

Does anybody know where to get the corflute/plastic nuc boxes from? I really can't seem to find any

SlickMick · « **Reply #11 on:** July 22, 2016, 03:43:47 am »

I am not surprised Phil if your colonies are thinking that winter is over after all the warm weather we have been having and that you might be starting to feel that the time to split is getting pretty close.

Yesterday I opened up the brood box as there appears a fair bit more activity than there was a couple of weeks ago. Plus there is a lot of pollen coming into the hive and wax is being drawn and only being capped off.

I am also intending to split once I see the brood box starting to get cramped. I have a five frame timber nec ready to go. I would be interested to see when it is you decide to do your splits considering that August is still to come.

Mick

chorrylan · « **Reply #12 on:** July 22, 2016, 09:11:50 am »

Quote from: PhilK on July 21, 2016, 09:09:57 pm

anybody know where to get the corflute/plastic nuc boxes from?

Nuplas have them listed on their website. http://www.nuplas.com.au/beehive-accessories/nuplas-nuc-5-frame

If anyone wanted to organise a group buy to import a pallet of them from china i'd put up my hand for a bundle.

Sent from my SM-N910G using Tapatalk

west end apiary · « **Reply #13 on:** July 23, 2016, 03:38:11 am »

on the nuc hives have you considered making some coates nuc's. they go togehter pretty easy and are not to hard to make if you have some carpentry skills.

I have about 12 in different stages of construction and use.

would be keen to see some photos of the west end site, I had hives at west end prior to the 2011 floods but moved them afterwards. I imagine they are very productive hives. I am prepping a site in the back yard in ferny hills to place some nucs and full hives maybe. they are very productive in this kind of suburbia,

Cheers,

PhilK · « **Reply #14 on:** July 24, 2016, 09:01:15 pm »

Coate's nucs? Where can you get these? I have two timber nucs but putting them together and painting them is a pain, so would be great to get a few corflute ones for ease.

Honeycomb king · « **Reply #15 on:** July 25, 2016, 08:12:14 am »

Phil that is slack.

I've made 81 4 fr neucs up this month, just 20 to go. Well, so I thought til I got a call to day for 20 more neucs in spring.
6 fr neuc boxes next, but just 18 of those.

PhilK · « **Reply #16 on:** July 25, 2016, 08:48:20 pm »

Do you make them out of timber HCK? I admire your tenacity haha I get bored after one or two!

Looking at the hives in my backyard this morning - amazing amount of bright orange pollen coming in, looks like they can hardly lift it their baskets are so full. Going into the hives for inspections tomorrow - is there anything in particular I should be looking at that will indicate if I need to split etc?

west end apiary · « **Reply #17 on:** July 25, 2016, 10:16:37 pm »

hey mate,

the coates nucs are ones made from plywood, you can get four five frame nucs out of a single sheet of ply. I got two sheets for $50 from masters a while ago and now have six completed nucs and two in the process of building them.

just search "coates four frame nuc plans" and there are a few of them in the images search.

Otherwise just go see quality beekeeping supplies and get a couple of there nucs. They are just glue and screw so not too bad.

The swarms are coming so you need to be prepared and they happen more regularly in the middle of Brisbane.

I will hopefully get you some photos of my queen cells this weekend.

Honeycomb king · « **Reply #18 on:** July 26, 2016, 06:13:47 am »

Yeah timber. My neucs I tend to use whatever I can get. They don't have to look pretty or last for ever, if they start to leak bees it's only a small hive so easy to control.
As for your hive inspection don't tare my advice, ask someone closer to you location. It's very location specific this time of year particularly.

max2 · « **Reply #19 on:** July 28, 2016, 04:52:20 am »

Checked my hives this weekend - I'm North of Brisbane - all very busy but no drones as yet. Not drones, no queens , no splits! Wait a little while yet. The weather is perfect and Blur Gum are still flowering.

SlickMick · « **Reply #20 on:** July 28, 2016, 09:41:50 am »

Time is coming! All my citrus and stone fruit trees are coming in to flower at the moment also lots of action at the entrance with pollen and nectar on its way in.

Mick

west end apiary · « **Reply #21 on:** July 30, 2016, 05:24:32 am »

Well i checked my hives today and while I have multiple queen cells in the box, I looked in all my other hives and I wold be hesitant to take brood from other hives as they looked like they were struggling.

They were not full of bees and looked a bit lean on stores, so I left the nuc hove with the queen cells and will check on them in 2 weeks.

I think I went too early and should have left them alone for a bit longer.

I guess I got too excited and went too early.

Cheers

PhilK · « **Reply #22 on:** August 02, 2016, 01:15:32 am »

Quote from: west end apiary on July 30, 2016, 05:24:32 am

I guess I got too excited and went too early.

Happens to all of us from time to time mate, don't stress.

I will be opening the queenless hive and checking the nuc we made from it on Thursday - fingers crossed!

west end apiary · « **Reply #23 on:** August 30, 2016, 04:09:12 am »

so just for a further follow up, this hive is doing well and the queen has a very nice laying pattern.

I have them in two four frame nuc boxes and hopefully will have them into a double eight frame by the time i come back from my holiday.

so all in all it was a successful split made in July, which i think is pretty amazing

Small side note, I extracted my first honey for the current season and it is very dark and rich.

PhilK · « **Reply #24 on:** September 01, 2016, 09:35:08 pm »

We extracted about 35kg the other week and it is super dark as well. One of the hives looks like it's almost ready for another super already!

Yesterday I put the nuc into a full depth 10 frame hive as it was busting at the seams, and the parent hive has a queen and she is laying beautifully (She really is her mothers daughter).

I'm tempted to split the other very busy hive we have now