@Wizard my overwintered colonies have started swarm prep by mid-March each year. I just split one in fact - I put feed in and a cozy on it because we have such iffy weather now with a couple of nights in the teens again.
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Yeah. I had to add a second box to the hoover. The ladies were not as packed in the flow. That was a few weeks ago. It is looking like tuesday is going to be the ideal day for inspection. Fairly confident flow is ready for a super. Gonna do the hive body swap flop at the same time.
I’m going to leave my wrap on until the nights are consistently over 40.
Bees got a dusting of snow last night, it’s 26°F (-3°C) out now and they are still milling around the entrance impatiently so I guess they’ve got hungry mouths to feed. Or, it’s super crowded and there’s no where else to stand/cluster.
When I opened up last week they were 10 frames across but no sign of swarm prep… Lots of honey, maybe a frame-worth of pollen, lots of BIAS so I didn’t think I needed to feed them, thought that might just encourage swarm behavior…
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Yup, I wouldn’t be feeding a strong overwintered colony now that pollen is abundant and the flow is starting.
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All winter i have seen both my hives finding different types of pollen. Was not expecting that at all. When i inspected a few weeks ago they were both low on honey but they were actively bringing in nectar. I have another empty hive ready to go incase it looks like i need to do split. The flow hive has a young queen that was started from a package with foundationless brood frames. I am thinking that they are not ready for a split just yet and reversing the hive bodies/adding a super will give them what they need this season. Im only allowed 4 hives because i am in the city on a quater acre. Not trying to rush a split.
Okay, did a quick inspection today. The flow hive had the top brood chamer completely full of honey and brood and nothing in the lower box. The hive was packed with bees, both boxes. Did the brood chamber swap and added the super today. 
The hoover hive is still working on the second brood box i added 3 weeks ago, about 20% filled. However, they were also packed and filling the roof cavity. Should i add a super?
Did you have any hive weights last summer/fall/winter? How much of the honey they had in there was from this spring vs. leftover stores from last fall?
I got another weight on my hive today and the whole assembly was down to 71lbs, down from 97 after I finished feeding them in October. Only 26lbs means they have at least half of their stores left, all in a single box.
The flow is on here in Ohio mainly with maples first then in the next few weeks so many flowering trees so I think the hive will start gaining weight again in the next week.
I know you’ve been saying that beekeepers in your area use doubles but if you’re not opposed to feeding during an extended dearth or in the fall, you might consider singles. Not sure how far you are from Kamon Reynolds or how much your surrounding vegetation differs but he has some videos on single brood boxes in TN. I think he’s just a little ways south west of you down 75.
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I am thinking i can get away with single brood boxes too just because of my peculiar location. Didnt do any hive weights except by hand. Definitely had littlento none leftover. I lifted both hives regularly throughout winter and felt them getting very light, so light that i fed one hive a frame of honey. The first day i could inspect i did and both hives were actively collecting nectar from somewhere. Offered more of last year’s honey and they ignored it. I am within close proximity to the university of Tennessee College arboretum. Also located in the direct center of the city. Nobody within foraging distance have bees, according to the register. It also turns out to be the the least windy place in the usa, added bonus, according to Google. In general though, the rain almost always splits and goes around us and it’s always 2 to 10 degrees warmer here than everywhere else near-by, and the businesses plant a lot of flowering plants and trees.
The 10 frame hoover definitely had more weight than the double brood 8 flowhive frame setup at the start of the season, but i did feed the hover a frame of honey early on (late February) it definitely saves a lot of work having 1 brood chamber. My next purchase will be the 7 flow frame hive set. I would feel much more comfortable with a full size 10 frame brood box. Hindsight is 20/20 
no matter how much i read its never enough. 
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