Great 1st season what should I plan on for next spring?

I got 2 hives up to 2 deeps each. I think I may have lost a queen in one when I tried making a nuc but it's drinking like 2ltr of 2:1 syrup a week. Both are still finding orange & yellow pollen late almost into November here in CT.

Next spring should I be able to simply split each of the 2 hives into new ones?

Depends how they overwinter.

Something different... it is a learning curve.

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Originally Posted by Acebird

Something different... it is a learning curve.

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Expect the unexepcted! :D
Agree with JRG13 and Acebird - If all goes well over the winter, I'd say you'll be in a good position to double down with a split of each hive in the spring. Just don't get over anxious and try to split too early. Make sure there are plenty of drones in your hives and flying before making your splits. That is, if you want the new hives to make their own queens.

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Originally Posted by TheCompound

Expect the unexepcted! :D
Agree with JRG13 and Acebird - If all goes well over the winter, I'd say you'll be in a good position to double down with a split of each hive in the spring. Just don't get over anxious and try to split too early. Make sure there are plenty of drones in your hives and flying before making your splits. That is, if you want the new hives to make their own queens.

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Why would I have lots of drones?

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Originally Posted by TheBuzz

Why would I have lots of drones?

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Because they are a natural product of a healthy hive. If they overwinter well, they will start to create drones in the spring even if you try and limit their number through manual intervention. They will be necessary to mate with your new queens if you allow the splits to create their own. If your are planning on purchasing mated queens from a breeder, than the availability of drones is not a concern since the purchased queen(s) will have already been mated.