I have a cut out where somehow I missed the queen I want to do a shake out of several of my strong hives and add Brood frames as well as some honey frames then add a new queen a few days after. Will this work?
am i understanding your question? you want to shake bees from several different hives into this hive and donate some brood then go back and add a queen later?
how weak is the hive you're trying to save? can you just add a couple of frames of emerging brood and a queen now or is it so far gone that that wouldn't save it?
Quote from: gdog on July 23, 2013, 06:46:19 PM
I have a cut out where somehow I missed the queen I want to do a shake out of several of my strong hives and add Brood frames as well as some honey frames then add a new queen a few days after. Will this work?
Yes it will work. It is the way supplies supply packages of bees, Shake bee from hive(s) and add a caged queen. Do the same shake and add brood and a caged queen, also no problem. Mix bees from at least three different sources. Two sources seem to fight. Three sources add to the confusion and they seem not to fight as much. And don't tell finski but feed till settled or as needed. Some folks will spay with HBH or a little vanilla in sugar water to help mask the pheromone when combining. I have not used the spray.
Quote from: sc-bee on July 23, 2013, 07:52:40 PM
And don't tell finski but feed till settled or as needed.
Apologies to our Finnish buddy, but that line made me :lau:
The hive is not too far gone. I want to build up and be able to make it through the winter with at least two supers of honey. There is still time in the year for this to happen. The current hive had all the brood hatch out and they are bringing in nectar to fill the comb. Gentle bees at the moment.
sc is right about packaging. i used to sell packages and we shook one to two pounds from a single hive and we sold 3 pound packages. if you have a flow on it's way more likely to go smoothly.
my hives are about a foot off the ground. i usually set up a ramp to the entrance if i bump bees in front of a hive.
If the bees are all going to stay in the same yard remember to allow for drift.