Medium nucs for splits?

[SmokeyBee]

I want to do some walk away splits this year. I'm trying to use all medium equipment. Am I better off puting the split into a 5-6 frame medium nuc or a 10- frame medium or double medium nuc or something else?

Does anyone here do splits with mediums? My wooden ware buddy can make whatever size I need...I've thought about using all 10-frame boxes and follower boards also.

Thoughts?

[apisbees]

First what are the purpose for the splits\nucs? Hive increases, swarm control, queen production, to sell? will effect how long they will be in a nuc hive. also starting strength will have a impact on their growth.
I am going to assume it is for hive number growth. Here is a suggestion if you make 6 frame nuc boxes that 3 boxes pushed together will equal the width of 2 supers. place 3 nucs tight together with the 2 nucs on the ends entrance facing one way and the nuc between facing the other way. Once the queens are established and laying put 2 queen excluders over the 3 nucs and 2 stacks of supers. Even though they get started later than a normal colony they will generally yield a fare amount of honey.

[LazyBkpr]

Walk away splits take time. I try to suggest using swarm cells or buy queens, so the time will be reduced between split and having a laying queen again.
   However, if that isn't possible, or not desirable, then yeah, it can be done. I use all medium equipment for everything, it saves me problems and weight.  I have done splits both ways.
   I have had better luck with a 5 frame nuc, and stacking another five frame box above the first once they get going. THEN when they are up and running in both boxes, i move both five frame nucs down into a ten frame hive body and give them a new box above.
   For some reason, they seem to grow faster in the nuc then when I just start them out in the ten frame hive body.

   When you do a walk away split, you have to make SURE they have plenty of bees and brood. Bees will be dying off while they wait for a laying queen, and you don't want to end up with low numbers of bees when the laying queen arrives.
   Scott

[robo]

Walk away splits take time.

and stand a higher probability of marginal queens.  Though folks in the south can get away with poor queens better than us northerners.

[riverbee]

smokeybee....about walkaway splits....
what robo said:
"stand a higher probability of marginal queens.  Though folks in the south can get away with poor queens better than us northerners."

what scott said:
"Walk away splits take time. I try to suggest using swarm cells or buy queens, so the time will be reduced between split and having a laying queen again.
When you do a walk away split, you have to make SURE they have plenty of bees and brood. Bees will be dying off while they wait for a laying queen, and you don't want to end up with low numbers of bees when the laying queen arrives."

i haven't done walkaways for many years, it was something i wanted to try (we all have to try some method and learn from it). like robo said, you stand a really high probability of 'marginal queen's' and in my experience a high chance of a really poor queen or failure. 

i utilize swarm cells in the spring, as scott mentioned. i don't use mediums, i use 4 or 5 frame nuc boxes (deep frames) to place the swarm cells in. 

i also purchase queens as needed and available, walkaways are not the best choice imho..........
too many variables for failure. 

how many walkaways do you want to do?

[SmokeyBee]

Hi folks,

Thanks for the good information... I'm asking at this point just to learn how it works.

Last year was my first season. I went into winter with what I thought were two strong hives. I wanted to expand the bee yard, so I pre-ordered a nuc and got some swarm traps. I thought that would put me at 4-5 colonies depending on how many swarms I caught and then I could split my original hives.

Both original hives died out from mite load and so far I've caught ZERO swarms. My plan of having 7-ish colonies right now has fallen apart but I will get my nuc next week.

I have a buddy who's good with a table saw and works for beer, so I have enough woodenware to compete with Mann Lake and not a single bee, hahaha!

The reason I keep thinking of walk away splits is that if the bees make the queen, I save the expense of buying them. I know there are ways of raising queens, but it looks to be above my skill level at the moment. I didn't know that it produced an inferior queen...it's all academic at this point.